- mad Louisa
- or any other Gothic/non-Gothic elements of Yearsley's poem
- relations (conjugal and otherwise) between Mr. and Mrs. Shandy
- or anything else that you would have liked to say in class today but didn't have a chance to.
Monday, February 28, 2011
For Credit: Mrs. Shandy, mad Louisa, and Other Unfinished Business
We covered a lot of ground today in our opening discussion of the beginnings of the Gothic, but we also left some unfinished business. Feel free to respond to this post with any thoughts about
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I found the descriptions of Louisa to be very interesting. Much of the poem goes into great detail to explain her as a person, her emotion, and her experience. I think that within this focus on mad Louisa there is a strong sense of the Gothic that emerges. In class today we discussed what elements encompass Gothic Literature such as darkness, betrayal, damsel in distress, mad lunatics, oppressive, high emotion, and an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. I certainly believe that Louisa's character incorporates many of those qualities. An example of this would be in lines 206-212:
"Beneath this stack LOUISA's dwelling rose, / Here the fair Maniac bore three Winter's snows. / Here long she shiver'd, stiffening in the blast; / The lightnings round their livid horrors cast; / The thunders roar, while rushing torrents pour, / And add new woes to bleak affliction's hour; / The heavens lour dismal while the storm descends"
We can definitely visualize the atmosphere as being very dark, cold, and suspenseful while simultaneously getting the emotion/feeling of being scared, sad, and lonely. Something to note in this passage is that yet again we come across a repetition of the opening line which says, "when angry storm descend" whereas the last line in this passage says, "while the storm descends." This imagery of storms, lightening, thunder, and rain repeat often throughout the poem. Obviously this is something typical of Gothic Literature, but I wonder if there is a deeper meaning behind the descending storms and if Yearsley is trying to create/say something other than the obvious?
Today in class we discussed what elements make up Gothic literature. In Yearsley’s Clifton Hill we are able to find a lot of the elements we discussed throughout the poem. Starting on line 206 Yearsley writes about the mad Louisa and encompasses two of the elements we discussed, damsel in distress and crazy lunatic. Even from the first lines of her depiction, “Beneath this stack LOUISA’S dwelling rose”(206), we are given images that give Luisa a beastly quality, as if she is arising from the dead. This is also an element of Gothic literature, finding the creepy and non-human like qualities within a character.
But as we read on I can’t help but feel bad for Louisa. Yearsley writes, “No Mother’s Bosom the soft maid befriends”(213), as if implying she grew up alone and without a mother’s love. She also uses words such as morn, solitude, misery, and horrid silence to describe Louisa’s life. I can’t help but think that she is in her current “lunatic” situation because of negligence in her early life. Yearsely says,
“MEMORY! I charge thee yet preserve the shade,
Ah! let not yet the glittering colours fade!
Forbear the cruel future yet to view” (248-250).
When she says that she “charges” memory, it is as if she is blaming it for where she is now, but she still doesn’t want to let go of her past because it is better than the direction she is heading in her future.
I didn't want to say it, but to some degree, when someone mentioned Twilight as an example of gothic literature, I wanted to immediately blurt out "what about Harry Potter," because being apart of this saga as it was literally unveiled earlier on in my childhood years, did more than entertain. In fact, it prompted many parents to feel compelled to be a part of this religious conquest to preserve their children's innocence. Some honestly believed that by exposing these books to such a young, easily manipulated audience would encourage children to willingly engage in this gothic world of witchcraft, necromancy, sorcery and so on. This eventually turned into a modern day crusade of good and evil. The question I used to ponder on for years, "was my fellow peers evil for wanting to rebel against their parents by continuing to read them." Although, I can joke about it now, it was a terrifying experience then.
Regarding the relations between Mr. and Mrs. Shandy, I think it is hysterical to think that Mrs. Shandy is the one who is not fulfilled. In that family dynamic where Mr. Shandy is the "man of the house" who always has an opinion and is a big talker that he can not squander up enough excitement to satisfy his wife. After discussing the tone of the dialogue during their together-time, I realized that she definitely had an air of sarcasm and compliance in her voice. Mrs. Shandy, as we've said in class, is actually the smart and practical person of the house and seems to know a great deal more than she lets on to her husband. The husband-wife relationship between them is comical, and this pretty much seals my opinion that she is or has had an affair. Her attitude seemed to be that she was just laying there and taking it (no innuendo intended)because it was their routine and it might be the only time where her and Mr. Shandy have real conversations. There were so many words and expressions from Mr. Shandy in the passage, along with the "3 and 1/2 minutes" that he was satisfied. But, no mention or hint that she was enjoying it or even getting ANY pleasure from the act.
I find the words the Gothic and the grotesque easily interchangeable. They have a similar ring to them except that I feel the Gothic usually refers to a setting or the surrounding environment, which is what we see in Yearsley's poem. As for the grotesque, I feel like that word applies to characters and their actions as humans.
Concerning the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Shandy, I think the Mrs. really finds her husband's inquiries about their son during intercourse quite grotesque. Her lackadaisical attitude throughout the entire scene may be comical, but I feel like there is a deeper meaning behind her monotone sarcastic retorts. How enjoyable can sex be if you are discussing your son? I kind of cringe at the thought because to me it just seems to be a very awkward subject to talk of in such an intimate environment.
Secondly, call me a romantic, but I found the idea of weekly scheduled relations to be a turn off. It kind of makes me flinch and wonder if married life is really worth it. I feel like just from what we've seen between the Shandys one could argue and say their relationship is almost Gothic critique of holy matrimony. We really have seen the weird and even gross side of husband and wife in some of the various scenes we've read about them.
In response to the relations between Mr. and Mrs. Shandy, I see Mrs. Shandy as placating her husband. I saw Mrs. Shandy as giving a bored, passive response. She has to deal with Mr. Shandy's rants all the time and it seems that her best option is to agree him. As PMV pointed out, Mrs. Shandy's practicality and intelligence are a factor in this discussion. In my opinion, Mrs. Shandy knows that it is not worth getting into a fight with her husband. Thus, the best thing to do is agree with Mr. Shandy and not give him the chance start an argument. There is also the possibility that her response to the sex mirrors how she feels about the breeches. She doesn't actually care. Both the sex and argument are so uneventful and minor it is difficult to show interest.
After analyzing the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Shandy I still feel her responses and tone serve to undermine Mr. Shandy. Their discussion centered around Tristam's breeches in the "beds of justice" reveals a strained relationship. Mrs. Shandy's responses to her husband's worries almost seem distant. She replies often by simply restating her husband's comment as to simply progress the conversation and cause no disturbance. "Not but the child looks extremely well, said my father"/"he does look very well in them replied my mother." They continue this mode of conversation throughout their dialogue. Eventually Mr. Shandy begins alluding to Mrs. Shandy's potential unfaithfulness, but she never baits. Her responses to his questions develop this demeaning tone, which I believe is tied to the lack of sexual gratification supplied to her by her husband. Their conversation concludes with Mr. Shandy growing frustrated with Mrs. Shandy as she continually responds in the same manner. "Perfectly says my mother, if it pleases you, Mr. Shandy"/"There's for you! cried my father. Please me! You will never distinguish betwixt a point of pleasure and a point of convenience." Their comments suggest that Mrs. Shandy is frustrated with her husbands inability to satisfy her, and she responds to this by goading her husband.
At the beginning of class, we were discussing themes pertaining to the Gothic we know as well as Gothic works of literature we had read. One in particular I can see some similarities to Shandy is Frankenstein; particularly Dr. Frankenstein and Mr. and Mrs. Shandy.
When Dr. Frankenstein was originally completely invested in creating his monster, he was submersed in his work of science and anatomy in particular. After the monster was created, he was very distant from his work. Frankenstein was either "all in" or "all out" when it came to his work and creation. We see this again with him when he begins to create the female monster, in the sense that he throws himself into his work - that is until he decides to destroy the second monster before it is finished.
I can see a similarity between Frankenstein and the Shandy's because they are not able to talk about needed items (such as the breeches) unless it is around the time they have monthly sex. They speak between or during their "encounters" but not other times. They seem to be either very aloof from one another and do not speak of significant and important topics, or they are in the middle of their conjugal visits and they are not both fully invested in the topic.
Like Dr. Frankenstein, Mr. and Mrs. Shandy are not able to find a middle ground that works for them in order to complete the necessary talks. This can relate back to the original goths who were either completely sober or very drunk in order to have serious discussions.
To Kellz: I was thinking about Harry Potter, too, after Twilight was brought up. If you have read the series, do you think there are any gothic elements within it? The first thing I thought of was the overall supernatural quality, but there are smaller common characteristics like an old castle, graveyards, an evil/mystical forest, and Rowling takes all of these things back out of the urban setting of Poe's gothic writing and relocates them all into the rural, far away place of Scotland where the majority of the narrative is set. Mix in all the suspense and terror and this series is rather gothic.
As for Twilight, I don't buy so much into the possibility of it being so much of a gothic text. Yeah, there are vampires and werewolves, and it reaches points of high suspense...but I can never get over how sappy the love story and drama is throughout the series. After we mapped out so many of the qualities and characteristics of gothic on the board on Monday, I noticed how little consideration there was for heart-felt longing and true love. The closest any of the books comes to what we know of the gothic, I think, is book two, when Bella is so despairing after Edward dumps her and leaves the country, and it seems everyone is on the brink of insanity.
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