At this point of the play I actually feel quite sympathetic for Torvald. Throughout the play we have seen him be very possessive of Nora, and even treat her like a child a lot of the times. He regularly calls her “my little skylark”, and other similar demeaning names. This has caused me at first to believe he is just a bad person however in Act 3 after the party we can see his true personality, and character. He is drunk and so his true character is shown. Here he is shown as more childlike, and as a nicer character, which makes me feel a bit more sympathetic to Torvald as his true feelings are shown when he talks to Nora alone. On a scale of 1-10 however, my sympathy towards Torvald is 4/10. Although he can be seen as a victim of society, he still does show qualities of a bad character, and does have multiple bad characteristics that transcend just being part of a specific society.
At a first glance, I thought Nora’s character was childish, and quite simplistic. She seems to be dominated by her husband in the house as he seems to control everything. Helmer (her husband) has several nicknames for her, which are all almost the same with names such as my little squirrel, and my little skylark. There are more nicknames, similar to these with the same sort of idea. He is quite possessive and by using small, weak animals to name his wife, we have the general feeling that he is more dominant than her. Nora’s husband’s full name is Torvald Helmer and at that time in Norway it was taboo to call your husband by their first name, meaning that she should call him Helmer. This is not what happens though, and on numerous occasions in their conversations, we see Nora call him Torvald. This personally showed me that her character isn’t as transparent as I first thought. Calling him Torvald once or twice could be explained as an accident, however she decides to call him Torvald multiple times throughout Act I even though it is considered taboo, showing that she doesn’t actually care about the rules other make as long as she has a reason. Although she can have many serious moments, she also shows her childish side many times throughout Act I. First, she buys macaroons, which she shouldn’t have, and hides it from Helmer showing her childish nature, and her sweet tooth. Later on in the act, she plays games such as hide and seek with her children. This was mainly done to juxtapose with the next scene as Nora talks with Krogstad. Here she is very serious and this is quite different to most of the scenes that she is in; further emphasizing the idea that she has a double character and isn’t as transparent as she seems.
The book version of this story by Mary Shelley certainly does challenge the common stereotypes, and also from what we’d expect from Frankenstein. First, the majority of the people who know about Frankenstein, think that this is the name of the creature when it really isn’t. The name refers to Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the main character of the novel. In fact, even some more kid-friendly versions of this story introduce the creature as being called Frankenstein. For example, when I was in Grade 4 I bought a graphic novel version of Frankenstein, which did exactly this, and referred to the creature as being Frankenstein.
The second common stereotype that has been challenged is the appearance of the creature itself. In a lot of movie adaptations of this novel, Frankenstein’s monster has 2 bolts sticking out of his neck. Furthermore, he is also green. This is not true, as I’ve come to realize from reading this novel as he is described as being yellowish. Additionally, he was comprised of normal, dead human body parts meaning that he did not have a flat square head. Finally, the 2 bolts so commonly associated with him, have never been mentioned, or even alluded to.
Finally, the third major stereotype is the creature’s intelligence. In a lot of movie adaptations, and more kid-friendly adaptations also, the creature is seen as ‘stupid’. He is portrayed as a dumb monster when he really isn’t. After fleeing from Victor, the monster goes and hides in the forest where he learns from a small group of humans. He learns how to speak, and in fact he is quite intelligent in the book. In fact, he had over a year to learn the language, and all about humans as he only met Victor Frankenstein after over a year.
“Basil Hallward is what I think I am : Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be –in other ages, perhaps” – Oscar Wilde
This quote said by Oscar Wilde gives us an insight on what he was thinking when he wrote the book. First, lets start with Basil Hallward. Basil was Dorian Gray’s best friend in the story until Gray became distant from him, and eventually killed him after an argument. Personally I believe that killing off Basil could be a reference to his gay lover, backstabbing him by telling the authorities about his homosexual affairs, which were illegal in that day and age. Also, Basil is a good person, and is thought by many to be Lord Henry’s angelic counterpart.
Next, we have Lord Henry. In the story, every move by Lord Henry is calculated, and evil. He took advantage of Gray’s loneliness, and need for validation to indirectly control his actions. When Oscar Wilde said that the world thought of him as Lord Henry, he meant that they thought of him as an evil, sinful man. Lord Henry doesn’t care about others, and finds joy in amusement, and sin. Many people in Wilde’s time thought that being homosexual was a major sin since most of the people at that time were Christians, which made most of them against Oscar Wilde’s homosexual affairs. It is also worthwhile to note that Oscar Wilde was married at the time, making his affairs worse. This led many people to believe that he was just experimenting for his own pleasure, which was very sinful. Finally, we can also note that Lord Henry was very smart, and could be considered an intellectual. He has a way with words, and stands out from the other characters in his own way, just like Dorian Gray. There is also an interesting quote by Lord Henry in chapter 1, where he says “”You seem to forget that I am married, and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing”. His wife never knew where he was in real life either with his affairs, meaning that there is quite a strong correlation between his real life, and Henry’s life in the story shown at the beginning of the book.
Finally, we have Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde has stated that he would like to be Dorian Gray in another time. Just like Dorian, he dresses up dandily, trying be like him. He stands out from the rest of the people in his era, leading me to believe that when he says “Dorian what I would like to be -in other ages, perhaps”. When he refers to another age he is referring to a time when his sexuality is accepted, and his fashionable self doesn’t necessarily stand out in terms of clothing.
The Victorian values were originally made in the late 1800’s by Queen Victoria during her reign as queen of the British empire. The Victorian values were hard work, focus on personal success, morals, and the Christian church. Religion (Christianity) was very important for them and this gave the church a lot of power over the country. Elitism was also another big aspect of this era as wealthier people were more respected overall.
In terms of social values, married women were expected to keep the household running by cleaning, and cooking. Unmarried women would spend their spare time socializing to find a suitable husband. If you were a poor woman without a husband then you would be forced to work in factories. Finally, the rich women would live easily lives without having to work or do anything. They would have a lot of servants however they would also receive no inheritance when someone died. On the other hand, though, the men would be expected to work longer shifts and to get money for their families.
All the different men and women constituted the social class system at the time. Wealthy families would always inherit fortune and wouldn’t need to work. These were called the Royal Class. Then, the upper working class would perform skilled labor while the lower working class would perform unskilled labor. These two classes were the ones most affected by the recent Industrial Revolution in the 1820’s. Finally, there were the “sunken people”, which were the homeless, sick, and unskilled people.
We each chose one of the things we discussed in class; the motifs, symbols, setting and so forth. Then, I think we should analyze the pages we choose in more detail and find the meaning behind things, also take out writing techniques used by the author, and use extracts of the story to explain.
~>Hiba (Pages 1-3):
The setting of this short story “Ligeia” takes place in an isolated dreary abbey where the narrator’s main inner conflict is getting over his wife’s death. In order to overcome his sadness, depression, and loneliness, he remarries but is still deeply in love with Ligeia. The main symbols in this story are Ligeia’s eyes and Rowena’s death.
The short story begins with an opening quote which is a common element in Poe’s works. The quote suggests that human beings only die because their ‘will’ becomes too weak and no longer have enough divine energy left. Furthermore, it also implies that if one’s ‘will’ is not feeble, he or she can escape death. Poe talks a lot about Ligeia’s appearance(mouth, nose, eyes) which almost becomes boring because of the repetition. He also suggests that some sort of “strangeness” is necessary for true beauty. It is very common for Poe’s protagonists to become fixated on a particular physical element like in the “Tell-Tale Heart” the narrator fixates on his old man’s evil eye.
~> Abder (Pages 4-6):
Page 4 opens up with a descriptive paragraph about Ligeia. The narrator describes her with a sort of wonder. It’s in the second paragraph where the story begins to advance. Poe utilizes repetition multiple times to show one of his most prominent motifs “Eyes”. On one occurrence he elaborates by saying “The wild eyes blazed with a too – too glorious effulgence”. We also learn that she is very weak as he says “the pale fingers became of the transparent waxen hue of the grave” clearly showing us that she was sick and close to death. This is foreshadowing to what is coming.
Another clear motif in the story is the heart. In page 5 in the second paragraph he says “would she pour out before me the overflowing of a heart”. This refers to blood pouring out and her dying while also giving reference to this motif.
Finally, when she dies he feels empty as he has a lot of ‘worldly wealth’, which is money but it isn’t worth anything to him without her there.
~> Rodina (Pages 7-8):
In pages 7 and 8, the narrator is explaining the architecture of the building and the chambers. He expresses how Ligeia’s chamber reflects feelings of melancholy and eeriness. The narrator refers to the furniture and characterizes it to emphasize death and the terror of the room itself. He mentions the black granite and refers to them, as they came from the tomb of Ancient Egyptian kings in Luxor. He says that the awkward angular shape of the ceiling was the biggest phantasy of all as it, added to the illusion of shadows and creepy setting. The narrator also refers to his opium dreams as he feels shackled by the drug and his addiction. The readers are also introduced to the narrator’s 2nd wife who fell ill shortly after he marries her. Rowena, his second wife, starts ‘hallucinating’ about this room and the sounds in the middle of the night that she had heard as well as the motions that she could see. This suggests that Ligeia is haunting the room as it is her old chamber and Rowena just believes that the place is haunted. The narrator doesn’t believe her at first but shortly does and becomes haunted by the illusion of Ligeia.
~> Lara-Joy (Pages 8-11):
The ending shows hallucination, ghostly features and confusion. Ligeia reveals herself to the narrator, as the dead body of miss Rowena. The unreliability if the narrator can be explained with a small dose of opium, very common for Poe’s time. This is also shown throughout the story, explained in motifs. An example of the narrator’s true feelings and confusion, are shown through this descriptive line; “ the full, and the black, and the wild eyes”. Eyes is one of the motifs that are shown in the ending as it’s one of the most recurring features, this is also one of the motifs that express terror, through odd descriptions. The screaming intensifies the situation, which both confuses the reader and makes one feel chills. The entire situation of the story and it’s ending of it being in a room, for terror.
~~~Motifs: {Rodina}~~~
The motifs observed in the text are:
Unreliable Narrator:
In the story, just like other short stories written by Poe the aspect of an unreliable narrator can be deciphered. Poe leaves several clues throughout the text that indicates that Poe may be hallucinating through his drug-induced dreams and the fact that narrator may be intoxicated or high.
“ It was the radiance of an opium-dream – an airy and spirit-lifting vision more wildly divine
than the phantasies which hovered vision about the slumbering souls of the daughters of
Delos.”
The quote above suggests that the narrator has been drinking opium. Opium is a form of drugs that were used in the past. The narrator then goes on to describe the feeling they get after taking the drug. Additionally, this also refers to Poe’s biographical factor as he was also believed to have been an opium addict which is a suggested reason for how he had died.
Eyes:
The motif of eyes is repeated continuously throughout the entire passage. That is due to the fact that the eye is considered a key to the soul and it symbolizes the essence of human identity. The cannot be killed without killing the person which is the case in the tell-tale heart as the psychotic narrator comes to a realization that if he wanted to get rid of “The Eye” he had to kill him. In Ligeia, the narrator is unable to see behind Ligeia’s eyes as they are ‘beautiful’ but ‘dangerous’ at the same time. The conceal Ligeia’s mystery as the narrator is haunted by it.
“ For eyes we have no models in the remotely antique. It might
have been, too, that in these eyes of my beloved lay the secret to
which Lord Verulam alludes.”
In the quote above the narrator talks about how eyes are old and carry a lot of history as it could be considered as an antique. Moreover, how they hold a secret that he is dying to unlock. He also uses an allusion to Lord Verulam of Great Britain, England, Scotland, Ireland, and the UK. this allusion emphasizes that even one of the most powerful men calls attention to this secret that Ligeia carries.
Dreams:
Dreams are used throughout the short story to emphasize the factor of an unreliable narrator. Poe suggests throughout the story that the thoughts of the narrator about his deceased lover are opium-induced delusions but towards the end of the story, the narrator believes that Ligeia has come back from the dead. The idea of coming back from the dead can be considered a side-effect due to the opium-induced hallucinations. Poe doesn’t focus on the fact that Ligeia comes back from the dead nevertheless, he is more concerned with the aspect of ‘What’ he sees, than ‘How’ he sees it. Furthermore, Poe is suggesting not that Ligeia became real thus, a more symbolic representation as Ligeia became more than just a memory to the narrator she has consumed his mind and has become toxic.
“There was a mad disorder in my thoughts -a tumult unappeasable. Could it indeed be the living
Rowena who confronted me? Could it indeed be Rowena at all?”
The narrator is doubting himself and what he sees, therefore, he acknowledges that he is not in his right state of mind and is questioning his perspective on whether this is a dream or not.
The ending also suggests that the narrator has died as he mentions that the lies motionless and that he ceased to struggle or move which reflects the fact that he might be dead. Additionally, the narrator also is telling the story of his lover and how he met her. Therefore, he might be on his deathbed reminiscing about his lost lover and his life after her death as the story ends with him screaming her name which leaves the audience with an unsettling feeling. The narrator could be seeing his dead wife as she appears to him as the “angel of death” ready to take him from the world. These theories all suggest that the narrator has died due to his ominous opium-induced hallucinations and the sudden reappearance of a live-like Ligeia.
“What is important about the title of the poem, “The Raven”? Why does he use the title?
The poem ‘The Raven’ is about a mourning lover grieving over the loss of his soulmate. He is drunk (as shown by the Absinthe), and is losing himself in his books, when he suddenly hears a tapping. He opens his chamber door and finds nothing. He then hears a tapping again and opens the window, from, which a Raven flies in. It perches on top of the bust of Pallas (Athena, the greek goddess of war, and wisdom) and just stares at the main character. This confuses him, and he starts talking to the raven.
Ravens often symbolize death, and grief and I believe that the Raven in this story symbolizes the death of Lenore, and the grief of the man. Even though the raven constantly repeats the word ‘Nevermore’, and the dead lover’s name is Lenore, Poe decided to name this poem ‘The Raven’. I believe that the reason behind this is that the Raven is meant to encompass the whole point of the poem, and all of the major points it stands for. The poem is full of grief, and tragedy, and a raven would be the perfect embodiment to showcase this as for centuries that is what they have symbolized in literature.
The video also heavily implies that the main character is having a hallucination caused by the Absinthe. This is a type of wine that can be hallucinogenic, and Poe himself used to drink this substance. This substance is focused on by the camera specifically when he hears the tapping, further emphasizing this point. Also, the Raven says ‘Nevermore’ multiple times to the man, at the end of each stanza starting from the 8th stanza. This is a strong indication that he was hallucinating as this Raven is talking even though ravens cannot normally speak. Additionally, at the end of the video we can clearly see the man passed out, presumably from drinking too much.
