Thursday, May 13, 2010
Settings and characters
Something that struck me about the story is how much detail the author gives on the setting and features, especially the countryside, but also the church and the belfry, the mural, of course, but less-vivid descriptions were given for the characters. (I think more pages were given to the description of Birkin's roommate, the magnificent stove, then of Alice.) Would you agree with that? Do you suppose that was the author's stronger side or a deliberate effect for the character Tom?
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Yeah, I would agree with that. Tom didn't really have the single-mindedness that's typical of people who are in love or who are even just smitten. He was able to focus on a whole variety of other things.
ReplyDeleteBut when you ask whether it's Tom or the author, that's a good point ... Maybe the author thinks his protagonist is madly in love and that he's clearly conveying that (even though he really isn't) but that he also has a bunch of other stuff to accomplish in the book so can't dwell too much on descriptions of Alice's loveliness.
Good observation. Tom didn't seem very skilled socially. He seemed much more interested in the stove, as you say, than the people he met. (The baluster, too!) He made friendships, but they all seemed to be driven by the other people seeking him out.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised when he revealed he was in love with Alice. He certainly didn't act like someone in love.
I know we're talking about Tom and Alice on another thread, but another aspect of that characterization is how we have to take some leaps about Tom and Alice's relationship. At one point Tom just remarks that Alice knew all about the war and Vinny. So we never see that part of their intimacy develop. Just at some point of the story they had deepened their friendship without our witnessing it.
ReplyDeleteGood point, cl. I especially found the passage interesting where Alice teases him about "falling in love" after visiting Lucy Sykes:
ReplyDelete"Well, she was right. I'd fallen in love. But not with sweet Lucy Sykes. You might wonder what I thought about during the many hours I spent up on that scaffold. Well, obviously, the work itself ... But also about the nameless man who'd stood where I stood."
To me, that passage suggests that Tom is almost more in love with the painting and its creator than Alice Keach ... yet the Vicar disrupts both desires. What do all of you make of that?
Good observation, Shanxi. The vicar's narrowness and sourness is far-reaching! But, you know, I was struck by the subdued nature of Tom's passions, for both the mural and the lady. When Moon suggested that the vicar might white-wash over the mural as soon as Tom departed, the suggestion did not seem to instill in Tom the passionate rage that you'd expect. He seemed more like, "well, that would be unfortunate indeed." And his passion for Alice seemed like that, too: resigned, futile, not quite worth fighting for.
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