Thursday, November 25, 2010
Exile
I wrestled with the complexity of Edith’s retreat to Hotel du Lac and how much was suggested, ordered or self-imposed, made all the more elusive by the fact Edith’s “indiscretion” – leaving her groom at the altar – wasn’t revealed until at least two-thirds through the book. Her docility seemed part of finding her life unbearable – she couldn’t be alone, couldn’t sustain her affair on its terms, couldn’t settle for a companion like Geoffrey – and she couldn’t bear to be at home, but she couldn’t bear to be away. So what part of exile was her own will and what part was that suggestive nature of hers to do what others wished – that was one of the more satisfying components of the story. Would she grow up, find herself or what have you was so much more of the tale than whether she reunited with her lover.
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4 comments:
Yeah, I found all that perplexing too. It seemed like she was herded away by others, but there was a passivity about her that probably welcomed that. I can see getting to a point in life, after this or that trauma or disappointment, where you really want the direction of someone telling you what to do because thinking and doing for yourself hasn't really worked out thus far. It's not really losing the will to go on, so much as finding solace in not fighting the flow of events anymore, at least temporarily. I think they used to refer to people who went away to deal with a nervous breakdown as "taking a rest," and that seems apt.
I think she was still in that frame of mind when the proposal from Neville came along, but then snapped out of it and began reclaiming her life.
Her attitude was strange. She sort of acted like she had been forced to go, but why? She was a grown woman, she hadn't done anything illegal. She could have just told her friends to mind their own business. But I guess it fit with a pattern in her life of just passively letting things happen. You'd have thought her decision not to marry Geoffrey would have broken that pattern somewhat for her, though. It seemed strange that she didn't seem to find that decision very empowering.
Erin, you're right. It seems like her moment of truth should have come sooner. Shouldn't she have had the same awakening on her second proposal? Instead, as ambiguous as the end was, it seemed like putting together the Neville-Jennifer tryst was what prevented her second engagement rather than something she'd learned about herself.
That Jennifer-Neville thing really grossed me out.
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