Wednesday, December 18, 2013

May's "Guileless" Nature

Throughout Age of Innocence Archer's perspective of May is narrow in that he assumes she is unaware so that he could "take the bandage from her eyes and bid her to look forth on the world." Yet May doesn't require Archer's guidance to achieve her goals or craft her manipulation. Instead, May is more thinking and aware than Archer realizes. These charactarestics can be demonstrated in May because her eyes illustrate how she is a determined and more influential individual. Therefore, it is important to note that Archer underestimates May's acumen and guileless factor, in the sense that May is only ostentatiously innocent, but inherently mature. During the opening scene, one is introduced to May from Archer's persepctive. May is described as "a young girl in white" with "rosycheeks" and her hands "white-gloved finger tips" grasping lilies of the valley, flowers that are symbolic of chastity and fertility. However, this image of the 'innocent' girl is soon dissolved as Archer asks May to advance their wedding while he finds himself falling more and more in love with Ellen. May's eyes turn hard and are filled with such "despairing clearness" that illustrate she is fulling perceiving of the fact that Archer may be in love with somebody else. Even her words are spoken with "resolutely steadied lips" which juxtapose against the image of her "trembling lips" during the after ball following the Opera. However, despite the awareness of Archer's love for Ellen, May advances the wedding date so that they can become husband and wife faster, therefore making their marriage permenant and so no one else like Ellen can come inbetween them. May's cunning manipulativeness can also be illustrated when Archer announces that he must make a trip to Washington. Although May never directly confesses to Archer that she is aware he is going to Washington in order to meet Ellen, she does, however, look at Archer "straight in the eyes with a cloudless smile" illustrating that she is fully aware he is going to Washington not on buisness in the literal sense but to find Ellen. However, instead of directly confronting Archer on the subject May decides to use her Grandmother's stroke as a nexcuse in order to delay or possibly even cancel Archer's departure. Yet Archer still manages to meet with Ellen, so that the next time May sees him her eyes are described "so blue they shown with tears" clearly showing the fact that May feels sadddened by the fact that Archer is falling in love with Ellen. Yet soon after, May has a long talk with Ellen, and later on, it is evidenced that this scene is pivotal, though the secret isn't exposed until the later chapters of the book. Yet, even though the subject matter conversed between the two women isn't yet revealed at this point, one can realize the obvious change of charactar in May and in her spirits as she comes home with "eyes brimming with happy tears" and uncharactaristically, carresses her husband due to her sheer joy. Although not explicit, it is obvious that May is celebrating over some sort of victory. Even at the Opera, May's manipulativeness is evident when she decides to wear her wedding dress, even though she had seldom ever wore it during the past two years. By wearing the wedding dress, May serves as a constant reminder to Archer that she is ,indeed, his bride which causes Archer to feel a sense of guilt that he nearly confesses to May that he is in love with Ellen. Yet May astutely recognizes Archer's near point of confession so that she decides to promptly and opportunely reveal to Archer that Ellen is going back to Europe soon, therefore shattering the hope that Archer has for getting together with Ellen. Yet the greatest sense of accomplishment occurs during Ellen's farewell dinner when May's eyes are shown "glittering with victory." For May is now completely certain that Archer will never leave her, and she is right. Inevitably, when the dinner is over Archer does completely confess and states explicitly that he would like to be together with Ellen yet May smartly and craftily reveals that she's pregnant.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Sunday Morning (III) by Wallace Stevens

Jove in the clouds had his inhuman birth. No mother suckled him, no sweet land gave Large-mannered motions to his mythy mind. He moved among us, as a muttering king, Magnificent, would move among his hinds, Until our blood, commingling, virginal, With heaven, brought such requital to desire The very hinds discerned it, in a star. Shall our blood fail? Or shall it come to be The blood of paradise? And shall the earth Seem all of paradise that we shall know? The sky will be much friendlier then than now, A part of labor and a part of pain, And next in glory to enduring love, Not this dividing and indifferent blue. This poem is very sad to me through a numerous of aspects. Although it is not explicitly said, the speaker of the poem speaks of a child that nearly reminds me of Frankenstein’s Creation, in that his birth is characterized as an “inhuman” one. Likewise, the fact that he is born motherless, not only lends itself back to Frankenstein’s creation, but also to Ibsen’s A Doll House in that merely the fact of being born without a mother is nearly dehumanizing to the individual in that it impacts their respect by other members of society and also, levels them to an unequal footing with other members of society. Moreover, there is also a sense of isolation in this poem that speaks as it is written “No mother suckled him.” Hence in a sense, this poem reads to me another universal theme that we have encountered in Winesburg, Ohio—that people become grotesque after they possess a certain truth, which causes them from interacting with other members of society completely. Moreover, the child in this novel further reminds me of Nora in that both characters will be degraded by others due to some factor that is out of their control. There is also a sense of abandonment in the first two lines, and a feeling of loss. Furthermore, there is perpetual suffering for “no sweet land gave” as if the child was not blessed with nutrition or nurture, so that he is weak both physically and emotionally. Yet despite the negative associations of the child’s birth condition he is described as “a muttering king,/ Magnificent,” I thought that this juxtaposition between the hardships ensued and the place in society that the child has now evolved into and earned is very significant in that it’s unexpected, therefore creating the heroic archetype. This is the classic archetypical image of the underdog, and thus the reader is more attracted to the hero’s accomplishment, from transferring from victim to hero. Still further into the poem there is also a trend towards this talk of ‘paradise’ and whether it’s in our blood or “the earth,” perhaps even “the sky.” The speaker seems to be questioning the sky’s role, and ironically, it directly contrasts with that of Grendel’s perspective nearly word-for-word but the antithesis of the argument, the speaker writes, the sky is “Not this dividing and indifferent blue,” instead the speaker contends that there is value in our blood, in the sky, in the Earth, itself. To me, part three nearly infers that there is a greater dimension, possibly even a moral argument that can be used to center the point that there is something greater than simply birth or monarchy, such is illustrated in the phrase “With heaven, brought such requital to desire/ The very hinds discerned it, in a star.” There is nearly a religious undertone in this statement, again illustrating the stark contrast that divides Grendel and “Sunday Morning” in their beliefs. Thus through this poem, one can denote the fact that “Sunday Morning” possess Shaper tendencies that highly argue for the deeper morality argument of God, birth, and religion.

Monday, December 9, 2013

The Wolfe Collection

The Wolfe collection was created by the mid-1870’s after Catharine and John Wolfe commissioned pieces from Canabel, a man who had a great reputation due to his painting ability and portraits of aristocrats. One piece of his, in particular, reflects not only the character of May in The Age of Innocence but also Nora in A Doll’s House. His work, “The Birth of Venus” concerns a biblical figure portrait where a woman is seated in Paris wearing a white sating evening dress that was the height of French fashion so much so that viewers admired the subject’s long, elegant hands and her posture. The visual image of the woman in “The Birth of Venus” reminds me of when May is in her wedding attire at the Opera. Although it is noted that “it was the custom, in old New York, for brides to appear in this costly garment during the first year or two of marriage (211)” I thought that it was interesting how May didn’t decide to wear it until Archer and May enter the Opera, where we are first introduced to them. Moreover, I also wondered whether or not the wedding dress was used as a threat in order for May to remind Archer that they are in a relationship and therefore, he must be faithful to her even as he is falling for Countess Olenska. Yet is also symbolic how May tears her wedding dress when she walks out of the carriage and also spoils it by letting the dirt muddy it. Unlike the woman in “The Birth of Venus,” who is the romanticized image that the Wolfe collection wants one to believe, it is unreachable similarly to other conventionalities that can even lead up to what we currently know as the American Dream. These figures epitomize a society that is perfection filled with archetypal images that we strive to reach but are ultimately unattainable. Therefore, May’s torn wedding dress is illustrative of the fact that purity is unsustainable. It may last fleetingly but it is unable to last forever. Moreover, May’s name itself alludes to the concept of the seasons, nature, and flowers. Yet like all things, spring is not everlasting and flowers will eventually wilt or die. Moreover, flowers can also be prickled, thorny, sharp and edgy. Likewise, Nora also wears dresses often in A Doll’s House and similar to May, she uses it as a manipulative tool in order to remind her husband to keep faithful to her even when she has done something disloyal. In May’s case it is the fact that she lies to Archer about her pregnancy while for Nora it is the fact that she has committed forgery. Although the motives are different, in the end both women use this image of a dress for the same reasons. Nora wears the dress in order to emphasize her beauty, her physique so that she can ‘entertain’ her husband while May wears the dress as a safeguard to protect herself. Thus Wolfe’s “The Birth of Venus” is a falsified conception generated by society based on artificial archetypes that are meant to bolster an advertisement of the ideal woman when such a prototype is ultimately unattainable.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Such a Doll

Old New York is a society rooted in conventionality and the ‘norm.’ This can be illustrated in that Age of Innocence holds an intrinsic value that women can relate to in that it is a book which centers upon several widespread beliefs that although inhibited by societal pressure are part of the social code which helps asses the values and peculiarities that are regarded as ‘proper’ with those who deviate or act eccentrically suffering helplessly as society’s blameless yet falsified scapegoats. Therefore there is an implicit social code that helps relate which tenets are gossiped and barred for apparently ‘misbehaving’ when really no crime has been committed or anything scandalous has actually occurred. A clear example of such a claim can be illustrated by the juxtaposition of Archer’s wife May who appears to be sexually innocent, guileless, and completely “unknowing” though we get a sense that such is the fake byproduct created by the manufacturing plant of New York society and thoughtfully as well as dutifully pieced together by mothers that have for generations encouraged beauty and outer-appearance as more important than knowledge, virtue, and strength. Thus as a result, in The Age of Innocence, one looks at May and sees a child not a woman. Though she is, indeed, a woman her behaviors as well as her unsupported actions don’t match with the actions that are generally associated with that of a young adult. Like Nora in A Doll’s House both display some similar virtues in that they are both treated like ‘pets’ because of the fact that they are assumed and dictated by society’s standards as unknowledgeable and therefore require guidance, teaching, control by their husbands. Thus as a result, a male-domineering complex is created in that the women remains in the home, a haven for young mistresses that cannot survive in the outside, dangerous world of novelty and frenzied activity. Furthermore both Nora and May display other qualities including an unbalanced relationship with their husbands. Moreover, both Torvald and Archer also have some shared qualities, especially in that they both care for wives that are beautiful. Both May and Nora are described with ideal feminine traits such as rosy cheeks. Moreover, May is described as the white lilies-of-the-valley further emphasizing the ideal of a porcelain doll in that its skin is so white, white as snow. Likewise there’s also a sense of feigned intelligence but above all moral purity though in Nora’s case she is much more explicit and flirtatious both characters to a degree affect ignorance. However, for Torvald and Archer they do not have to ‘fake’ or ‘pretend’ or ‘act’ in any manner besides the masculine ideal. Thus in order to maintain such an image both characters are the breadwinners of their home and deeply concerned with their reputations. Perhaps most similarly, these two characters also feel a slightly fatherly duty to “instruct” their wives. Above all else, women are constantly submissive and dependent of men because of the society standards that are placed. This can be illustrated in A Doll’s House in that Ms. Linde got married not out of love but purely monetary gain so that she could pay for her sick family member and support her children, thus she has a very financial relationship with her husband, instead of a loving one.