Apollon eJournal - Issue VIII - 2018

Apollon

ISSUE VIII 2018

UNDERGRADUATE DIGITAL JOURNAL FOR THE HUMANITIES AT FAIRFIELD UNIVERSITY

OUR MISSION At Apollon, we strive to publish superior examples of undergraduate humanities research from a variety of disciplines as well as intellectual approaches.

Our goal is to engage students in every stage of the process, beginning with student-faculty collaboration in generating undergraduate scholarship and finishing with the release of a polished digital journal. Apollon strives to take advantage of the unique opportunity of venturing into the digital humanities by engaging with image, text, sound, video, and a variety of presentation platforms in the process of showcasing the many species of undergraduate research.

AP-OL-LON’ Our name is derived from the Greek and Roman deity, Apollo, while the spelling more closely follows the Greek transliteration. Apollo is the god of music, poetry, art, light, and knowledge, making him one of the most complex deities in the Pantheon. In tribute to his multifaceted existence, our journal utilizes various media to create and reproduce knowledge within the humanities and to encourage critical thinking through multidisciplinary inquiry. With Apollo as patron to our musings and his Muses as inspiration for our content, Apollon seeks to provide our readers with thought-provoking, innovative ideas that explore the depth and breadth of humanistic inquiry.

1

CONTENT “Hamas: Weaponizing Civil Society and Social Services”

by Edwin Tran

pages 3-11 “Hypermasculinity and Fetishized Martyrdom in Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber"”

by Rosalyn Stilling

pages 12-23 “Modern Heroes, Heroines, and Antiheroes: The External and Internal in Mrs. Dalloway”

by Abigail Robinson

pages 24-37 “A Voice of Black America”

by Rachael Malstead

pages 38-43

2

“Hamas: Weaponizing Civil Society and Social Services”

by Edwin Tran

3

The rise of militant jihadist or-

foundational perspective on the rise of

ganizations in the Middle East is often

Islamist organizations and the transition

thought of in simplistic and blanketed

in which many engage themselves to be-

terms. Unfortunately, diverse and dis-

come integrated into the political fabric

tinct groups, such as Hezbollah and

of their respective countries. Using

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, are grouped into

Egypt as her primary case, Professor Ber-

a single category, and are often ex-

man asserts that recent trends in Islam-

plained in broad terms. This phenome-

ist-regime relationships have become

non arises in the case of Hamas; here,

dominated by a competition of power

many individuals identify the organiza-

between an incumbent regime and the

tion with qualities such as anti-Semitism

“revolutionary”

and suicide terrorism, and at the same

who seek to become more engaged in

time fail to recognize the nationalistic

the politics of the nation.2 She expands

nuances that exist in it.1 The formation

on this point further, noting that “this

and rise of Hamas cannot be simplified

stalemate… is largely a consequence of

in this way. Rather, understanding Ha-

Islamists’ ability to expand their pres-

mas’s popularity requires an examina-

ence in civil society… [and] is thus best

tion of the factors that contributed to its

understood as a sign of… profound po-

rise. Indeed, Hamas’s modern appeal

litical failure, and an incubator for illib-

and electoral popularity can be traced to

eral radicalism.”3 In other words, states

its early participation in Palestinian civil

are the primary caretakers of their peo-

society and in its emphasis in providing

ple and a key aspect in this is the provi-

social services for residents of the Gaza

sion of social services for a state’s citi-

Strip.

zenry. As states begin to fail in providing

Islamist

challengers

This emphasis on social service

citizens with functions such as hospitals

and civil society can be found in the the-

and food banks, an equivalent decline in

oretical framework established by Pro-

state capacity and state legitimacy fol-

fessor Sheri Berman of Columbia Uni-

lows. Citizens become disenfranchised

versity. In her article, “Islamism, Revo-

with the incumbent government and

lution, and Civil Society,” she posits a

must seek other sources for their needed

1

3

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah (Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2008), xiii.

2 Sheri Berman, “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society,” Perspectives on Politics, 1 (2003), 258.

Ibid.

4

social services. This creates a situation

Schanzer of the Washington Institute for

that is exploitable by Islamist organiza-

Near East Policy, the Muslim Brother-

tions, causing many groups to quickly

hood began its first forays into the Pal-

mobilize in order to provide individuals

estinian territories between 1946 and

with these missing services.4 In this case,

1948, creating branches of the Brother-

the advancement of civil society should

hood in both the West Bank and the

be examined as a decrease in state capa-

Gaza Strip.7 The enterprise here, as ex-

bilities and, simultaneously, as an ex-

plained by Professor Michael Jensen of

pansion of revolutionary sentiment and

the University of Copenhagen, was to

governmental dissatisfaction.5 While her

develop charities and educational struc-

research focused on the case of the Mus-

tures while working closely with local

lim Brotherhood in Egypt, Professor

mosques.8 One particular group, the al-

Berman does make the declaration that

Mujama’ al-Islami, would emerge from

Egypt can be representative of other

the mind of Ahmed Yassin, a graduate

Middle Eastern countries, citing Hez-

of Al-Azhar University in Cairo and

bollah in Lebanon as another example

well-versed in the principles and tenets

of this phenomenon.6 It is possible,

of the Muslim Brotherhood.9 Founded

then, to transport this theoretical model

in the 1970s, Al-Mujama’ al-Islami fol-

and apply it to Hamas’s rise in popular-

lowed a path typical of many Brother-

ity.

hood-affiliates, focusing on the idea of An examination into the histori-

dawa, or charity. Indeed, many of the

cal context surrounding the organiza-

services provided by al-Mujama’ al-Is-

tion’s founding provides key insight

lami included small medical clinics,

into how Professor Berman’s social ser-

meal provisions, and youth clubs.10 This

vice analysis plays into Hamas’s preva-

focus reflected the official Muslim

lence. The organization began as a

Brotherhood tenets of non-violence and

branch of Hassan al-Bana’s Muslim

charity. Yet, it must be understood that

Brotherhood, with many mosques and

this organization was still barely a foot-

schools being affiliated with the entity.

note in the politics of the wider region.

As

For decades, a group from across the

4

noted

Ibid, 259.

Ibid.

6 Ibid, 258.

7 Ibid, 258.

5

by

Professor

Jonathan

8

Michael I. Jensen, The Political Ideology of Hamas: A Grassroots Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2009), 15.

9 Ibid, 20.

10 Ibid.

5

Mediterranean Sea has been in the

Islamic Center to serve as a central hub

hearts and minds of many Palestinians.

for Brotherhood activities in the Gaza

Yasser Arafat’s Fatah was the foremost

Strip.15 Importantly, Ahmed Yassin and

figure of the Palestinian struggle, having

his group expanded on their charitable

fought against the Israelis for decades

services by creating a bureaucratic ad-

and being successful in promoting the

ministration focused on recruitment

resistance to a global audience.11 Fatah

and the effective provision of social ser-

had become so recognized on both local

vices.16 Shortly after Yassin’s Israeli ap-

and international scales that “Arafat be-

proval, “the center boasted an aggres-

came the de facto head of the Palestin-

sive network of health services, day care,

ian people… [and] the PLO was recog-

youth activities, and even food services

nized as the unquestioned leader of the

that won the support and loyalty of the

Palestinian people.”12 As the 1970s came

destitute Palestinians living in Gaza.”17

ahead, there were new developments

Furthermore, the organization began to

that suggested a change in the dynamics

develop new schools, mosques, and

of the Palestinian political landscape.

even aided in the construction of the Is-

While Ahmed Yassin’s Al-Mujama’ al-Is-

lamic University of Gaza.18 These ac-

lami was not as glamorous as Fatah, the

tions were further compounded by an

Yassin’s focus on civil society and social

increase in funds given to the organiza-

service would prove essential in local

tion by many Gulf States, increasing the

recognition.13

group’s

A radical development in Ahmed

capabilities

and

potential

reach.19

Yassin’s al-Mujama’ al-Islami occurred

In contrast, we have the rather

in 1979, when the organization’s politi-

lax involvement seen in the actions of

cal and social branches were granted le-

Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Libera-

gal licensing to operate openly in the

tion Organization. The PLO and its key

Gaza Strip.14 This legal allowance by the

group, Fatah, were residing in Lebanon

Israeli government gave Yassin the op-

from the 1960s to 1982, and were then

portunity to use his newly founded

exiled to Tunisia following the course of

11

15

12

16

Ibid, 19.

Ibid.

13 Michael I. Jensen, The Political ideology of Hamas: A Grassroots Perspective, 16.

14 Matthew Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad (Yale University Press: London, 2006), 10.

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 20.

Matthew Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, 10.

17 Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 20.

18 Michael I. Jensen, The Political Ideology of Hamas: A Grassroots Perspective, 16.

19 Ibid, 15.

6

the Lebanese Civil War.20 Arafat and Fa-

services of their own.23 On the other

tah were separated geographically and

hand, Ahmed Yassin and his organiza-

politically from the Palestinian territo-

tion were conducting grassroots opera-

ries. Arafat was unable to have any con-

tions that provided him keen insight

crete influence in both the West Bank

into the needs and struggles of the local

and the Gaza Strip, and ultimately, his

Palestinian populace. It is important to

organization’s actions were relatively in-

note that on the eve the First Intifada,

effective at changing the Israeli-Palestin-

Yassin had developed a web of schools,

ian conflict. On the other hand, Ahmed

charities, and mosques that would pro-

Yassin’s created a sense of solidarity and

vide the foundational backbone for Ha-

empathy between the peoples of the

mas to pivot off from.24 In short, “Ha-

Gaza Strip and Al-Mujama’ al-Islami.

mas was able to rapidly to take over…

Yassin’s organization was on the ground

precisely because it was not, in fact, a

and providing concrete social services,

new movement at all. Right from the

acutely aware of the fact that “both the

start, the organization had made use of

Israeli government and Palestinian lead-

the Islamist network and the institutions

ership [had] consistently failed to pro-

established many years earlier.”25

vide these essential services to the Pales-

This began in 1982, when Ahmed

tinian community.”21 The failure of the

Yassin founded the al-Mujahideen al-Fi-

state, which or lack thereof, gave Yassin

lastinun, an organization that focused

and the Muslim Brotherhood the oppor-

on a weapons procurement and other

tunity to come in and create their own

militant aims.26 Five years later, in 1987,

social service and civil society apparat-

the First Intifada broke out. The Muslim

uses.22 To add credence to this point,

Brotherhood in Palestine was initially

Sheri Berman’s description of the dele-

split on its course of actions. Some de-

gitimizing state can be applied to Yasser

sired to maintain the positions of non-

Arafat’s PLO, which at this time was far

violence, while a smaller group of

from the Palestinian territories and inef-

younger Brotherhood members wanted

fectual

to support more hawkish, military

at

providing

governmental

20

24

21

25

Ibid.

Matthew Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, 6.

22 Sheri Berman, “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society,” 258.

23 Matthew Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, 10.

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 21.

Michael I. Jensen, The Political Ideology of Hamas: A Grassroots Perspective, 18.

26 Matthew Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, 10.

7

ventures. In 1987, this cadre officially re-

Hamas’s predecessor. The charter high-

branded to become Hamas.27 While a

lights the fact that while Hamas may

more militant branch, the organization

have formed to distinguish itself from

maintained its connections with the

the Muslim Brotherhood, it would con-

wider Muslim Brotherhood and im-

tinue on with the principles of charity

portantly, never dropped the traditions

and social service. It affirmed Hamas’s

of social service and civil society. These

own role as being both a military organ-

sentiments were clearly expressed in Ha-

ization and as a revolutionary challenger

mas’s founding charter, published in

seeking to control the Palestinian terri-

August 18th, 1988. In Article 20 of the

tories.

charter, it is declared that “Islamic soci-

Thus, the official formation of

ety [Hamas] is one of solidarity… We

Hamas acts as a bookmark highlighting

face no escape from establishing social

the first real challenger to the legitimacy

solidarity among the people… so that if

of Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Fatah and

one organ is hurt the rest of the body

the PLO, in the wake of the First Inti-

will respond with alertness and fer-

fada, found themselves to be surprised

vor.”28 The diction in this statement is

by the organization.30 The anti-Israeli

key, as it links Hamas directly with the

revolts and uprisings that characterized

Palestinian people. This emphasis on

the First Intifada became ideological

solidarity creates an image of Hamas as

battlegrounds that split Palestinians be-

a protector or guardian of sorts. More

tween the long-standing PLO and the

emphasis on this social service aspect is

upstarts of Hamas.31 Hamas began to im-

addressed in a direct Islamic recitation

itate some of the PLO’s strategies, dis-

which is found within the charter:

tributing leaflets and using their previ-

“‘What a wonderful tribe were the

ously established social service networks

Ash’aris… [who] would collect all their

to mobilize support for the Intifada.32 It

possessions and then would divide them

soon became clear that the failure of Fa-

equally among themselves.’”29 This pas-

tah in producing any secure gains for

sage emphasizes the foundational ele-

the Palestinian people since its incep-

ment of social service that existed in

tion in 1959 was beginning to take a toll

27

29

28

30

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 24.

“Hamas: Charter (August 1988),” in The IsraeliArab Reader, ed. Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin (Penguin Books: New York, 2001), 343.

Ibid.

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 23.

31 Ibid, 24-25.

32 Ibid, 24.

8

on the organization’s popular support.

combination of Hamas’s participation in

Indeed, during the course of the Inti-

civil society, as exemplified by their ac-

fada, “Hamas began to exploit the gen-

tions toward education, and in acts such

eral frustration in the Gaza Strip and

as the provision of welfare and charity,

West Bank, where many Palestinians

culminated in a significant rise in Hamas

were losing confidence in Arafat’s lead-

membership. Professor Jonathan Schan-

ership.”33

Here, Professor Berman’s

zer, for example, noted that “swelling

analysis of the group feels almost pro-

the ranks of Hamas supporters, to the

phetic. The “declining effectiveness and

surprise of Fatah, was the Palestinian in-

legitimacy” of the Palestinian-Arafat

telligentsia, including teachers, stu-

state was eroded by “the rise of revolu-

dents, doctors, lawyers, and account-

tionary movements and their attack on

ants.”38 It is understood by many schol-

the status quo.”34 In the case of Fatah,

ars that Hamas continues to maintain its

this declining legitimacy arose due to

strong roots with the middle classes of

Arafat’s inability in securing concrete

the Gaza Strip.39 In addition, Hamas’s

gains for the Palestinian people and for

focus on providing charitable services to

his recognition of an Israeli state.35 From

the lowest classes of Palestinian society

here, Hamas’s competition with Fatah

further contributed to their acceptance

seems to be a textbook case of Professor

amongst a wide socio-economic array of

Berman’s framework. Hamas would

Palestinians.40 As noted by a Palestinian

weaponize

so

named Nidal who had participated in

through its network of social services.36

the First Intifada, it became clear that

Ideological fronts opened in areas such

Hamas had reached a critical mass in its

as university campuses across the West

popular acceptance. In an interview, Ni-

Bank and the Gaza Strip.37

dal revealed that despite Hamas’s usage

civil

society,

doing

The holistic nature of Hamas and

of Islamist rhetoric, Palestinians were

its background under Al-Mujama al-Is-

flocking to the organization’s banner

lami resulted in massive popular support

because the end goal of the organization

amongst

was in line with that of the Palestinian

many

Palestinians.

The

33

37

34

38

Ibid, 26.

Sheri Berman, “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society,” 259.

35 Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 26.

36 Sheri Berman, “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society,” 259.

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 26 Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 28.

39 Erased in a Moment: Suicide Bombing attacks Against Israeli Citizens, 64.

40 Michael I. Jensen, The Political Ideology of Hamas: A Grassroots Perspective, 6.

9

populace.41 It was possible, according to

the First Intifada, Hamas commanded a

Nidal, to look past the religious nature

huge amount of respect and loyalty, es-

of the organization in order to empha-

pecially amongst residents of the Gaza

size unity and national solidarity.42 In-

Strip. These factors provide key founda-

deed, scholars noted that by the end of

tional elements that highlight the rea-

1989, Hamas had secured, at the very

sons as to why Hamas has continued to

least, massive acceptance amongst the

have the popularity it maintains today.

Palestinian populace.43 Even to this day,

The story of Hamas and Fatah is a duet

Hamas has maintained its position as a

defined by the success of each organiza-

provider of social services; the destitu-

tion in garnering the support of the peo-

tion in which many Palestinians live are

ple. It was never about Islam, or culture,

key avenues for Hamas to build on in

or even Israel to a degree. It has, and

order to maintain its popularity.44

always will be about the will of Palestine

It becomes evident that the rise of Hamas, this jihadist organization,

and knowing the people’s needs, wants, and hopes

emerged not out of simplified terms like culture and religion. People did not join Hamas a desire to create a unified Islamic caliphate, nor did they join in order to eradicate the global Jewish population. Rather, the emergence, acceptance, and surging popularity of Hamas can be derived from its participation in civil society and its clever use of social services. Using Professor Sheri Berman’s scholarship as a framework, it becomes clear that in conjunction to this history of social service, the rise of Hamas was also dependent on the weakening legitimacy of Fatah. By the end of

“Nidal,” in Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians, ed. Staughton Lynd, Alice Lynd, and Sam Bahour (Olive Branch Press: New York, 1994), 270.

41

42

Ibid.

Jonathan Schanzer, Hamas vs. Fatah, 35.

44 Matthew Levitt, Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad, 5.

43

10

BIBLIOGRAPHY Berman, Sheri. “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society.” Perspectives on Politics, 1 (2003).

Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians, Edited by.

Staughton Lynd, Alice Lynd, and Sam Bahour. Olive Branch Press: New York, 1994.

Jensen, Michael. The Political Ideology of Hamas: A Grassroots Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2009.

Levitt, Matthew. Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. Yale University Press: London, 2006.

Revolutionaries and Reformers, Edited by Barry Rubin. State University of New York Press: Albany, 2003.

Schanzer, Jonathan. Hamas vs. Fatah. Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2008.

The Israeli-Arab Reader, Edited by Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin. Penguin Books: New York, 2001.

11

“Hypermasculinity and Fetishized Martyrdom in Angela Carter's ‘The Bloody Chamber’”

by Rosalyn Stilling

12

Angela Carter’s “The Bloody

of the negative animus archetype—the

Chamber” is a touchstone of postmod-

ruler of a land of death who tortures

ern fairy tale revisions, deftly marrying

woman and cuts her off from life […]

the latent content of Charles Perrault’s

[he] murders life for her” (11).

“Bluebeard” with her entrancing and

The Bluebeard mythos, typified

opulent prose. She boldly addresses the

by scholar Cheryl Renfroe as a “miso-

sexuality, gender relations, and biblical

gynistic tale frame,” exists on the fringes

comparisons inherent in Perrault’s tale

of popular fairy tale types, riding the

in her prose, particularly by blending al-

line between gothic narrative, rife with

lusions to Judeo-Christian figures with

medieval manors and horrific violence,

sadomasochistic practices. Carter ex-

and morally driven folk literature,

pands upon these elements present in

aimed to inform an audience’s social

“Bluebeard,” while keeping her focus

practices (83). In Charles Perrault’s

on the representation of villainous Blue-

French folktale “La Barbe Bleue,” a

beard and his abuses towards the inno-

young woman marries a mysterious and

cent bride. In reimagining “Bluebeard”

wealthy widower with strange azure

within “The Bloody Chamber,” Carter

whiskers and moves to his remote castle,

enhances Bluebeard’s god-like omnipo-

relating to the medievalism present in

tence and his fetishistic approach to fe-

the gothic and fairy tales. After they are

male mutilation to turn the tale’s sanc-

married, the story follows the plot struc-

tioning of patriarchal traditions on its

ture of the Garden of Eden from the

head. Carter’s blending of Roman Cath-

Book of Genesis in the Bible. Bluebeard

olic symbols and practices with the erot-

gives the bride the keys to his entire cas-

ics of sadomasochism and the all-con-

tle, a veritable Eden of material riches,

suming male gaze shows that the true

requesting the she refrain from explor-

problem of the story is destructive hy-

ing one specific chamber, acting as the

permasculinity rather than the feminine

fairy tale’s forbidden fruit from the bib-

disobedience displayed in the Bluebeard

lical Tree of Knowledge.

mythos. Carter transforms Perrault’s

Overcome with Eve-like curios-

Bluebeard, a symbol of absolute patriar-

ity, the bride disobeys Bluebeard’s

chal rule, into her character named The

wishes and, knowing the dangerous

Marquis, an icon of the hubristic and all-

consequences, enters the chamber to

consuming male gaze, described by

find the decapitated corpses of his pre-

critic Kari E. Lokke as “the quintessence

vious wives, a gothic reimagining of the 13

fruits of Eve’s sin. As the bride realizes

women.2 Cheryl Renfroe asserts that

these are the victims of disobeying Blue-

Carter’s

beard’s orders, he catches her in her

open[s the way] for individual revision

“sinful knowledge” and plans to kill her,

of traditional attitudes toward women

expelling her from the Eden of his lavish

rooted in Judeo/Christian creation my-

gothic castle and from life itself. The

thology,” noting Carter’s representation

bride’s brothers, the deus ex machina of

and critique the Christian “doctrine of

the gothic fairy tale, dash into the cham-

original sin” (82-83).

ber and behead Bluebeard, a narrative

Carter

“postmodern

critiques

retelling[…]

the

god-like

move away from the biblical plot struc-

power within the patriarchy by tracing

ture and back towards gothic narra-

its development to its source: the glut-

tives.1

tonous male gaze present within the Aware of the shocking gothic el-

Marquis. Reflected even in the “lush,

ements in a story aimed at a wide audi-

erotic, rhythmic prose” of Carter’s writ-

ence, Perrault tried to moralize the tale

ing, the Marquis’ material decadence

by claiming it as a cautionary one, warn-

pervades the story from his ancestral

ing against innate womanly curiosity,

mansion to his extravagant gifts to the

handed down from Eve. However, in

narrator (Lokke 8). Passed through his

much the same manner as the Bible,

noble heritage, the Marquis has inher-

Perrault’s moral uses the wife, or the

ited a sea-bound “Eden,” filled with all

Eve-figure, as a scapegoat to avoid con-

the riches and amenities one could de-

demning or questioning male avarice.

sire. Tucked in the bosom of the sea, the

Perrault sidesteps the darker, more po-

Marquis’ ancestral and “amphibious”

litical undertone of the story—the hor-

home sits on a large rock surrounded by

ror that patriarchal systems, such as mar-

the ocean with a small highway that ap-

riage, allow for abuses of the power

pears when the tide goes out, essentially

granted to men over women, originat-

isolating the space from cosmopolitan

ing in the totalitarian power of God over

society (Carter 9). This ancestral abode

powerless Eve in Genesis, manifesting in

is the epicenter of his sense of entitle-

physical and sexual violence against

ment and narcissistic self-deification,

1

directly mentioned because he has no analogous character within the story.

Gothic narratives often depict a daring and nearly impossible rescue of the heroine at the eleventh hour.

2 Adam also exercises power over Eve, but for the purposes of this comparison, Adam will not be

14

granting him temporal power through

me in the gilded mirrors with the as-

his title but also passing on a tradition

sessing eye of a connoisseur […] I’d

of misogyny; Carter notes that his ances-

never seen […] the sheer carnal avarice

tors used to hunt women in the village.

of [lust]” (Carter 11). In addition to con-

The Marquis now “hunts” in Parisian sa-

necting avarice and violence with lust,

lons for fresh meat, leading him to find

Carter creates layers of sight within this

the story’s narrator (33). His family his-

scene to a nearly cloying degree, inten-

tory of female objectification, a nod to

sifying the Marquis’ gaze, multiplied by

patriarchal sanctioning of female abuse,

the gilt mirrors. The manifold gazes

foreshadows the coming struggles of the

heighten the visual and erotic intensity

narrator as his wife and also hints at the

of the moment, punctuated violently by

importance of sight in the Marquis’ vio-

the gleam of blood-red rubies. When

lent perversion. Keen sight is essential to

fixed around the young girl’s pale neck,

a successful hunt, and the Marquis’ gaze

the ruby necklace, as red as virgin’s

plays a central role in his perversions

blood or a slit throat, is a physical sym-

and fetishes, aimed to seek out his

bol of the girl’s transformation into a vi-

young victims.

olent scopophiliac’s sex object, fore-

The Marquis’ newest conquest is

shadowing her impending doom.

the story’s narrator, a poor girl living in

The ruby choker comes to repre-

a small apartment with her widowed

sent the inception of the male gaze

mother. When she encounters the Mar-

physically upon the narrator, all carnal-

quis, he comes to represent everything

ity and rooted in the physical. Male

she is without: financial security, power,

power within “The Bloody Chamber” is

sex, and the glamour of luxury. After

correlated with sight, for the only other

she is engaged to the worldly and expe-

male character is the blind and poor pi-

rienced Marquis, he begins lavishly dot-

ano tuner Jean-Ives, who offers no threat

ing upon her, a preview of the riches she

to the narrator because he cannot see

will inherit by their union. These luxu-

her. The Marquis, however, is entirely

ries, though, come with a price—the ig-

threatening in the power of his gaze. In

niting of his lustful gaze. When he

“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cin-

places a decadent ruby choker around

ema,” Laura Mulvey posits,

her throat, seeming a “precious slit

Pleasure in looking has been split

throat […] bright as arterial blood”, the

between active/male and passive/fe-

young bride notes, “I saw him watching

male.

The

determining

male

gaze 15

projects its phantasy on to the female

After the bride enters the infa-

figure, which is styled accordingly. In

mous chateau, the Marquis’ tendency

their

role,

toward aesthetic decadence, a product

women are simultaneously looked at

of his gluttonous gaze, becomes clear.

and displayed, with their appearance

Aside from the lavish adorning of his

coded for strong visual and erotic im-

young bride, his gothic, sea-bound man-

pact[…] women displayed as sexual ob-

sion is a physical manifestation of his in-

ject is the leitmotif of erotic spectacle

satiable visual lust. His intense voyeuris-

(841).

tic urges are encapsulated in his home,

traditional

exhibitionist

Following Mulvey’s theory, the

and the rooms of the castle are over-

Marquis, in assuming the power of his

flowing with decadent and exotic amen-

position in the patriarchy, captures the

ities, even down to the smallest details.

narrator’s body within his gaze so he can

A bathtub becomes a work of art in the

form her passive body into the image

Marquis’ chateau, complete with gold

that aesthetically and sexually pleases

taps in the shape of dolphins with eyes

him most, dressing her in satin lingerie

made of turquoise. He owns hordes of

and decadent jewelry. She is no longer

ancient tomes, and within these books,

the poor Parisian girl because as a

the narrator stumbles upon a direct in-

woman, she is made passive by the ac-

stance of his voyeuristic fetishism, the

tive and consuming male gaze, chang-

intersection

ing her identity to fit the male’s desires.

with viewing-pleasure-as-power.

of

viewing-for-pleasure

In accepting the choker, she naively re-

The bride finds a collection of

nounces her sentience to the Marquis,

pornographic prints, the first labeled

becoming the passive object of his active

“Reproof of curiosity,” depicting a

gaze, inciting his desire for power over

young naked girl, sobbing while being

her assumed through viewing pleasure.

whipped by masked men with large

The narrator can only have a sense of

blades and erect phalluses; the girl’s

agency around the blind piano tuner

genitalia is red like a “split fig” (Carter

Jean-Ives because he cannot assume

17). The imagery is a graphic display of

power over her identity and body with

the entwining of innocence lost, vio-

his gaze; Jean-Ives, however, is no

lence, pain, the submissive female form,

match for the power of the Marquis’

and masculine dominance within the

gaze.

Marquis’ sexual fantasies, extending far into sexual perversion; the image’s 16

name also suggests a sense of relishing

(Carter 17). She initially protests to day-

in the punishment of this young girl’s

time intercourse, but the Marquis sala-

curiosity by sexually humiliating and

ciously comments on the advantage of

harming her.3 For the Marquis, sex is a

sunlight saying, “All the better to see

space of dominance, discipline involv-

you” (Carter 17).4 His comment is a bla-

ing physical repercussions, and the gain-

tant nod to fairy tales as well as an indi-

ing of pleasure through the pain of a

cation of the overwhelming presence of

girl’s loss of innocence highlighted in

the male gaze within Carter’s tale—even

the pornography. When the Marquis

her allusions are related to the destruc-

finds his young wife viewing his private

tive and consuming power of the active

pornography, he takes her into the bed-

gaze. The gilt looking-glasses work in

chamber to consummate their marriage,

the same manner as the mirrors of the

further tying his sexual fetishism to the

Parisian salon, multiplying and height-

taking of innocence. Specifically, he

ening the Marquis’ decadent and over-

harnesses the visual pleasure of watching

whelming gaze. Physically experiencing

her view the porn, watching her look of

the narrator’s body is not enough to sate

horror over the images, and watching

his sexual gluttony; he must see himself

her look of shock as he initiates sex. The

conquering her over and over again, a

consummation of their marriage also

veritable clown house of male domi-

links god-like dominion to the power

nance, power, and visual arousal. He

he takes over the young wife in sex.

takes his bride when he decides in the

When the Marquis finally has sex

situation that he desires, unconcerned

with the narrator, days after their wed-

with her experience. His gaze in this

ding, he does so in the light of day sur-

moment, omnipotent in its clownish

rounded by mirrors. The young bride

duplication within the bedchamber’s

looks within the dozen gilt mirrors that

various mirrors at various angles, trans-

surround the bed and notes that it

lates into an assuming of god-like power

looked as if she were amid a harem of

over the girl’s body and fate.

women simultaneously "impaled" by

The Marquis assumes god-like

their husbands in the bright of day

control over his wife’s life and body,

For more information about perversity in “The Bloody Chamber,” see Becky McLaughlin’s scholarship.

4 Carter is referencing the Big Bad Wolf’s infamous line in “Little Red Cap” or “Little Red Riding Hood,”

which is critically viewed as a tale type depicting a girl’s loss of innocence and virginity to a “wolfish” man.

3

17

which becomes apparent when he

bedchamber, but his sense of entitled

moves from lavishing her with his riches

godhead manifests in his interactions

to lavishing her with sexual attention

with his young bride. He fetishizes her

aimed at his pleasure. When his gaze is

innocence, dragging his young “nun”

translated to sexual viewing pleasure,

into a visual and pornographic pilgrim-

Carter begins alluding to the Catholic

age that ends with worshipping his

Church and the power of God over

whims in the bedchamber.

women, particularly nuns and virgin

The cathedral-like bedchamber is

martyrs, setting the Marquis as patriar-

abounding with lilies, which are perhaps

chal godhead above his wife. The por-

the most critically discussed symbol

nographic print foreshadows the young

within “The Bloody Chamber.” Lilies

bride’s impending loss of innocence at

have myriad symbolic connotations, all

his hands, for when the Marquis finds

of which Carter weaves decadently and

her viewing the images, he mocks her

intentionally together. Flowers are gen-

innocence, saying, “My little nun has

erally praised for the pleasure that

found

she?”

comes from viewing their beauty, so

(Carter 17). “Little nun” is a mocking

flower symbolism initially relates to the

pet name, not meant to simply belittle

idea of “gazing for pleasure,” a major

her but to totally subjugate her to his

motif of the work. The bride notes that

patriarchal and god-like power. The

the Marquis has the skin of white fune-

analogy of the Marquis as equivalent to

real lilies, denoting his alignment with

the Catholic-Christian godhead begins

death while mocking a lily’s association

to fall into place in this comment; if the

with sexual anatomy and purity (Lokke

Marquis’ wife is “his little nun” viewing

10). Lokke notes that within the image

“prayerbooks” of sadomasochistic por-

of the lily, “death and phallic sexuality

nography, he is then a god to be wor-

are one,” alluding to the lily’s shape. In

shipped through the female sacrifice of

a

submission to sex and violence. In the

McLaughlin explores the “kaleidoscopic

world of his castle, his creation, he is as

quality” of lily imagery in “The Bloody

a transcendent divinity, and his wife is a

Chamber”:

the

prayerbooks,

has

similar

manner,

scholar

Becky

nun devoted to the service of his godly needs. The Marquis’ scopophilia is evi-

One moment the lily represents life and

denced in his opulent home furnishings,

the next moment, death. Because of the

stash of pornography, and mirrored

lily’s lush, white petals, it seems bloated 18

with fecund[ity][…] and yet lilies are

sexual knowledge, taking the lily’s im-

known as burial flowers[…] One mo-

agery full circle back to its sexual con-

ment the lily looks female and the next

notations.5 Carter also calls upon the

moment, male. At first glance, for ex-

lily’s connection to the divine chastity

ample, the lily appears to be a female

and purity of Christ, often used in Cath-

receptacle, its stamen a clitoris, and the

olic iconography to link the purity of a

serpentine stem a phallus. On second

saint to the purity of Christ. Carter

glance, however, the penile shape of the

aligns the narrator with the patron of

lily begins to suggest the contours of the

music, the virgin martyr Saint Cecilia,

phallus and the coiled stem and all-en-

who is often portrayed in Catholic art as

compassing vaginal “maw.” This vaginal

wearing a crown of lilies to signify her

“maw” doubles as the mysterious pale

purity and virginity (Giorgi 83).

from which life emerges and that dark

The virgin saint is introduced

abyss into which man fears falling [and

into the narrative when the Marquis

never returning] (404).

gifts the narrator with a painting of St. Cecilia as a recognition of his wife’s mu-

McLaughlin artfully addresses the mani-

sical talent as a pianist. St. Cecilia is

fold connotations of the lily, from sex to

revered in Catholicism as a virgin martyr

death to the origin of life; however, she

beheaded during the Christian persecu-

fails to mention the lily’s Christian asso-

tions of Rome. St. Cecilia spurned the

ciations.

marriage bed with her husband because

In addition to resembling sexual

she had already devoted her virginity to

anatomy, Carter plays upon the dual na-

God (Giorgi 83). In the association of

tures of lilies in Catholic iconography

the narrator with St. Cecilia and her im-

and art. Lilies at once represent death

pending martyrdom at his hand, the

and rebirth as Christ dies and then rises

Marquis fetishizes taking her virginity

from the dead. Carter notes that lilies, a

and sees himself as the godhead to

common funeral flower, crowd the bed-

which she devotes her virginity. He

chamber like a funeral parlor, mourning

physically takes her virginity into his

the death of the narrator’s innocence

sense of hedonistic supremacy just as

while also implying the promise of re-

Cecilia symbolically gives her virginity

birth and new life as a woman in her

to God. With the Marquis as the divinity

5

Lokke and McLaughlin note this connection in their respective works.

19

looming over his pianist-bride, he is the

bodies preserved in strange ways relat-

ruler of her life just as God guided St.

ing to their eccentricities. For example,

Cecilia’s life and actions. Essentially,

an Iron Maiden contains the fresh

within this comparison, God led St. Ce-

corpse of Carmilla martyred in the vam-

cilia to her slaughter because a devotion

piric way of having thousands of teeth-

to Him kept her in direct contrast to

like needles pressed into her flesh to

Rome’s rule. Likewise, the Marquis

bleed her dry, showing the Marquis fet-

leads the narrator to the edge of death

ishizing her unique heritage. The Mar-

to satiate his fetish for virgin sacrifice.

quis fetishizes the conquering of these

The Marquis sets his nun in his chateau-

women’s exquisite abilities and quirks,

turned-Garden of Eden, rife with temp-

for their talents lie in the ethereal. His

tation, to test her faithfulness to him, in

only talent is that of looking, hoarding,

the hopes that leading her to sin will ul-

and consuming, rooted in the physical.

timately lead him to pleasure in assum-

Their martyrdoms allow him to conquer

ing God-like power over her body and

their feminine sensibilities encapsulated

fate.

in their uniqueness and beauty, hoardAs in Eden and “Bluebeard,” the

ing more “objects” he finds aesthetically

Marquis tests the narrator by giving her

and erotically pleasing. The chamber, a

the keys to the chateau, demanding that

veritable charnel house, exists as a se-

she avoid the chamber of his inferno or

cret, infernal chapel of fetishized mar-

“enfer” (Carter 21). His forbidden

tyrdom to honor the Marquis’ sadistic

chamber likened to a circle of hell in

sovereignty and godhead.

Dante’s Inferno, contains the previous

As if he could sense her transgres-

spoils of the martyrdom of his other

sion, the Marquis finds the bride in her

wives. Carter notes that this bloody

transgression nearly directly following

chamber contains a rack, urns, and a

her “sin” of entering the chamber,

spiked wheel, devices associated with

seeming to appear as an omnipotent and

the deaths of other virgin martyrs like

omnipresent deity. The young narra-

St. Catherine, St. Justa, and St. Rufina.

tor’s misstep allows him to exercise his

The Marquis’ previous two wives had

final desire, which is to punish her curi-

the otherworldly qualities of song and

osity just as the young girl in his por-

model-esque beauty, and his third wife,

nography is punished. The narrator has

Carmilla, was a descendent of Dracula.

no hope of survival at this point, for

His forbidden chamber includes their

Jean-Ives, a worshipper of the narrator’s 20

musical talent and her only hope of sal-

phalluses. This grotesque scene is his ul-

vation is rendered powerless in his

timate fantasy nearly made reality.

blindness, a direct foil to the Marquis’

He is ultimately unsuccessful in

power through his gluttonous gaze.

his final fantasy enactment, however.

Carter relates his character to the yew

The narrator’s mother, operating on her

tree, common in English churchyards,

feminine intuition, storms his castle

and as these ancient trees keep watch

right before he tries to kill her daughter

over graves, Jean-Ives’ only ability is to

and shoots him dead. The mother

keep

the

proves that the Marquis’ divinity is a

doomed girl before her execution.6 He

self-propagated myth, for she easily kills

is powerless to intervene, just as yew

him as one fells a sapling oak. From atop

trees are fated to stand as the land

a stallion, she coldly lodges a bullet in

around them fills with the dead.

his skull, foiling the close range, inti-

an

overnight

vigil

with

On her execution day, the Mar-

mate decapitation he planned for her

quis disrobes the girl, a pornographic

naked daughter. The Marquis was so ob-

display of his fantasies and power, and

sessed with empty pleasures, void of

demands she wear the ruby choker on

love, that he had not considered that fa-

her death march. The ruby choker be-

milial love could spoil his fantasy. The

comes a gaudy display of irony, for it

mother’s intervention, a reference to

not only initially foreshadowed the girl’s

the conflict between patriarchal sky god

fate but its original intention—to de-

and matriarchal earth mother, ends his

marcate noblewomen who survived the

reign of terror through cycles of mar-

French Revolution—can now be dis-

riage, sex, and violence, allowing the

honored by the Marquis. He desires to

narrator to leave the sordid castle and

symbolically sacrifice her to his over-

marry Jean-Ives, a more suitable hus-

whelming masculine desires of sexuality

band.

and violence, his sword becoming the

mother’s use of a gun represents a

guillotine of the French Revolution.

woman using phallic power against an

The Marquis wishes to martyr the narra-

abusive man by “submit[ting him] to

tor by the sword, aligning the decapita-

the phallic function” in the single true

tion of St. Cecilia with the pornography

strike of the bullet (416). His hubris and

of masked men with swords and

corrupted,

6

McLaughlin

argues

Id-driven

that

the

masculinity

His name is French for “yew tree”

21

ultimately cause his downfall, for he is

In “The Bloody Chamber,” Carter ques-

brought to his doom by a symbol of the

tions and critiques patriarchal society by

virile masculinity that ruled his exist-

showcasing the way in which traditions

ence.

like marriage and religion centered on The Marquis, a man whose figure

male pleasure and mobility allot space

and form seem untouched by the hands

for abuse against women. She does not

of time as “a stone on the beach whose

demonize marriage, for the narrator en-

fissures have been eroded by successive

ters a relationship with Jean-Ives. In-

tides,” essentially exists as an icon of the

stead, Carter upholds marriages of

destructive capabilities of patriarchal

equality, untainted by patriarchal con-

culture—an effigy of

hypermasculin-

structs like power through the male

ity—rather than an actual person with a

gaze. “The Bloody Chamber” shows

past, present, and future (Carter 9).

that systems and cycles that perpetuate

McLaughlin notes that the Marquis’

hypermasculinity, ranging from mar-

“waxen” visage functions as a mask,

riages of inequity to patriarchal religious

reminiscent of Gaston Leroux’s masked

traditions which demonize women,

and perverse Phantom in The Phantom

must be obliterated for women to be

of the Opera, but the Marquis’ waxen

free of sexual slavery and violence and

mask of a face hides the horror of years

for the sexes to engage in healthy, ful-

of female objectification, sadism, and vi-

filling, and meaningful relationships.

olence (414). The Marquis is simply characterized by his gaze, his lust, and his violence, his waxen face hiding his inner corruption from the narrator. Her attempt to understand her husband, as Eve desires to be closer to God, by entering his forbidden chamber, brings her to the precipice of obliteration. In this instance of disconnect between the sexes, only death and discord can follow inequality and violence of men to women.

22

BIBLIOGRAPHY Carter, Angela. "The Bloody Chamber." The Bloody Chamber. 1979. New York: Penguin, 1993. 7-40. Print.

Giorgi, Rosa. "Cecelia." Saints in Art, 2002. Los Angeles: Getty Museum, 2003. 83.

Print.

Lokke, Kari E. "'Bluebeard' and 'The Bloody Chamber': The Grotesque of Self-Parody and Self-Assertion." Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 10, no. 1, 1988, pp.

7-12. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3345932.

McLaughlin, Becky. "Perverse Pleasure and Fetishized Text: The Deadly Erotics of Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber.'" Style, vol. 29, no. 3, 1995, pp. 404-422. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42946295.

Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Feminist Film Theory. Ed. Sue Thornham. New York: New York UP, 1999. 58-69. Print.

Perrault, Charles. "Bluebeard." Folk and Fairy Tales. Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. Peterborough: Broadview, 2009. 223-226. Print.

Renfroe, Cheryl. "Initiation and Disobedience: Liminal Experience in Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber.'" Marvels & Tales, vol. 12, no. 1, 1998, pp. 82-94. JSTOR, JSTOR

23

“Modern Heroes, Heroines, and Antiheroes: The External and Internal in Mrs. Dalloway”

by Abigail Robinson

24

Modernity is a concept, period,

modern features, such as the cosmopol-

idea, etc., that has been explored ad

itan crowd and new technology, are the

nauseam. Defining it seems to be an im-

heroes of modernity in the Benjaminian

possible task; scholars have been debat-

sense. Septimus Warren Smith, in con-

ing when it began and when it ended (if

trast, is the antihero of modernity. He

it even ended at all) for at least 100

stands apart from the crowd while out

years. The term itself first appeared in

in the city, grappling with meaning that

the mid-nineteenth century in the writ-

is not actually there, and struggles to un-

ings of Baudelaire (Childs 16). He de-

derstand the new technology that the

fined modernity as “a way of living and

other characters marvel over. Yet Septi-

of experiencing life which has arisen

mus’s lack of engagement with the

with the changes wrought by industrial-

modern world is more than made up for

ization, urbanization and seculariza-

by his thoughts. He is overly emotional

tion” that involves “new understandings

and in tune with his own perceptions,

of time and space: speed, mobility, com-

which marks his rich inner life. Unfor-

munication, travel, dynamism, chaos

tunately for him, modernity is primarily

and cultural revolution” (Childs 16). His

concerned with the external, not the in-

definition, for the most part, has per-

ternal, which is why his suicide is not an

sisted over the years.

act of cowardice but an act of defiance

In this essay, I would like to ex-

against the pressure that modernity

plore the way that Baudelaire’s concep-

places on him to give up his inner life

tion of modernity manifests in Virginia

and engage with the modern world. Alt-

Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. In the novel,

hough Woolf is an avid proponent of

Woolf shows that to live in modernity

modernity, she is also aware of its costs.

requires one to embrace the new fea-

Her ambivalence highlights the com-

tures of the modern city, even if it

plexities that modernity brings to the in-

comes at the cost of one’s internal life. I

dividuals living through it.

will draw from Walter Benjamin’s the-

Benjamin’s conception of the

ory about the modern hero, as seen in

hero in Baudelaire is a crucial compo-

the flâneur in Baudelaire to think about

nent of my reading. The immediate

the relationship between modernity and

problem though is that Benjamin is un-

Woolf’s characters. Clarissa Dalloway,

clear about what exactly his conception

Peter Walsh, and the other characters

of the hero is. In “Paris of the Second

who successfully engage with London’s

Empire

in

Baudelaire,”

Benjamin 25

explains the hero in several ways, which

scholars, the significance of the flâneur

suggests that the hero manifests in a

as a hero (or, in Septimus’s case, the an-

number of forms. He provides an array

tihero) remains unexplored. Michael H.

of figures whom he considers the hero:

Whitworth, in his discussion on histori-

“Baudelaire patterned his image of the

cal approaches to Mrs. Dalloway, notes

artist after an image of the hero,” the

that “thinking about the urban space of

flâneur’s fragile existence “displays the

Mrs. Dalloway and Woolf’s other Lon-

structure which is in every way charac-

don novels has developed through ex-

teristic of Baudelaire’s conception of the

tensive dialogue with the writings of

hero,” “the fencing slave in the proletar-

Walter Benjamin” (141). He argues that

ian” has a “heroic constitution,” “the

Benjamin’s flâneur, who is “a detached

ragpicker” is akin to the heroic poet,

observer of city life who enjoys the an-

“the lesbian is the heroine of la moder-

onymity of the crowd,” has become an

nité,” “the hero appears as a dandy,”

increasingly important concept in the

and so on (Benjamin, “Paris of the Sec-

scholarship on modernity. Janet Wolff,

ond Empire” 39, 42, 44, 48, 56, 59).

Rachel Bowlby, and Raphael Ingelbien’s

The definition of the hero emerges from

studies on the modern flâneur support

what these figures have in common. As

this claim. Their works on the concept

Angeliki Spiropoulou put it in her book

of

on Benjamin’s conception of history

groundwork for understanding its man-

and modernity in Woolf’s works, these

ifestation in Mrs. Dalloway; however,

figures are the “certain representative

the connection between the flâneur and

human types” that “become emblems of

the hero, as well as the implications of a

the dialectical tension between what is

hero and antihero in the text, are barely

new and what is lost in modernity” (29).

addressed.

flâneurie

form

the

theoretical

That is, Benjamin’s “hero” is a person

Wolff’s article “The Invisible

who represents the pressure between

Flânuese: Women and the Literature of

the gains and the losses of modernity.

Modernity” deals specifically with the

The flâneur/ flâneuse, who appears as

relationship between the flâneur and

Peter and Clarissa in Mrs. Dalloway, is

gender roles. She asserts that “the flâ-

one variation of this hero.

neur is the modern hero” but does not

Although the relationship be-

delve further into a definition or theory

tween Benjamin’s flâneur and Virginia

about the role of the hero in modern lit-

Woolf has been discussed by previous

erature (Wolff 146). Wolff’s central 26

argument is that Benjamin’s under-

Clarissa Dalloway’s wanderings as that

standing of Baudelaire’s flâneur, alt-

of the flâneuse show that Woolf may

hough an important and interesting

have been subverting Benjamin’s mas-

concept in modernity, only applies to

culine conception of the flâneur in her

men (146). Women as flâneuses are in-

novel.

evitably left out because “such a charac-

However, it is really Ingelbien

ter would be rendered impossible by the

who thinks about the flâneur and flâ-

sexual divisions of the nineteenth cen-

neuse within the larger framework of

tury” (Wolff 154). In other words, social

Mrs. Dalloway. Ingelbien’s article “They

conditions in the nineteenth century

Saw One They Knew: Baudelaire and

made it impossible for the flâneuse to

the Ghosts of London Modernism” pri-

exist, which is why it is absent from

marily focuses on the similarities be-

mid-century modern literature. Since

tween ghosts, modern London, and

Wolff

problematically

Baudelaire’s Paris, but nonetheless ar-

equates the hero with the flâneur, it is

gues that the characters who thrive in

presumable that she believes the heroine

Mrs. Dalloway are flâneurs and flâ-

is inevitably left out as well.

neuses, while the struggling Septimus is

somewhat

Although Woolf does not apply

the anti-flâneur. Like Bowlby, he recog-

her theory to any works beyond Baude-

nizes that for the women in the novel,

laire in her essay, Bowlby picks up

“London is a place of opportunity, and

where she left off. Bowlby applies

an alternative to domesticity” (Ingelbien

Wolff’s ideas about the flâneuse to her

55). While Clarissa, Peter, and others

reading of Mrs. Dalloway in the article

flourish as flâneurs and flâneuses, “Sep-

“Walking, Women, and Writing.” Alt-

timus remains the anti-flâneur from

hough she primarily focuses on “Street

whom the surface of London is decep-

Haunting” in modern literature in her

tive” (Ingelbien 56). Ingelbien notes

article, Bowlby argues that Woolf pre-

that Woolf “could…recoil from her be-

sents the flâneuse and subverts the flâ-

loved London,” which suggests that

neur in the novel. She argues that Woolf

Septimus “is the doppelgänger who

may be “readjusting the dominant nar-

voices her repulsion, and who exposes

ratives of the street” to “make way for

the fragility or even the vacuousness of

something like a female flâneurie”

the flâneurs and flâneuses' response to

(Whitworth 142). Her reading of Peter

the city” (56). Put another way, Septi-

Walsh’s city escapade as a parody and

mus represents Woolf’s criticism of 27

modern city experience: the mindless

losses of modernity. The antihero,

wandering, the emphasis on the exter-

therefore, lacks this tension. Instead of

nal, the shallow response to experience.

striking a balance between the pros and

This is similar to Childs’s depiction of

cons of the modern world, the antihero

Septimus as “unable to bring the inter-

finds himself lost in one or the other.

nal and external aspects of his experi-

Bowlby and Ingelbien demonstrate in

ence together” (173). While Childs ar-

their analyses of flâneurie that Clarissa

gues that Woolf is critical of Septimus’s

and Peter function as a flâneuse and a

inability to bring these elements to-

flâneur, so with Benjamin’s conception

gether to form a unified self, Ingelbien

in mind, I will argue that they function

reads Septimus’s resistance to the exter-

as a hero and a heroine. Septimus, as the

nal as Woolf criticizing the external ele-

anti-flâneur, is the antihero who shows

ments of modernity itself. Indeed, he as-

only the losses that modernity brings.

serts that Septimus’s character suggests

When read in this light, Clarissa,

“a rejection of the modernity that Ben-

Peter,

and

Septimus

demonstrate

jamin located at the heart of Baude-

Woolf’s ambivalent feelings about the

laire’s experience of the city” (Ingelbien

gains and losses of modernity. Randall

56).

Stevenson details Woolf’s comprehenAlthough Ingelbien’s argument

sive understanding of modernity as both

is compelling, it does not factor in the

fascinating and problematic. In his read-

function of the flâneur as the hero. For

ing of To the Lighthouse, he discusses

the rest of this paper, I would like to

how the novel is often read as “modern-

shift from Ingelbien’s emphasis on the

ist resistance to modernity” but this

flâneur, flâneuse, and anti-flâneur to the

does “not do full justice…to Woolf’s

manifestation of Benjamin’s hero in

view of modernity” (Stevenson 156). He

Mrs. Dalloway. Although the two are

says that “any view of modernism’s rela-

closely linked for Benjamin, it is the

tions

hero who is “the true subject of la mo-

acknowledge that these were almost in-

dernité (“Paris of the Second Empire”

variably complicitous” (Stevenson 157).

44). The flâneur/flâneuse, when read as

In other words, Woolf is fascinated with

representative of the hero/heroine, rep-

motor cars, aviation, film, and other

resents more than just an observer who

new technologies but also wary of their

is at home in the crowd: he/she repre-

implications (Stevenson 156-157). Her

sents the tension between the gains and

presentation of the modern self “may

to

modernity

needs

to

28

have resulted as much from the new

“In people’s eyes, in the swing, tramp,

thrills as from the new threats moder-

and trudge; in the bellow and the up-

nity provided” (Stevenson 157). Woolf’s

roar; the carriages, motor cars, omni-

ambivalent feelings towards the modern

buses, vans, sandwich men shuffling and

world help explain her presentation of

swinging; brass bands; barrel organs; in

Clarissa, Peter, and Septimus. Although

the triumph and the jingle and the

Woolf was fascinated with new technol-

strange high singing of some aeroplane

ogy and science, she also saw the ills of

overhead was what she loved; life; Lon-

these

don; this moment in June.” (Woolf 4)

gains

(Stevenson

157,

159).

Amongst other things, she was concerned about the lack of connection in

Clarissa is describing a distinctly mod-

modern times, which she explores

ern scene. Her warm depiction of the

throughout Mrs. Dalloway. Her wari-

people of the crowd “in the swing,

ness becomes particularly vivid when

tramp, and trudge” suggests that she

she aligns the heroine Clarissa with the

finds “the spectacle offered by the

antihero Septimus after his suicide. Her

crowds in big-city streets intoxicating,”

representation of modernity in the

much like Benjamin’s flâneur (“Paris of

novel is overall a complex and ambiva-

the Second Empire” 33). Airplanes and

lent depiction—surely one that Benja-

cars, which were not yet present in Bau-

min, with his cryptic and often contra-

delaire’s Paris, are modern as well:

dictory ideas, would have approved of.

Clarissa marvels at the “motor cars” and

From the beginning of the novel,

“the strange high singing of some aero-

Woolf presents Clarissa as the hero of

plane overhead.” For her, “the cabs

modernity. The gains of modernity are

passing” are “absolutely absorbing” and

clearly represented in her thoughts. As a

“Bond street fascinated her” with “its

flâneuse, “the street becomes a dwelling

shops…one roll of tweed…a few pearls;

place” for Clarissa (Benjamin, “Paris of

salmon on an iceblock” (Woolf 8, 11).

the Second Empire” 19). That is,

Clarissa takes in her surroundings “at a

Clarissa feels at home while out and

glance,” much as storefronts in the ar-

about in the city, which is new to mo-

cades of Baudelaire’s mid-19th century

dernity and wonderful to Clarissa. She

Paris provided the hero with a visual ar-

describes what she loves about London:

ray of commodities (Benjamin, “Arcades Project” 40). In the London of the early 20th century, though, the visual 29

display of the arcades has shifted to a

153), that was prevalent in pre-modern

street known for its shopping. Clarissa’s

life has given way to “the obliteration of

joy whilst absorbing all of this testifies

the individual’s traces in the big-city

to her success as a modern hero. Addi-

crowd” (Benjamin, “Paris of the Second

tionally,

nineteenth-century

Empire” 23). As a flâneuse in the streets,

Paris, new technologies become an in-

Clarissa is intoxicated by the external

creasingly important component of the

modern experience, but the tension be-

modern experience in the twentieth

tween the gains of external experience

century. Clarissa embraces the cars and

and the loss of internal experience be-

modern technologies that are part of the

comes evident when she returns home.

flâneuse experience in the 1920s. Alto-

Clarissa has a message that Mr. Dalloway

gether, her depiction of “what she

has been asked to lunch with Lady Bru-

loved; life; London” represents the gains

ton. Immediately, the thrill of being in

of modernity; she is able to experience

the crowd vanishes. Clarissa feels “sud-

the crowd and new technology as a glee-

denly shrivelled, aged, breastless, the

ful observer.

grinding, blowing, flowering of the day,

unlike

However, Clarissa’s position as a

out of the doors, out of the window, out

heroine reflects not only the newness of

of her body and brain which now failed”

modernity but also the tension between

(Woolf 31). In other words, the pleasure

the gains and the losses. Her experience

that comes from being alone in the

with the losses become evident when

crowd, an observer of modernity, dissi-

she returns home after her morning out

pates when she is presented with the loss

and about in London. According to

of connectivity that accompanies the

Benjamin, the crowd is “the latest nar-

modern. The isolation that is central to

cotic for people who have been aban-

her experience in the street makes her

doned” (“Paris of the Second Empire”

felt disconnected from her husband.

31). This is true for Clarissa, who hopes

When she says that she is “alone for

to connect with others throughout the

ever,” Clarissa is relaying the idea that

novel but repeatedly to make the con-

she feels disconnected from Mr. Dallo-

nection. Her difficulty marks the inter-

way (Woolf 47). Her sense of loss,

nal loss of modernity; the sense of con-

which follows her joy in being a part of

nection, or of the feeling that “an un-

a new modernity, highlights the tension

seen part of us…be recovered somehow

that exists within the modern heroine.

attached to this person or that” (Woolf 30

Peter Walsh also functions as a

hero as the “adventurer” arises from the

hero in Mrs. Dalloway. The “leisurely”

modern scene. Curiously, Peter follows

flâneur/modern hero “strolls about eve-

the woman even as “other people got

rywhere in the city” (Benjamin, “Paris

between them in the street” and imagi-

of the Second Empire” 19). Peter em-

nes himself as “an adventurer, reck-

bodies this hero when he submits “to

less…swift, daring, indeed a romantic

the monotonous, fascinating, constantly

buccaneer” (Woolf 53). Here, Peter has

unrolling band of asphalt” that defines

reimagined the modern crowd as an

the new modern city (Benjamin, “Ar-

ocean to be navigated by a “buccaneer”

cades Project” 519). Peter’s relationship

like himself as he seeks his treasure in

to London is specifically defined in

the woman he is following. His fantasy

these terms when he leaves Clarissa’s

reveals the parallel between the “task”

house. He feels that “he had escaped!”

of the modern hero—“to give shape to

and that he is free “from being precisely

modernity”—and that of the ancient

what he was” as he stands “at the open-

hero, who gave shape to antiquity

ing of endless avenues, down which if

(“Paris of the Second Empire” 49). That

he chose he might wander” (Woolf 52).

is, Peter gives shape to the function of

In other words, he sees the possibility of

the crowd as a flâneur; his presence, as

being a part of the new modern city and

a wanderer of the city, transforms the

the modern crowd as he observes Lon-

crowd into a significant feature of mo-

don. Peter’s joyful, poetic language sug-

dernity that provides refuge and free-

gests that modernity offers “a refuge for

dom. The way that the ancient “springs”

the hero” (Benjamin, “Paris of the Sec-

from modernity in Peter’s escapade,

ond Empire” 39). Its externalities, in-

therefore, posits Peter as the modern

cluding the crowd, provide Peter with a

hero, a flâneur giving shape to modern

sense of freedom that he warmly em-

London, who inherits the heroic form

braces.

from antiquity.

Peter’s heroism is exemplified

Although Peter marvels at and

when he pursues the unknown woman.

gives shape to London as a modern

In

“antiquity

hero, the external features that he rel-

[springs] suddenly from an intact mo-

ishes are in tension with the internal fea-

dernity” (Benjamin, “Paris of the Sec-

tures that are lost in modernity. Fasci-

ond Empire” 53). During Peter’s esca-

nating as the city is, Peter senses the loss

pade, the ancient conception of the

of internal connection that accompanies

the

modern

crowd,

31

it. He reflects on this when he reaches

“the soul must brave itself to endure”

his hotel after strolling through the city.

(Woolf 164-165). His cold, focused lan-

Peter remembers him and Clarissa “go-

guage suggests that connection is diffi-

ing on top of an omnibus” through Lon-

cult for him as the modern hero. The

don,

scenes,

tension between the modern technol-

names, people” (Woolf 152). He recalls

ogy and crowds versus the struggle to

how they “had a theory in those

connect, the gains and losses of moder-

days…to explain the feeling they had of

nity, is manifest in this scene.

“spotting

queer

little

dissatisfaction; not knowing people; not

While Clarissa and Peter thrive as

being known” (Woolf 152). Here, Peter

modern heroes, Septimus Warren Smith

faces the tension of the modern hero: on

functions as the antihero. Septimus is

one hand, modern London, with its

ironically an actual hero: he fought in

buses and crowds, is fascinating, but on

World War I, “had won crosses,” and

the other, there is the sense that connec-

was promoted “to a post of considerable

tion is lost. The juxtaposition between

responsibility” (Woolf 88). In the mod-

Peter watching the “scene, names, peo-

ern city, though, his shell-shock posits

ple” of London and thinking about

him as the antihero. The war, which in

failed connection between individuals

many ways was a product of modern na-

suggest that modernity gave rise to

tionalistic ideas and new modern tech-

those

Peter’s

nologies, has left Septimus mentally ill

thoughts turn to the loss of interper-

and thus resistant to modern London.

sonal

enters

While the modern hero finds himself

Clarissa’s party. After happily observing

caught between the gains and the losses

the crowds and cars of London as a flâ-

of modernity, Septimus is horrified by

neur on the walk over, Peter braces

the external newness of the modern.

himself for an attempt to connect with

The shell-shocked soldier is unable to

Clarissa at the party. He notes that “the

deal with the London crowd, which

cold stream of visual impressions failed

contrasts with the modern hero who

him” as he enters her home (Woolf 164).

finds “a place of refuge” in the city

In other words, his fascination with the

streets (Benjamin, “Paris of the Second

external visuals of modernity dissipates

Empire” 42). As he walks through Lon-

as he braces himself for the struggle to

don, he feels that he is “blocking the

connect. He thinks that “the brain must

way” and “being looked at and pointed

wake,” “the body must contract,” and

at” (Woolf 15). Here, Septimus feels that

thoughts. connection

Similarly, when

he

32

he is apart from the crowd, unlike the

technology. Ingelbien points out that

heroic flâneur who marvels at this new

“starting motor-cars are pistols firing or

phenomenon. When a crowd gathers to

shells exploding” for Septimus (56). In

watch the car, Septimus sees the “grad-

other words, technology represents hor-

ual drawing together” of the crowd and

ror or deception to him. Septimus

perceives it “as if some horror had come

thinks that “the throb of the motor en-

almost to the surface and was about to

gines sounded like a pulse irregularly

burst into flames” (Woolf 15). This sug-

drumming through an entire body”

gests that Septimus is terrified by the ap-

(Woolf 14-15). His cold, mechanical lan-

pearance of the crowd. Further, Ingel-

guage points out the fact that technol-

bien points to the fact that “every noise

ogy is far from marvelous to him. Septi-

or sight conceals a hidden meaning” for

mus also struggles to understand the

Septimus (56). The shell-shocked sol-

place of technology in the modern

dier hears “a child [cry]” and “far away

world. Septimus believes that “they are

a horn [sound]” and believes that “all

signaling to me” when he sees the writ-

taken together [they mean] the birth of

ing from the airplane and randomly re-

a new religion” (Woolf 23). Septimus,

marks that “the upkeep of that motor

thus, is not fascinated with and drawn

car alone must cost him quite a lot” after

in by the modern crowd as Clarissa and

his visit with Sir William (Woolf 21, 98-

Peter are. Instead, he feels apart from it

99). His paranoid misread of the air-

and perceives it as “deceptive” (Ingel-

plane and his disengaged comment

bien 56). Modernity is terrifying for

about the car signifies that Septimus is

Septimus; he believes it is full of mean-

unable to comprehend modern technol-

ing that is not actually there, feels dis-

ogy, which further emphasizes his role

connected from it, and cannot properly

as the antihero.

relate to its features.

While Septimus is at odds with the modern city and modern technolo-

In addition to his lack of engagement

gies, he is deeply submerged in his in-

with the crowd, Septimus also fails to

ternal feelings and thoughts. Unlike the

connect

technologies.

other characters, who sense that their

Whereas Clarissa and Peter are fasci-

ability to connect has diminished in the

nated by the technology that they see

face of the externalities of modernity,

and experience, Septimus does not

Septimus feels overwhelmingly con-

properly

nected to the world but cannot relay it

with

new

understand

modern

33

to others. His connection to the world

external, turns connecting with others

is exemplified throughout the novel.

into a challenge.

Septimus has received “revelations”

Septimus feels out of place in the

from the world, such as “men must not

modern world as the antihero, where

cut down trees,” “there is a God,”

the external dominates and its heroes

“there is no crime,” “there is not death”

can balance both the gains and the

(Woolf 24-25). In the daily scene, he

losses. His suicide, read in this light, was

finds that “all of this, calm and reasona-

a heroic act in that he took a stand

ble as it was, made out of ordinary

against the “resistance that modernity

things as it was, was the truth now;

offers” to one’s will (Benjamin, “Paris of

beauty, that was the truth now. Beauty

the Second Empire” 45). That is, Septi-

was everywhere” (Woolf 69). In these

mus was acting in defiance of the con-

passages, Septimus believes that the

ditions of modernity that hinder him

world is transmitting meaning to him.

from expressing his connectivity to the

He feels overwhelmingly connected and

world and prevent him from reaching

wishes to communicate this to others.

others. Although Benjamin is reflecting

Septimus thinks that he has been “called

on the suicides of factory workers in

forth in advance of the mass of men to

mid-nineteenth century Paris in his es-

hear the truth, to learn the meaning”

say, the overwhelming loss that they ex-

and must relay “the supreme secret” to

perience in modernity is akin to the

others (Woolf 67). However, the loss of

sense of loss that Septimus feels in Mrs.

connectivity that accompanies moder-

Dalloway. Like the workers, his suicide

nity makes this impossible. During his

is “not resignation but heroic passion”

meeting with Sir William, he feels that

(Benjamin, “Paris of the Second Em-

“human nature is remorseless” and

pire” 45). Septimus, as seen in earlier

wonders whether Sir William will “let

paragraphs, is full of passion for the

him off” if “he communicated,” but

world. His death can thus be read as

finds himself unable to share his vivid

“the achievement of modernity in the

internal life with the doctor (Woolf 98).

realm of the passions” (Benjamin, “Paris

His failure to communicate is a symp-

of the Second Empire” 45) In other

tom of the modern: as the antihero, Sep-

words, Septimus preserves his rich inter-

timus is filled with internal connections,

nal life by committing suicide. Right be-

but modernity, with its emphasis on the

fore Septimus jumps out of the window, he reflects on how the “tiresome, the 34

troublesome, and rather melodramatic

Septimus (Woolf 186), signaling that

business of opening the window and

Woolf might have more sympathy with

throwing himself out” was the doctors’

the antihero, who is submerged in the

“idea of tragedy, not his” (Woolf 149).

losses of modernity, than the hero and

His thoughts suggest that he does not

heroine. Clarissa reflects on Septimus’s

view his suicide as a tragedy as the mod-

death and how there was “a thing…de-

ern doctors do; rather, it is an act of her-

faced, obscured in her own life, let drop

oism. Septimus feels that he does “not

every day in corruption, lies, chatter”

want to die” (Woolf 149). This thought

(Woolf 184). Here, Clarissa is thinking

aligns him with the Baudelarian concep-

about what is hidden in her life. As a

tion of suicide, for whom suicide was

hero, she stands on the threshold of mo-

not about dying but about performing

dernity, able to observe what is there

“the only heroic act still available” in

and what it lost with a sense of wonder.

modernity (Benjamin, “Paris of the Sec-

However, she senses that there is a cer-

ond Empire” 45). Thus, although Septi-

tain tragic element in failing to connect

mus is the antihero of modernity in Mrs.

due to the “corruption, lies, chatter” of

Dalloway, his suicide gives him a heroic

the period. She thinks that “death was

quality. It is particularly ironic that

defiance” and “an attempt to communi-

Holmes cries “the coward!” as Septimus

cate” (Woolf 184). Indeed, Septimus was

jumps, because the suicide is not an act

acting in defiance against the internal

of cowardice for Septimus but an act of

losses of modernity and trying to com-

heroic defiance against the way moder-

municate his resistance to the period

nity—with the emphasis on crowds,

through his suicide. Clarissa’s ability to

technology, and other external fea-

understand this aligns her with Septi-

tures—diminishes the internal life of

mus: she “does not pity him” and feels

connectivity that Septimus cherishes.

“somehow very like him” (Woolf 186).

Although modernity is depicted

In bringing them together in this way,

throughout the novel for both the posi-

Woolf hints at her own ambivalence

tives and the negatives it brings, Woolf’s

about modernity. She was fascinated

ambivalence towards the period be-

with the modern external world but

comes most vivid when Clarissa learns

sensed that it came with its own costs.

about Septimus’s death. Clarissa, the

Septimus represents those costs, and

heroine who balances the new and the

Clarissa’s alignment with him shows

old,

that Woolf was as concerned about the

ultimately

feels

“very

like”

35

losses as she was fascinated with the

complexities that accompany the indi-

gains.

vidual in modernity. In creating this Thus,

modernity,

to

put

it

work, Woolf demonstrates that she too

lightly, is presented as a complex con-

is a heroine, “for the modern hero is no

cept throughout Mrs. Dalloway. The

hero; he is a portrayer of heroes” (Ben-

characters who represent the hero, her-

jamin, “Paris of the Second Empire”

oine, and anti-hero give shape to both

60).

the characteristics of the period and to the novel’s depiction of the modern, much as the hero gave shape to modernity in Baudelaire’s poems. However, it is worth noting that although Benjamin identifies the flâneur as one of the many significant heroic figures that Baudelaire depicts and embodies, his interest is really in Baudelaire as an artist. It is Baudelaire who “patterned his image of the artist after an image of the hero” and “imposed upon him as his very own” the task of giving shape to modernity (Benjamin, “Paris of the Second Empire” 39). That being said, it is reasonable to assume that Benjamin would have read Woolf herself, as the artist and chronicler of modernity, as a heroine of modernity. Her depiction of the modern, with all its gains and losses, is masterfully done in this novel. Woolf attempted to show “an ordinary mind on an ordinary day” (Woolf 474), but specifically situated that mind in modernity, a fact that should not be overlooked when reading the text. Mrs. Dal-

loway

is

a

rich

portrait

of

the 36

BIBLIOGRAPHY Benjamin, Walter. The Arcades Project. Ed. Rolf Tiedemann. Trans. Howard Eiland and Kevin McLaughlin. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1999. Print.

———. "The Paris of the Second Empire in Baudelaire." Walter Benjamin: Selected Writings. Ed. Howard Eiland and Michael W. Jennings. Vol. 4. Cambridge, MA: Childs, Peter. Modernism. London: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Ingelbien, Raphael. "They Saw One They Knew: Baudelaire and the Ghosts of London Modernism." English Studies 88.1 (2007): 43-58. Routledge. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

Spiropoulou, Angeliki. Virginia Woolf, Modernity and History: Constellations with Walter Benjamin. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Print.

Stevenson, Randall. "Virginia Woolf and Modernity." Virginia Woolf in Context. Ed. Bryony Randall and Jane Goldman. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2012. 149-58. Print.

Whitworth, Michael H. Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Print. $1991. 141-56. Print.

Wolff, Janet. "The Invisible 'Flâneuse': Women and the Literature of Modernity." The Problems of Modernity: Adorno and Benjamin. Ed. Andrew E. Benjamin. London: Routledge,

Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990. Print.

———. "Modern Fiction." Modernism and Literature: An Introduction and Reader. Ed. Mia Carter and Alan Warren. Friedman. New York: Routledge, 2013. 472-76. Print.

37

“A Voice of Black America”

by Rachael Malstead

38

Langston Hughes chronicled the

forbidden baby, Jessie dies, leaving

spirit, fervor, and intensity of the Har-

Cora,

lem Renaissance as only an artist can. In

wretched with grief. At Jessie’s funeral,

his short story collection, The Ways of

in the midst of a quiet ceremony, Cora’s

White Folks, Hughes concerns himself

screams rupture the prose, ‘They killed

with the downtrodden, the poor and

you and your child. I told ‘em you loved

lonely, the black and oppressed. The

it, but they didn’t care. They killed it

transcendent insight into the human

before it was…”

condition that crafts this anthology is

away by Jessie’s white relatives (Hughes

unique to an author of genius. Hughes

17). Cora, the only person who truly

imagines stories from differing class and

cared for Jessie, is silenced by the very

color perspectives, revealing distinctive

people who are responsible for Jessie’s

personhood and complex individuality

murder. Hughes depicts this scene of in-

through the lens of racial adversity set in

humanity to expose the consequences of

early

America.

interfering with white female sexuality.

Hughes intertwines threads of female

Jessie and her lover are subjected to an

sexuality and racial divide to create a

unmerciful end at the Puritanical discre-

tapestry of black and white tragedy nu-

tion of long-entrenched persecution

anced by injustice and relational com-

concerning race and sexuality.

twentieth

century

plexity.

her

Later

beloved

on

black

servant,

until she is dragged

in

the

collection,

The collection begins with a tur-

Hughes offers his readers a different per-

bulent story titled ‘Cora Unashamed.’

spective on white female sexuality. A

Hughes explores the restrictions that

white

cause relationships between white fe-

Briggs is middle-aged and unmarried,

males and men of color to be destroyed

without family or friend, she has ‘no-

in this tragedy. White female sexuality is

body at all’ (Hughes 163). Yet she is sat-

a commodity to be violently protected;

isfied with her life, even more so when

its sanctity outweighed the importance

a little dog catches her attention in a

of familial relationships or humane

store window, and she brings home a

treatment. After Jessie, a young white

fluffy, white companion. A routine is

woman, is found carrying the child of a

settled upon that includes the janitor of

non-Caucasian man outside of wedlock,

the building Miss. Briggs lives in bring-

her mother forces her to have an abor-

ing bones for her canine friend thrice a

tion.

week. Life proceeds much as before

Following

the

death

of

the

businesswoman

named

Miss

39

until a new janitor replaces the old one,

musician named Roy returns to a little

and begins bringing bones for her little

town in America, ill and dying from his

dog to eat every day. Miss Briggs begins

disillusionment with life after his musi-

to fall in love with him, hungry for the

cal stint abroad. Roy is affronted with

kindliness she perceives in his ‘softly

racial discrimination. When a woman he

beautiful voice’ and ‘big kind face’

knows enters into polite conversation

(Hughes 168, 171). Yet her love is for-

with him on the street, a violent escala-

bidden in every way; the man is married

tion ensues that ends in Roy’s death

with a wife and children, and above all,

when some ‘white young ruffians with

he is black. Miss Brigg’s misbegotten

red necks’ decide Roy is ‘—insulting a

longing for this man unnerves her to the

White Woman—attacking a WHITE

extent that she moves to a different part

WOMAN—RAPING

of the city, and is quickly ‘forgotten’ by

WOMAN’ (Hughes 47, 48). Hughes il-

all who were acquainted with her

lustrates the absurdity of ingrained rac-

(Hughes 175). The sense of loneliness

ism that this story of tragic injustice un-

exuding from this story titled ‘Little

derscores. Roy, as a black man, was

Dog’ is palpable evidence of Hughes’

lynched for nothing more than greeting

ability to describe the painful con-

a white woman. Such is the flammable

straints surrounding white female sexu-

state of white female sexuality in prox-

ality. Miss Brigg’s is unable to explore

imity to a black man. It is a sexuality so

sexual affection, and even admit her

guarded and confined that even an un-

own longings to herself, because she is

founded suspicion of offense can lead to

inhibited by racial conventions. She de-

murder.

A

WHITE

sires the love of a black man. The only

Time and time again, the vast

socially acceptable way for her to deal

reservoir of human kindness remains

with this love is to remove it from phys-

untapped when the color divide dams

ical existence. Accordingly, loneliness

its reserves. Even well-meaning white

becomes not only a personal state of be-

folk are unable to surmount their racial

ing but a damning sentence, proclaimed

prejudice in several of Hughes’ stories.

by a white, racist culture.

‘Poor Little Black Fellow’ relates the

Similarly, racial injustice rears its

confinement of a black adoptee in a

ugly head throughout the pages of the

wealthy, white ‘Christian’ family. Ar-

collection. In a story incongruously

nold is treated ever so kindly by the

called

white small-town community as he

‘Home,’

a

celebrated

black

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grows up but is prohibited the company

In accordance with this tangible

of young white ladies as he reaches ado-

color-line, ‘Passing’ tells the story of a

lescence. When traveling abroad in Eu-

light-skinned man who hides his Negro

rope, Arnold’s loneliness emboldens

bloodlines to live amongst white folk.

him to knock on the door of a Negro

His ability to pass in white society as a

musical group in Paris. They receive

Caucasian earns him a job and a white

him with open arms and he meets a

fiancée at the cost of ending association

lovely Romanian girl. Arnold’s white

with his black family. Yet his choice to

parents—The Pembertons, are aghast at

disguise his race and pass for white en-

their black son’s blossoming relation-

tails a personal and communal loss of

ship, and judge Vivi the young Roma-

identity. He must abandon his mother

nian, to be a prostitute as the only

and siblings to adopt a false identity that

means of explaining her relationship to

hangs in an ever precarious balance. At

a person of color. Though said to be

any time he could be found out and im-

loved and cherished by the Pembertons,

prisoned—or worse. Historically, this

Arnold’s surrogate father flies into a rage

white disguise had profoundly tragic im-

at his adoptee’s audacity. Mr. Pember-

plications. Ties of culture, family, and

ton cannot help but view Arnold as an

personal identity had to be severed to

inferior person. Hughes describes this

better one’s material prospects as a

white man’s offensive internalization

black person living in a world con-

when he communicates, ‘in the back of

trolled by white injustice.

his mind was the word nigger,’ as Ar-

Hughes was one of the most sig-

nold is expunged from their family

nificant artistic voices of the Harlem Re-

(Hughes 158). Even though Mr. Pem-

naissance. His writing gave voice to

berton has tried to be kind to Arnold,

black people during this time of change.

his good intentions are poisoned by rac-

He aimed to portray realistic black

ism. Years of familial relationship could

American life by capturing cultural in-

not tear down or even slightly diminish

fluences and exposing the repercussions

the color divide between Arnold and

of racism. Perhaps the most inscrutable

the Pembertons. The racial abyss be-

contender to black freedom of expres-

tween white and black folk was exca-

sion was the entrenched ways of white

vated and deepened by the former and

folks. Though Hughes voiced racial di-

gapes incredibly difficult to cross by the

lemmas particular to the turn of the

latter.

twentieth century, the deeply riven 41

relationship between white people and black people in America that began with slavery still haunts the reality of today.

Hughes collection can be read as material that fuels and necessitates movements like Black Lives Matter. Racial injustice rears its ugly head on a day to day basis, often making headlines, continuing to affect the lives of black people on a profound level. These stories that Hughes penned so long ago are the stories people need to read today to understand the ingrained nature of racism in America, and how its effects linger on, through cultural heritage and unconscious assimilation of racial beliefs.

Hughes short story collection depicts the long reinforced ethos of racism in America, especially in terms of sexuality and relationships between black and white people. To partake in The Ways of White Folks is to be given an intimate communion with characters who speak of a sorrow ridden past.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Hughes, Langston. The Ways of White Folks. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Print.

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