Brain Drain Blog

Archive for the ‘British Lit’ Category

While water communicates the concept of fertility and femininity, its fluidity also represents the cycle of life and death. In her novel, Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf uses these many aspects of water to symbolize the significance of Clarissa Dalloway?s experiences with Peter Walsh.

On the opening page, Clarissa Dalloway remembers plunging from her bedroom window into the still morning air, ?like a flap of a wave; a kiss of a wave; chill and sharp and yet (for a girl of eighteen as she then was) solemn, feeling as she did? that something awful was about to happen? (3). Clarissa, prior to the war, finds this wave invigorating and filled with potential. She wants to immerse herself in it and be carried upon it. In her innocence, she enters into the cycle, yet a part of her understands that the wave will eventually crash and return to the sea. Her relationship with Peter Walsh is pending, as is the war, and she senses that her life is about to change.

As Clarissa?s thought?s return to the present, she explains how her ability to freely immerse herself in this life is inhibited. As she walks the city streets, she has ?a perpetual sense? of being out, out, far out to sea and alone? that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day? (8). Riding her wave at Burton as a young woman, she is carried into a socially unacceptable and delicious encounter with another young woman, Sally Seton. Bound by the suppression of her innermost truth, because Clarissa understands that society will not allow for the enjoyment of such encounters, she protects her innermost thoughts from the scrutiny of others. This secret causes her to feel secluded and alone, even among the busy streets of Westminster.

Peter Walsh is a threat to Clarissa?s secret. His love for her drives him to question everything about her, the intimacy of which she prefers to avoid although she does enjoy the attention. After an entire summer spent at Burton in their youth, Peter can stand it no longer. He needs to know how she feels about him and confronts her. They stand ?with the fountain between them, the spout (it was broken) dribbling water incessantly? (64). Woolf uses this fountain to illustrate their lack of fluid communication. Peter begs Clarissa for the truth, his tears and words dribbling as freely as his emotion. Clarissa, sensing the danger of being so open in return, stands rigid in the solitude of her secrets. She rejects Peter for the less intimate Richard, breaking both their hearts much like that pump. After suffering the blow of unrequited love, Peter crosses the sea, leaving for India to serve in the war, thus ending their first cycle together.

The image of the sea represents loneliness, separation and disconnect again for Clarissa and Peter. The one man who knows her better than any other has gone. When each of them is in their fifties, Peter returns across the watery divide and they are forced to examine the resurfacing emotions that return with him. For Peter these emotions come back in full, fluid force. He asks himself, ?bursting into tears this morning, what was all that about? (80)? As he shows an outpouring of emotion as he did the first time, Clarissa is again externally solid and unyeilding, ?as cold as an icicle? (80). Later, as Peter visits Regents Park, he hears the bubbling ?voice of an ancient spring spouting from the earth? (80). He envisions a woman, perhaps a vision of Clarissa, placing one hand on her hip and holding the other out like a pump. This image is reminiscent of the broken pump that stood between himself and Clarissa at Burton and ends the second full cycle between them. Once again, they are lost in the sea of loneliness.

As fluid as the water is that represents their experience, Clarissa and Peter have remained unchanged. Unlike a wave that climaxes, crashes and rolls back into the ocean, Clarissa does not flow with her desires but remains an unyielding object merely riding the surface of the tide. Peter is still taken with Clarissa and spouting his bubbling and gurgling emotion, but his love never fully flows to fruition. Clarissa continues to burry deep her gift of Sally Seton?s kiss to avoid the chaos it would bring if it ever drifted to the surface. She concludes that all of life, as it exists day by day, is orderly and enjoyable in its sturdy and unmoving way, reaffirming her choice to suppress her true love for both Sally and Peter in exchange for her security with Richard.

In The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, No. 32 Brett Street is residence to four people related through blood or marriage who experience nothing more intimate than one-sided relationships. In mere coexistence, Mr. Verloc, his wife Winnie, Winnie?s mother and brother Stevie are completely alone in their own thoughts, disengaged from each other without any meaningful communication. Winnie, in particular, is unwilling to investigate further into anything which lies beneath the surface, serving her own interests without full observation of the circumstances surrounding her or collaboration from the others.

Family life for Winnie holds no intimacy. She and Mr. Verloc produce no children after seven years of marriage. Although Mr. Verloc often admires her from afar, Winnie prides herself on being a good wife in the sense that she provides her husband good meals, a clean home, and her share of responsibility at the shop. She knows she is to be kind to Mr. Verloc?s political friends, a group of anarchists, which she tolerates by allowing their conversations to roll off her, unless they upset Stevie. At best, to her, this is a business relationship, one that ensures shelter for her mother and brother from the streets or a charity house. The only detail that consistently lends credence to the ?goodness? of Mr. Verloc is his acceptance of her family in his house. Beyond that, she knows very little about him.

Mr. Verloc?s shop is positioned at the very front of the house, where pictures of scantily clad women and flimsy yellow envelopes known for camouflaging contraception are distributed. In the selling of pornography and condoms, Mr. Verloc directly promotes more one-sided relationships for the patrons who enter. The shop patrons are generally men who do not want to be seen or known intimately, especially when Winnie answers the bell. Oddly, it is Winnie who does not seem to mind the wares or the patrons. In fact, nothing about the shop gives her cause for question. She manages, daily, not to notice that this small, ineffectual business could never fully support her household. Never questioning Mr. Verloc as to where the subsequent funds originate, she knows only that she and her husband appear to be able to care for themselves as well as her mother and brother financially. Winnie seems willing accept that this end justifies any unknown means.

Without children of her own, Winnie?s brother Stevie acts as her surrogate son. It is Winnie who understands him better than anybody, and yet, this too is one sided. She cannot convey to him the enormity of her devotion, He can only conceptualize the safety of her protecting him from his abusive father in her bed when they were children. He cannot show her love beyond the simple action of proudly escorting her through the street. Unable to articulate his negative emotions beyond acting out aggressively, Stevie?s actions are often misunderstood. There is only one occasion when Winnie presses Stevie for the reason why he set off of fireworks at work but, more often than not, she fills in the blanks with what she believes to be true, unwilling to delve into the intricacy of his thoughts. Inevitably, Winnie simplifies Stevie?s intolerance of social injustice with the word ?sensitive.? His thoughts are not the object of her devotion. By keeping him productive and in line as best she can, Winnie hopes that Mr. Verloc will, some day, act the role of his father.

Winnie?s mother is ?taken over with the furniture? when the family joins Mr. Verloc on Brett Street. Oddly, for never being without each other, it becomes clear that Winnie and her mother never share anything of substance. First, Winnie?s mother observes that Winnie?s suitor, the butcher?s son, drifts out of the picture without explanation only to be replaced shortly after by Mr. Verloc. Winnie?s mother thinks this is odd but they never discuss it. This relationship is one sided in both directions as, next, Winnie?s mother never shares her motives with Winnie about leaving Brett Street for the charity house. They only address the chronological details at length, never asking or answering why. Unbeknownst to each of them, their motivation is the same. Each one wants to ensure the security of the family, Winnie through marrying a provider, and her mother by keeping Stevie dependant upon Winnie and Mr. Verloc.

In the end, Winnie is as much a secret agent as her husband. She enters into this loveless marriage for the sake of her family, acting the role of wife to provide for them all. Unfortunately, unwilling to look beneath the surface of the world around her, she cannot successfully achieve her goal of protecting Stevie. Without knowing the true nature of Mr. Verloc, Winnie unwittingly sends Stevie into harms way.

Charles Dickens? Oliver Twist, a novel which bears the name of a male character, may appear to suggest a world of prominent male influence and power, but on closer examination, the female characters exert their own equally important power and influence. By closely examining the characters Mrs. Corney and Mrs. Maylie, it becomes clear that they have a different set of values by which they live their lives. These values mold their perception of Oliver and govern how their influence in his life affects him. Dickens uses these two distinct approaches in concert creating a balance between evil and good present in the female characters, with Mrs. Corney acting as the antagonist and Mrs. Maylie as the protagonist.

Mrs. Corney?s position of power and authority stems from her employment as the matron of the workhouse. Her association with this establishment, upon initial introduction of her character, immediately foreshadows her negative role in the story, aligning her with the authoritative men who have already imposed their tragic influence over Oliver. Like these men, Mrs. Corney has no compassion for the poor. This is evident as she sets down to tea on a bleak, bitter night, staring into her cheery fire. She reflects, in a nearly kind-hearted fashion, that ?I?m sure we have all on us a great deal to be grateful for? (Dickens 177) but immediately sours the reader?s impression of piety as she deplores ?the mental blindness of those paupers who did not know it? (Dickens 177). Her use of the term ?mental blindness? illustrates how she, in her superior and short sighted opinion, believes her social status has endowed her with a wisdom and insight that the paupers are too poor and stupid to possess. Her disdain for the poor is reinforced when her tea is interrupted by a call to her matronly duty. At the request of her presence at the bedside of a poor, dying workhouse nurse, Old Sally Thingummy, Mrs. Corney heartlessly asks, ?What?s that to me?? (Dickens 182) and furthers her complaint with ?I can?t keep her alive, can I?? (Dickens 182). When Mrs. Corney does tend to Sally, she doesn?t offer a soft heart for the dying, but merely exhibits an indignant, authoritarian sense of duty believing there is no value to her in this situation. Through her first mutterings and actions, Dickens illustrates Mrs. Corney?s darkest traits, positioning her well within the narrative to inflict suffering upon Oliver.

Using her personal and professional power of manipulation, Mrs. Corney fails Oliver twice by harboring a crucial truth about his identity. When Old Sally confesses to Mrs. Corney that she stole a small bit of gold from an orphan?s dying mother who wished to give it to her child, Sally identifies that child as Oliver. Sally?s confession, in her final opportunity to right this wrong, bestows upon Mrs. Corney the implied responsibility to reveal this truth and return the gold to its rightful owner. Mrs. Corney, understanding that she is the sole witness to Sally?s confession, recognizes instead her own opportunity. As Sally?s two friends enter the room declaring Sally dead, Mrs. Corney replies, ?And nothing left to tell after all,? (Dickens 190). She lies to the two women because, by harboring Sally?s secret, she is able to steal the gold for herself without the knowledge of any witness. Allowing her desires of personal gain to motivate her, she is able to twist the appearance of actual events and use them to steal. Her second failure occurs when she eventually shares this secret and tells of the gold, doing so with tarnished intensions unbecoming to a woman of her stature. Rather than enlightening Oliver, she selfishly sells the information and gold to Oliver?s foe, Monks, merely turning a quick profit and forcing Oliver to remain in the dark confines of his ignorance. Dickens uses her as a tool to further Oliver?s journey along the path of hardship, suffering and na?vet? by holding clues to Oliver?s identity without a care about who he is or what effect her actions will have on him.

Mrs. Maylie, as a woman of property and head of household in Chertsey, uses her stature and influence to further the greater good rather than her own. Dickens introduces us, at first glance, to her managerial style as a nurturing and mother-like influence. Mrs. Maylie?s ?boy? Brittles is described as ?a lad of all-work; who, having entered her service a mere child, was treated as a promising young boy still, even though he was something past thirty? (Dickens 218). Even when she is well within her rights as an employer to hire a more productive person, Mrs. Maylie sees Brittles as a child in need of understanding and gentle guidance. When Oliver arrives wounded at Mrs. Maylie?s door, Brittles journeys to Chertsey ?to dispatch, with all good speed, a constable and a doctor? (Dickens 226). An hour and twelve minutes later, as Mrs. Maylie merely complains of his slowness without speaking of consequence, Rose humors her aunt with a smile saying, ?It is very inexcusable in him if he stops to play with other boys? (Dickens 227). This comment from Rose underlines how Mrs. Maylie?s interpretation of family is understood by the household as a whole and all are treated kindly as members. Because Dickens demonstrates Mrs. Maylie?s compassion and humanity through her fondness of Brittles, he introduces the reader to the possibilities that Mrs. Maylie can also offer Oliver.

Mrs. Maylie, a loving, matriarchal figure to her legitimate son, her adopted niece and her staff, extends her affectionate role to Oliver as well, even after he is identified as the thief that entered her house. When Rose asks her aunt to ?think how young he is; think that he may never have known a mother?s love, or the comfort of a home? (Dickens 231), Mrs. Maylie replies, ?my days are drawing to their close; and may mercy be shown to me as I shew it to others! What can I do to save him, sir?? (Dickens 231) As it is within her power to offer that mother?s love and comfort of a home, she opens herself up to Oliver, in part because she is a kind and gentle soul, and in part because she is nearing the end of her life and hopes for mercy from her God in return for her generosity. Offering all the protections and kindnesses Oliver never experienced growing up, she cares for his health, provides him with shelter and food, and most importantly, she provides him with a healthier family structure than he had ever known. Mrs. Maylie continues to believe in this boy by looking beyond what had once appeared to be a thief, and by seeing the child before her in need. Dickens creates this heroine to illustrate to Oliver the world every human being deserves.

Mrs. Corney?s self serving character is as blind as she believes the paupers to be, unable to see Oliver for who he is, even as she holds clues to the truth. Her vile and selfish personality undermines Oliver?s transcendence from the streets of the poor to his rightful social placement by focusing on her own personal gain. Mrs. Maylie approaches Oliver as a mother does her child, seeing who he is by observing his actions and listening to his story, paying enough attention to discover his demonstrated true being. She knows who the boy is in his heart, without the proof of social credentials. Her compassionate nature nurtures his soul and allows him to flourish as a young boy should. Dickens uses his female characters to mold and shape the story with their power and influence and goes so far as to pit their influences against each other, thus creating a force and counter force to move Oliver along through the novel.

A response to Charle’s Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist thus far:

As the old woman in the workhouse, Sally, dies in Chapter XXIV, she reveals a small bit of Oliver?s true identity to Mrs. Corney. She confesses that, as she was the nurse on hand the day of Oliver?s birth, she stole a piece of gold intended for Oliver, one his mother hoped would lessen any disgrace if the child were ?to hear his mother named.?

How could Oliver?s mother possess something so valuable as gold? Could the gold piece have been a wedding ring? More than likely it was, although we have yet to find out. The old woman died before revealing the object in question. Prior to this event we see Oliver descend from a possible prostitute, certainly a woman who bears no wedding ring and who has far greater stamina than any lady of stature. Without concrete proof of Oliver?s legitimacy beyond a partial dying confession, we can still consider the possibility by examining how Dickens allows Oliver?s character to unfold.

When thrown into the lowest social class by way of fate, Oliver repeatedly displays the actions of one who doesn?t belong amid England?s poor. From his earliest moments, born among the starving and dying of the workhouse, Oliver?s first difficulty is battling for his first breath. His will to live lies in direct contrast to those dying around him. When he finally cries, he is described as giving ?this first proof of free and proper action of his lungs.? Dickens ensures that the words ?free and proper? are carefully placed. If Oliver?s lungs are operating with free and proper action as an innate part of Oliver?s body, does that not imply that Oliver, as a being, is acting free and proper as well? Another example is when Oliver asks for more food at the workhouse during his ninth year of life, as thought it is his right. The board found this behavior shocking, unacceptable, and completely out of character for the workhouse poor.

In many ways, Oliver is a quality human being over and above those of an assumed higher breeding. He possesses a sense of integrity that defies the devastation of starvation, continuing his fight against the influences of evil and threats of his many elders. When Fagin impresses upon him that thievery is what is expected of him in London to survive, Oliver is chilled to the core, sickened by the mere thought of something so vile, even in his sleep when rest should erase such anxieties. After being forced at gunpoint by Sikes to participate in a robbery, and threatened with a beating when the gun would be too loud, Oliver, in a cold sweat and with misty eyes, fell to his knees in horror at the prospect of participating in the events to follow, of which he assumed would include thievery and maybe even murder.

Oliver is not only ethically sound, his driving spirit to survive perpetually moves him forward. He not only endures a troublesome birth, but continues to defy death throughout the tale. Each time, his spirit brings him back to consciousness while circumstance delivers him, perhaps as a rebirth, to higher ground. Perhaps this is indicative of the fact that he may belong in higher society as he moves into to better circumstances, these being relative to his prior experience and not indicative of pleasant situations. When Oliver faced such intense starvation on his journey to London, with no roof over his head and a loneliness that ate as his heart, he was discovered by the Artful Dodger who provided nourishment, a roof, friendship and a job through Fagin, the old Jew. Again, when Oliver came out of the fever he suffered in front of the magistrate when accused of theft, he is welcomed into the home of Mr. Brownlow where care, food, new clothes (equivalent to new social identity), and an opportunity to educate himself with books is offered. Again, when shot during a house robbery and left to die in a ditch, Oliver rises once more, defying the odds and finding the unlikely care of an angelic young woman in the very house in which he was shot.

By these examples, it very well may be true that Oliver is not as illegitimate as first presented. Oliver often finds his way naturally and unexpectedly, dragged back into the depths of despair only by the actions of those who misunderstand him.