When Lydia and Gannett are on their way through Northern Italy, far off from their familiar social environment, they are brooding away in "silence": "he feared to speak as much as she did" [206]. It is a silence that is well distinguished from simply meaning "that they had nothing to say" [206]. On the contrary: silence in this case is an intimate form of speechless communication, as it well might happen between lovers in critical phases of their relationship. They fear to discuss openly a problem that has become taboo between them, because to make it open it might jeopardize their relationship - an important motif in E. Wharton's work, it seems: one might only think of the constant and almost unbearable silence used as a structural pattern of Ethan Frome.7 Silence in that work is the expression of a taboo that refers to the unspeakable, the possible scandal and catastrophe of Ethan's marriage, while at the same time it "covers" the mental activities of Ethan and Zeena, who both ruminate on his adulterous deviations for their respective strategies: Ethan to realise his dream of love and Zeena to destroy exactly that possibility.
2. "The thing"
What is repressed and individually reflected on in silence between the lovers in "Souls Belated" is given a euphemistic name: "the thing" [206] seems to be something threatening like a Jamesian "Beast in the jungle" looming and lurking, ready to jump and make the people concerned epiphanically aware "of the unspoken" and its consequences, of the deeply rooted and unescapable "reality"8 of their existences. The unspoken "thing" in "Souls Belated," actually referring to the document of divorce that arrives for Lydia just as they leave the hotel at Bologna, is now hidden and packed in her dressing bag in the rack of the compartment overhead, hanging above them like a sword of Damocles:
[...] he feared to speak as much as she did.[...] If they avoided a question it was obviously, unconcealably because the question was disagreeable. [...] Their silence [...] might simply mean that they had nothing to say; [...] Lydia had learned to distinguish between real and factitious silences; and under Gannett's she now detected a hum of speech to which her own thoughts made breathless answer.What would objectively seem to be the final solution of their problem caused by the circumstantial obstacle to their love - Lydia's unfortunate marriage to Tillotson - does not happily give way to their freedom of emotions and love fulfillment. Quite the contrary: it opens a fundamental problem between them that is now "covered" and at the same time referred to by their mutual silence. And it is because of their communicative sensitivity that they "detect a hum of speech" by mutually reflecting the logic of each other's situation and projecting it onto the horizon of their new freedom from society's legal regulations and for their love and a life together in free love.
How could it be otherwise, with that thing between them. [...] The thing was there, in her dressing bag, symbolically suspended over her head and his. [206]
Schwartzrauber, H. "The Subversive Muse - E. Whartons 'Souls Belated.'" EESE, 2002. Web. 12 Dec. 2010.
It seems that in this society there are only two options for relationships: none at all or a formal union. Lydia starts to realizes this when she sees that her divorce from Tillotson has only transferred her to Gannett, not freed her to form a comfortable relationship with him as she pleases. When Gannett reveals to her what he thought she already knew - that social acceptance depended on their marriage - she first starts to think about leaving him. In her opinion, marriage is easiest when not formed on the basis of love. "What was needful was the courage to recognize the moment when... their voluntary fellowship should be transformed into a bondage the more wearing that it was based on none of those common obligations which make the most imperfect marriage in some sort a centre of gravity." A successful marriage is formed of convenience and for the upholding of the social order. This disassociation between man and wife allows them never to learn the truth about each other (which often proves damaging) as they focus on their performance for the benefit of those onlookers. Lydia realizes that, at the hotel, the only reason Lady Susan liked her and Gannett was for their well-played performance of marriage in order to keep their secret. This is the basis of a stable marriage - the necessity.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting from this reading is that, the basis of love and marriage in current times remains the same from when Wharton was writing. Yes, I would like to believe that at least some couples back then married because of being in love, just as I'd like to think couples in today's society would do the same. However, in Wharton's time, as Kelsey said, people married for convenience and money. Today, most couples get married (and most of the time end in divorce) basically for the same reasons.
ReplyDeleteLydia regrets marrying Tillotson once she falls in love with Gannett. At the time, it was convenient and put her in a respectable place in society. Lydia realizes happiness is better than a good repuation. Lydia fears people will think Gannett is obligated to swoop in and marry her due to the divorce. The unspokenness of the divorce gives the story a suspense for the love between Gannett and Lydia.
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I think Lydia, like most of us, thinks she is an exception to rule that people adhere to society's standards. But it turns out that she is just as weak as the rest of us in giving in to the need to be accepted by others. Lydia and Gannett are the same as many couples, who in their budding, passionate relationship, think that the rules of propriety do not apply to them. “What object can we have in marrying,... to work our way back gradually into the esteem of the people whose conventional morality we have always ridiculed and hated?” (Wharton 99). However, by trying to avoid being hypocrites, they learn that in order to get by in their world, they have to be like everybody else and go back on what they previously said they would not do: “neither of us believe in the abstract ‘sacredness’ of marriage” (Wharton 99) and it is apparent at the end of the story that they will get married.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Kayla said. I'd like to have top that people would marry because they were truly in love, but it was less customary to marry for love than it was for money and class status during the time Wharton was writing. When I read the part of this post, "They fear to discuss openly a problem that has become taboo between them, because to make it open it might jeopardize their relationship" I thought of "The Importance of Being Earnest" when Lady Bracknell says that she does not feel couples should get to know each other during a long engagement, with the fear he or she might recognize the flaws in the other.
ReplyDeleteIn this work,the silence is definitely reflective of a crucial stage of the relationship between Lydia and Gannett. The lack of conversation is due to a conflict of interest; Lydia yearned to break free from the shackles of an unappealing marriage, while Gannett sought to secure a solid relationship with Lydia. Because of her unpleasant experience, Lydia wants to remove her shackles and break the societal norm of engaging in the sacrosanct practice of marriage, and first truly familiarize herself to Gannett.
ReplyDeleteLet me start off by saying that though I misunderstood the ending of Roman Fever, I really just didn't grasp what happened in this one. What the heck is Lydia doing?
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I for some reason hadn't been comparing any of these works to Ethan Frome, but Schwartzrauber did that very well by pulling on the motif of silence. It's a lucky thing that we read Ethan Frome already; did someone plan that?
I also want to address the Lydia's inconsistence, because one slip up of character in a short story can represent a lot. But who else took note of how in the beginning, on the train, she is talking about how simply devastating it would be to marry because then people would talk of scandalous things about her ("Can't you see how it would humiliate me?" (99)). But then when she proposes that the couple move into the hotel and Gannett raises the objection that the women in the hotel are awfully judgmental and gossipy, Lydia snipes back "Do you suppose I care? It's none of their business," and "They may think what they please." (103). As happy as I am with myself for finding that little bit, I don't what this actual means to the story as a whole, but I clearly don't have a record for short story interpretation as it is.
Going on what Kelsey said, marriage and divorce definitely play a big part in this work. "Souls Belated" was written during a time when divorce was far less common or even accepted like it is today, and marriage was viewed almost as a sacred covenant by many of Lydia's friends. By choosing to just totally disregard the normal practice of marriage and by refusing to marry Gannett, I think that Lydia is voicing her strong opinion on the very idea of marriage. Lydia doesn't want to be with Gannett because she's forced to by a piece of paper and a blessing from a priest, but rather because she chooses to do so everyday.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Cara said, about how/why Lydia wants to be with Gannett, that she wanted to be with him because she wanted to, not because she was obligated to. This can compare to Ethan From in that Ethan wanted to be with Mattie because he loved her but wanted to stay with Zeena because of the sense of obligation. "Obligation versus emotion" seems to be something that Wharton focuses on occasionally .
ReplyDeleteThe silence referred to in this piece actually reminded me of the revelation of social paralysis from James Joyce's Dubliners. I was especially reminded of "Eveline" where the title woman refuses to leave a miserable life for love because she is afraid of society and change. I feel like Lydia as well experiences social paralysis when at the end of the story she refuses to leave a man who cannot understand her or her wish to be free. She turns back to what she knows and resigns herself to what could possibly be a very unhappy fate.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading "Eveline" I found it interesting how throughout history people married for convenience. You would think that people only married for convenience years ago, like in "Eveline", but that is not the case. Its sort of upsetting how few people marry for true love anymore
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