A STUDY OF PLOT, CHARACTER, AND SETTING TO
CONVEY THE THEME AS SEEN IN HEMINGWAY’S
THE GARDEN OF EDEN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement For Degree of Sarjana Sastra
In English Letters
By
MG. LIA ROSARIA I
Student Number: 994214147
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW... 6
A. Review of Related Studies ... 6
B. Review of Related Theories ... 8
1. Theory on Character and Characterization... 8
2. Theory on Plot ... 11
3. Theory on Setting ... 14
4. Theory on Theme ... 15
5. The Relationship between Character, Plot, Setting, and Theme... 17
A. The Analysis of the Plot, the Character, and the Setting ... 23
b. Catherine ... 49
3. The Setting ... 56
B. The Analysis of the Theme ... 62
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION... 69
ABSTRACT
MG. LIA ROSARIA INDAH (2004). A Study of Plot, Character, and Setting to Convey the Theme as seen in Hemingway’s The Garden of Eden. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This study analyzes one of Hemingway’s novels entitled The Garden of Eden which was first published in 1986. The novel tells the story of young couple, David Bourne and Catherine, who has a honeymoon in French Mediterranean coast. The happy honeymoon has gone because of Catherine’s jealousy toward David’s writing. The whole story is constructed by the plot, character, and setting. This study deals with the plot, character, and setting to convey the theme of the story.
The aim of this study is to find out the theme of the story that is conveyed through the plot, character, and setting. This study discusses 1) the analysis of the plot, character, and setting of the story, 2) the significance of the plot, character, and setting to convey the theme of the story.
In collecting the sources, the writer uses library research. New Criticism will be the appropriate approach to analyze the problem together with the theories. The theories applied are concerned with character and characterization, the plot, the setting, the theme, and the relationship between the plot, character, setting and theme.
ABSTRAK
MG. LIA ROSARIA INDAH (2004). A Study of Plot, Character, and Setting to Convey the Theme as seen in Hemingway’s The Garden of Eden. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini menganalisa salah satu novel Hemingway berjudul The Garden of Eden yang pertama kali diterbitkan pada tahun 1986. Novel ini menceritakan kisah pasangan muda yaitu David Bourne dan Catherine. Pasangan ini berbulan madu di pesisir pantai Perancis. Bulan madu yang bahagia hilang karena Catherine cemburu pada buku David. Keseluruhan cerita dibentuk oleh alur, tokoh dan latar cerita. Skripsi ini membahas alur, tokoh dan latar untuk merumuskan tema cerita.
Tujuan skripsi ini adalah untuk menemukan tema yang dirumuskan melalui alur, tokoh dan latar cerita. Skripsi ini membahas: 1)analisa alur, tokoh dan latar cerita, 2)makna penting dari alur, tokoh dan latar dalam merumuskan tema cerita.
Data-data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan metode riset pustaka. Pendekatan New Criticism dengan menggunakan teori-teori penunjang dianggap cocok untuk menganalisa masalah. Teori-teori yang diterapkan adalah teori tokoh dan penokohan, alur, latar, tema dan hubungan antara alur, tokoh, latar dengan tema.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literary work is a portrait of human’s life. What is pictured there is generally based on the fact and experience which happened in the past or the dreams about future. The mixture of experience and imagination is expressed through the medium of written language that is literary work. As Hudson says in An Introduction to Study of Literature,
Literary is the expression of life through the medium of language. It can be regarded as something essential since it contains about real life, people, thought, and their feeling about life (1958: 10).
Since literary is the expression of life, it might contain an essential idea about life that can be learned. Therefore, every literary work has a meaning, no matter what the form is. The meaning of it can be gained when the readers read it carefully. Reading literary work can give readers pleasure, excitement, understanding, new perception, knowledge, etc. Literary work helps readers to be more human, because through the written language, literary work shares readers the condition of life such as sadness, happiness, struggle, peace, war, etc. Through the story the readers involve to the situation presented.
Based on John Reichert's statement above, a novel as one kind of modern literary genre, mostly takes real life as the inspiration in creating the plot, the characters, the setting and the theme of the story. The plot, the character, the setting, and the theme, as the intrinsic elements are related to each other and cannot be separated in order to make the good unity of the story. There must be something that the author wants to say through the unity of the story. The good creation of those elements will help the author to transfer the thing that he is going to say, to reveal the issue that he wants to share, that is a central idea of the story or a theme.
Ernest Hemingway is one of American great writers. He was born at Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago in July 1899. He is a master of the short story form and a reasonably good novelist. He has written the great works, such as The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), To Have and Have Not (1937), For
Whom the Bell Tolls (1939), Across the River and Into the Trees (1950), and The
Old Man and the Sea (1953). In 1954 Ernest Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in
literature “for his powerful, style-forming mastery of the art of narration” (www.books.guardian.co.uk). There are also his works that published after his death, such as A Movable Feast (1964), Island in the Stream (1970), The Dangerous Summer (1985), and The Garden of Eden (1986).
The Garden of Eden, one of his posthumous works is possibly his finest
achievement (Http://gutsche.com/burkhold/writing/bookreviews/eden.html). The Garden of Eden is the last uncompleted novel of Hemingway, which he worked
about the jealousy of young woman, Catherine, toward her husband’s activity, which is writing. The effect of the decision to write again is the unhappy honeymoon. It seems to her that she cannot accept the decision and she starts to act out of control. The story is presented in excellent words. The scenery is pictured clearly and beautifully. The setting where the story takes place is romantic and enchanting. The madness brought by Catherine as one of the main characters, the sexual fantasies, and the cruelty is very interesting. On the other side, David, as a husband who is easily trapped into Catherine’s games that sounds ridiculous, dangerous and nonsense is the other interesting point of the story.
reasons why people spend their time to read literary work, to catch the insight meaning of the story.
B. Problem formulation
In order to reach the target that is finding the theme of The Garden of Eden, by analyzing the plot, the character, and the setting, the problems are
formulated as the following:
1. How are the plot, the main characters, and the setting revealed in the story? 2. What are the significance of the plot, the main characters, and the setting in
conveying the theme of the story?
C. Objective of the Study
This study aims to reveal the organization of the plot, the description of the main characters, and the picture of the setting of the story in order to get a brief explanation about those elements. The brief explanation of those three intrinsic elements is used to convey the theme of the story. Hopefully, by stating the theme, the meaning of the story will be found.
D. Definition of Terms
To get the clear understanding of the content of the study, there are some definitions of terms that need to be clarified. Those are plot, character, setting, and theme.
though-out plan in which all the events, all the action and reactions of the characters, contribute towards the forward movement of the story (1972: 134).
A Glossary of Literary Terms by M. H. Abrams defines the word character
as the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say — the dialogue and by what they do — the action (1981: 20).
Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English
Novel for Overseas Students by M.J. Murphy gives the definition of setting as the
background against which the characters live out their lives. The setting can be concerned with the place in which the characters live and also the time in which they live (1972: 141).
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Study
Through literary criticism, the critics give comments, ideas, and reviews about a particular literary work. Literary criticism can also be the way to understand both an author and the work. In every study, the criticism is needed to support the idea or the topic discussed. There are some criticisms that will be presented to help the writer completing this study.
There are many critics who praise Ernest Hemingway as the most famous American novelist, short-story writer, and the essayist. He is awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature. He has written many novels and short stories. According to Magill, Hemingway’s work has theme concerning usually with his obsession of the outdoor pursuit and sport, identification with the primitive, constant confrontation with death, fascination with violence, what he calls “holding the purity of line through the maximum of exposure” (1989: 607-608). The typical Hemingway’s hero, existential in particular American way, faced the sterility and failure and death of his contemporary world with steady-handed courage and a stoical resistance to pain that allows him a fleeting, but essentially human, nobility, and grace.
The Garden of Eden, his last uncompleted novel, which is published
Hemingway himself honeymooned there with his second wife Pauline and the events in the story are based loosely on his memories of this Mediterranean trip. The Garden of Eden was a labour of love for Hemingway (www.fetchbook.co.uk/search B00006hc/tab Reviews.html). Thomas K. Burkholder in his review says that The Garden of Eden seems to be ruthless self-justification of an unsuccessful serial monogamist. It shows that through the novel, Hemingway wants to share his feeling by telling his love experience. David, the protagonist of the story, reveals the way Hemingway saw himself. This book is his most vulnerable, tender, and humbling portrait of so many of the central struggles of his life.
Yet it is plain why Hemingway may have agonized over this one and held it back from publication, for the man it reveals is not the public persona he cultivated for most of his life. The protagonist in this tale, an avatar of the author (as in most of his work), is here a passive and unassertive sort who is unable to deal effectively with the woman he has married
(www.booksunderreview.com/arts/literature/authors/H/hemingway-Ernest/hemingway’_ernest_5.html).
There is another review written by Anders Hallengren. The review is about Catherine.
“The anti-hero’s wife in The Garden of Eden, Catherine Bourne, is one of the most persuasive and lively heroines in Hemingway’s work. She is a more complex heroine and more fragile and intertwined relationship than are presented in any of Hemingway’s other works” (Http://www.fetchbook.info/search_0684804522/tab_reviews.html).
In the story the character is described as complex and well delivered. The character is worth to be explored deeper because it is well-built, attractive, and arising big curiosity.
not very good. Thus, many were surprised when The Garden of Eden was published in a shortened version, and was quite good. The novel explores themes of sexuality not touch on in Hemingway’s other work. In this book, Hemingway finally takes on some of the painful issues of his life. There’s a great deal of sexual intrigue in The Garden of Eden, especially about gender and identity. David and Catherine, the two main characters, do some fascinating and disturbing play with their genders and their relationship with each other as a man and a woman.
Since the criticisms focus on comparing the novel and the author’s life and discuss about gender, identity and sexuality as the main issues, the writer attempts to see the novel from the different study that is analyzing the intrinsic elements of the work. There are few reviews on the characters, as the important intrinsic element. The studies of the intrinsic elements such as plot, character, and setting to convey the theme, have not existed yet. What makes this study different is that this study tries to answer how the theme of The Garden of Eden as the central meaning can be conveyed through the contribution of the plot, character, and the setting. Therefore this study will concern in finding the relationship between those three intrinsic elements to state the theme, by going deeper beyond the text.
B. Review of Related Theory
1. Theory on the Character and Characterization
In this study, the theory of character and characterization are important to help the writer in analyzing the main characters of The Garden of Eden.
reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say -the dialogue- and what they do –the action (1981: 20)
Abrams also stated that basically, based on the importance, the character can be divided into two categories. They are major character and minor character. A major character usually appears in the whole of the story. He becomes the focus of the story. The events that appear in the story always involve him directly or indirectly. On the other hand, minor character is often said as the supporting character. The roles are less important then the main characters because they are not fully developed characters and their roles in a story are just to support the development of the major character (1981: 20).
Here, in this study, the character that will be discussed is the main character. The characteristic of the main character will be the next thing to be analyzed. Therefore the theory of characterization is needed to find out the characteristic of the main character.
According to Baldick, characterization refers to the presentation of persons in narrative or dramatic works by means of the characters’ action, speech, or physical appearance (1991: 34). It means that a character can be differentiated from others because they have their own personality and physical attributes.
is described directly by the author. The author gives her physical description directly by giving the statement such as "She has long brown legs". In indirect presentation, or showing method, the author shows us the character in action. The author only simply presents his character talking, acting and the author leaves the reader to find out what motives and dispositions lay behind what they say and do.
According to Murphy (1972: 161-173), there are nine ways that an author tries to present the characters’ personalities to the reader. They are:
a. Personal description
The author may describe a person’s appearances and clothes. b. Character as seen by another
The author may describe the character through the eyes and opinion of another character.
c. Speech
The author describes a character by giving us insight into the character of the one person in the book. Through what he says, he is giving us a clue to the character.
d. Past life
The author describes the character by giving us a clue to past events that could help to share a person’s character.
e. Conversation to others
The author may describe the character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him.
The author describes the character by letting us know how the character responds to various situations and events.
g. Direct comment
The author describes the character by giving a description or comment on person’s character directly.
h. Thought
The author gives the reader a direct knowledge or what a person is thinking. i. Mannerism
The author describes a person’s mannerism, habits, or idiosyncrasies to tell something about the character.
2. Theory on Plot
This theory is needed in order to analyze the plot that exists in the story. The development of the plot in the study will be based on the pattern of development stated in this theory.
Robert and Jacobs’ Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing stated,
A plot is a plan or groundwork for a story, based in conflicting human motivations, with actions resulting from believable and realistic human response (1987: 9).
Thus the plot of a story is the establishment of a conflict and the consequences, variations, and developments that stem from it (Robert and Jacobs, 1987: 9). Based on the statement, plot is important in making the arrangement of the story. Plot is the idea that determines how the story will flow. Plot will relate one action to another in order to make a good organization of the story. In well-plotted story, nothing is irrelevant; everything is related. In the story, time is important not simply because one thing happens after another, but because one thing happens because of another.
According to Robert and Jacobs (1987: 10-11) there will be the following aspects that form the backbone, skeleton, or pattern of development.
a. Exposition.
Exposition is the lying out, the putting forth, of the material in the story: the main characters, their backgrounds, their characteristics, goals, limitations, and potentials. It presents everything that is going to be important in the story. b. Complication.
The complication marks the onset of the major conflict in the story. The participants are the protagonist and the antagonist, together with whatever the ideas or values they represent, such as good and evil, individualism and collectivization, childhood and age, love and hate, intelligence and stupidity, knowledge and ignorance, freedom and slavery, desire and resistance, and the like.
c. Crisis.
action undertaken in an effort to resolve the conflict. It is important to stress, however, that the crisis, though a result of operating forces and decisions, may not produce the intended results.
d. Climax.
The climax is the high point in the action, in which the conflict and the consequent tension are brought out to the fullest extent. Another way to think of climax is to define it as that point in a story in which all the rest action becomes inevitable.
e. Resolution or denouement.
The resolution (a releasing or untying) or denouement (untying) is the set of action bringing the story to its conclusion. The major actions are completed and the final action, the walking, underscores the note of finality (1987: 9-11).
Furthermore according to Stanton (1965: 16), there are two important elements of plot: conflict and climax. He divides conflict into two parts:
a. Internal conflict
Internal conflict is the conflict between two desires within a character. Here, the conflict happened because the opposing desires or values in the character’s own mind, and he has to choose the best one for him.
b. External conflict
In this study, Stanton’s statement about the theory of conflict and climax is very important. It will be used in analyzing the second problem formulation.
3. Theory on Setting
According to Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing by Robert and Jacobs, setting refers to the natural and artificial scenery or environment in which characters in literature live and move (1987: 29). It means that everything related to the environment such as the time of day and the amount of light, the trees and animals, the society, the sounds described, the smells, and the weather are part of setting. The setting of a work is the description of the objects and physical appearance of the place where the story happens.
Rohrberger and Woods state that setting aids in establishing credibility; it can help to explain both characters and situation; it can give contribution to the atmosphere, or predominated mood; it can be active in foreshadowing; it can be symbolic (1971: 22).
In this study the writer will focus on the last statement that the setting can be symbolic. Later in the analysis, it will be found that the setting is used to symbolize the marriage and the main characters. It does not mean that the other uses of setting are not important. They are also important because it also helps the writer to understand about the setting.
setting as background, setting as antagonist, setting as a means of revealing characters, and setting as a means of reinforcing theme (1986: 39).
Therefore, in this study, the theory that will be used is setting as a means of revealing character. Pickering and Hoeper states,
Setting as a means of revealing character is a mirror of the character. An author makes the description of setting similar to the character. Hence, setting is a symbol for the character (1986: 39).
Besides to symbolize the main characters, the setting is also used as a means of reinforcing theme. It means that the setting is considered to have an important role in the story and analysis.
4. Theory on Theme
This theory is very important to help the writer in stating the theme of The Garden of Eden as the final result of the analysis.
According to Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing by Robert and Jacobs, the theme of a story is whatever general idea or insight the entire story reveals. In literary fiction, a theme is seldom so obvious. That is, a theme need not be as a moral or a message; it may be what the happenings add up to, what the story is about. For the meaning, we must look to other elements in the story, besides what happens in it (1987: 59). As in Introduction to Fiction, Stanton states,
Based on Stanton’s statement previously, it means that the theme is the important element of the story, in case that the theme is the central idea or the main point that the author want to share through the story. It can be any idea about life. The main idea of the story can be gained from the contribution of the events that create the story, since the events of the story can be seen through the mixture of character, setting, and plot, therefore the theme can be found by analyzing those elements.
Perrine in his book Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, states six principle in making up the theme. The first, theme must be in the form of sentence. It must explain something about the subject. The second, theme must draw a general statement about life. The third, theme can be gained only from the context of the story to show the specific purpose of the author in revealing specific problems. The forth, theme must include major details of the story to avoid partial interpretation. It means that theme cannot be in contradictory with the whole content of the story. It must be based on the source of the story itself. The fifth, theme can be states as long as the view of life presented in the story is fulfilled. The last, theme must be different from familiar saying in terms of the main of its statement. It provides a wider knowledge than familiar saying (1974: 107-109).
with all other elements of literary work that its existence is closely related to the characters, the setting and the plot. Therefore, to discover theme of the story, a comprehension of numerous elements of the work is needed (1986:502).
5. The Relationship between Character, Plot, Setting and Theme
Rohrberger and Wood reveal that the analysis involves a study of the various elements of the story in an effort to understand the theme of the story (1971: 20). What are meant by the various elements are the important points that stand in the work and they are analyzable. In this study, the writer sees that the character, plot and setting in the novel can contribute to state the theme. The character and the setting have a very close relationship. Usually, the characteristic of a setting in a novel may influence the characters. Even, it can be said that the characteristic pattern of a person will be formed by the condition of his environment. The setting never exists by itself. It explains the characters and the situations and the influences the atmosphere. M.J. Murphy states,
The settings have a great effect upon the characters’ personalities, actions, and ways of thinking. The settings “where” and “when” they live in or at determine the characters in the novel (1972: 141).
statement, it can be gained that characters and setting give contribution towards the forward movement of the story. The story then moves on, carrying the reader with it up and over a series of crests until the climax of the story is reached and everything is resolve, generally to the readers’ satisfaction. Stanton also states,
The character, setting and plot are the factual structure of the theme of its particular nature. Implicitly, by factual structure of the story, we can get the record of an imaginable occurrence of every detail in the story. What we call the story’s factual structure is simply one way in which its details are organized. Those same details are also organized so as to form patterns that convey the theme (1965: 12).
The statement above shows clearly that the character, setting and plot are the important element to state the theme. It is mentioned that from those elements, as it is called the factual structure, the details of the event in the story are found. It means that the theme can be found by analyzing the character, setting, and plot. It is strengthened by Kresner’s statement that the combination of character, setting, and plot analysis can help the reader to get the theme of literary work (1962: 31).
C. Theoretical Framework
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The novel that will be analyzed in the study is The Garden of Eden written by Ernest Hemingway. This novel was published posthumously in 1986, approximately 20 years after his death. The novel that the writer read is published by Simon and Schuster in New York. It consists of 30 chapters and 247 pages.
The Garden of Eden was not in finished form at the time of the author’s
death. The novel is the last uncompleted novel of Hemingway, which he worked intermittently from 1946 until his death in 1961. Some cuts in the manuscript and some routine editing corrections have done in preparing the book for publication. Nothing has been added, and it is the entire still author. The Garden of Eden, only the second posthumous novel, just might be Hemingway’s most surprising book of all, and it becomes a sensational bestseller when it appeared in 1986.
top of her jealousy of his work, she does burning the writing. Her madness proves to be damaging to all involved.
B. Approach
There are several approaches that can be used in analyzing literary work. This study will go deeper beyond the text. It will focus on analyzing the theme that can be conveyed through the unity of the intrinsic elements of the novel that are plot, setting, and character. Therefore, the appropriate approach that is used is New Criticism.
As stated by Klarer in An Introduction to Literary Studies,
New Criticism concerns to free literary criticism of extrinsic factors and thereby shift the center of attention to the literary text itself… New Criticism does away with the use of ungrounded subjective emotional responses caused by lyrical texts as an analytical “tool” (1999: 68). It means that New Criticism puts away the extrinsic elements such as the psychological conditions of the author, the biographical data, the historical background, etc. In order to maintain an objective stance, the critic must focus solely on textual idiosyncrasies. In other words, the study that uses New Criticism is only focusing on the analysis of a text, including the element in the text or the intrinsic elements of the text. Meaning to say, it solely will be based on the text’s intrinsic dimension. Furthermore Klarer also states,
A central term often used synonymously with New Criticism is close reading (1999: 68).
C. Method of the Study
The study was going to analyze one Ernest Hemingway’s literary works, The Garden of Eden. When the study had found the work, reading it several times
was very important to get the understanding of the whole story. Deciding the topic was the most important step to be taken, because it would determine the next step.
After deciding the topic, the study would be implemented into some steps. The first step was doing library research to find some books, criticisms, essays, and also theories, which were needed. Browsing the Internet’s sites to find the reviews and criticisms was very important to collect data as many as possible. Those data would be useful in finishing the study. The data would be divided into two categories: the first was primary data that were taken from the novel itself, The Garden of Eden, and the second was secondary data that consisted of data
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter is going to analyze the problem formulations that have been stated in the first chapter. Based on the two problem formulations, this chapter will be divided into two major parts. The first part will analyze the first problem that is analyzing the plot, character and the setting of the story. The second part will analyze the second problem that is finding the contribution of the plot, the character and the setting to convey the theme of the story.
A. The Analysis of the Plot, the Character, and the Setting
1. The Plot
a. Exposition
There is a brief description about a happy honeymoon the couple has. Every day for them is a great lovely day. David Bourne is 28 years old. Catherine is seven years younger. She is beautiful and charming. As a couple who is still burnt in deep love, the happy lovers spend their days for having fun. Their daily activities are breakfast in the fresh morning, wake (sometime wake up late and get breakfast in bed), drink, lunch, and siesta, make love, sleep, wake again, swim, tan and fish. They absolutely enjoy the honeymoon. The honeymoon has been wonderful and they have been truly happy.
There is only happiness and loving each other and then hunger and replenishing and starting over. (P. 14)
It is depicted that David Bourne is really in love with Catherine that he has thought of nothing, but being with his girl whom he loves and is married to. He feels that he is so close to his wife and everything he is thinking is all about happiness and love and thinks that there is no bad thing happens and will happen.
It was a very simple world and he had never been truly happy than any other (p. 14).
In this part, Catherine is introduced as the girl who likes surprise. The first surprise she has is she appears with her hair crops as short as a boy’s. She does it because she wants to be both as a girl and a boy. She likes it because according to her it is a dangerous surprise.
He glanced at the clippings and then read the long letter. It was cheerful and guardedly optimistic. It was too early to tell how the book would do but everything looked good. Most of the reviews were excellent (p. 23). This part of exposition gives information that the protagonist, David Bourne, is a writer. He is a successful writer and doing well for his book. For David, writing is his life; means that writing is not only his occupation, but it is everything. It is part of him that can not be separated from his life. And receiving the excellent reviews is a great thing for him.
On the other side, it is shown that Catherine can not see the writing as David sees it. The success of David's novel is just part of his occupation and she can not understand why David has to consider it more than that. It is shown when Catherine comes and joins him to read the letters, she does not like the reviews because according to her, the reviews are terrible and they can destroy her husband. There is nothing good about the reviews.
“Plenty of people would be happy if their damned husbands had good reviews.”
“I’m not plenty of people and you’re not my damned husband. I know I’m a violent girl and you’re violent too. Please let’s not fight. You read them and if there is anything good you tell me and if they say nothing about the books that’s intelligent that we don’t know you tell me.” (p. 25)
b. Complication
This part is started with David’s decision to write again. The decision is made when they are lying close together in the night by listening to the heavy fall of the surf on the beach.
“We might stay a few days and see.”
“Good. If we do I’d like to start to write.” (p. 37)
As the decision is made, he works on the writing, and Catherine has gone out leaving him to work in the room. After writing, he goes to the hotel bar and meets Catherine there. It seems that she encourages him on his writing by asking him about it. But as the conversation moves, they get to urge about it. It is the first strong argument they get after they are married.
“Why?” she said, leaning toward him and speaking too loudly. “Why should I shut up? Just because you wrote this morning? Do you think I married you because you’re a writer? You and your clippings.” (p. 39) The quotation above shows that the clippings and writing actually make her feed up. Here, her dislike of the writing turns into anger. But Catherine seems to understand that the quarrel is her fault. She is such a fool to debate about the writing. She is sorry about that.
However, while David has to work on his writing, Catherine has to spend the day by her own activity. That morning when they have breakfast she says she will go to Biarritz. Although she knows that her husband has to work, she still tries to ask him to go with her. Again, she talks to him about surprise.
You didn’t work enough this morning to make your brain that stupid or are you just hung over from yesterday. You didn’t work at all really. And you better soon because everything’s going too fast… (p. 45)
Catherine comes back bringing the surprise. She is very excited. She kisses David again and again. David is confused with what’s going on. After giving him once more kiss, she explains. She actually wants to please her husband.
She came back and stood by the bed with the sun on her through the window. She had dropped the skirt and was barefooted wearing only the sweater and the pearls (p. 45).
She is very excited finding her beautiful body and she wants to surrender herself for her husband. She wants to show it combined with the long dark legs, the straight standing body, the dark face, and the sculptured tawny head to surprise her husband, because that is the way she looks like now. Her husband likes it and says that it is wonderful. He is thinking that she is a new girl. They are full of love and have sexual intercourse through the night. In the morning they have breakfast in bed. Catherine plans them both to stay on the beach tanning there all through noon.
They are befriends again. They have a happy day as they use to. They spend their morning to breakfast at Prado. They eat and drink more of Manzanilla, which is light and nutty tasting. They have nice talking about the food, African wine, and pictures of Castilla. Everything is good, although Catherine is moaning about her inability of painting and writing. She wants herself to go back to her world. She also wants David to back to the honeymoon, means that he has to spend his whole time for the honeymoon, do not work on the writing. All she wants is they come back to their world that is the marriage and enjoy their honeymoon.
She is frustrated because it does not work like what she wants. She acts as a girl all that afternoon. But later, when they are lying quiet for a long time, she starts to be a boy again. David rejects it. When she persists to be a boy, he gives up. Catherine is so excited. After that she has her own plan that she has a wonderful surprise for herself tomorrow. She is going to Prado to see all pictures as a boy.
They have been married three months and two weeks. David is sitting in the café, reading the reviews of his book. The reviews have been the understanding and perceptive reviews and it is a great advantage that this is his second novel. He is still thinking about them, when Colonel John Boyle is coming. They are very happy to meet each other. David tells him that he is in his honeymoon and they talk about Catherine. Colonel congratulates David for his book. He appreciates David’s work.
“It moved me very deeply,” Colonel said. “You’re a deceptive son of a bitch.” (p. 61)
Catherine is coming, and David introduces them to each other. Colonel likes Catherine. He adores her as a beautiful girl and he likes her dark tanned skin. She is very happy. She tells him that she acts as a boy this day. It remains a question in Colonel’s mind. Before leaving Colonel warns David about Catherine. He finds something uncomfortable about the way she tells him about changing as a boy and a girl. Here is what Colonel said to David.
“Remember everything is right until it’s wrong. You’ll know when it’s wrong.”
“You think so?”
“I’m quite sure. If you don’t it doesn’t matter. Nothing will matter then.” (p. 65)
When they lie on the bed for taking rest in the afternoon, he shares her about that matter, the change. But Catherine insists that it is fine. He thinks that there will be no end to change.
Actually David is thinking about “no end to change” of Catherine. It turns him into a bad mood and Catherine does not understand. It brings them into a quarrel. Catherine keeps talking about the change. She irritates him by telling him that she will be back to be a girl, not because she wants it. She did it because David forces her.
“Because I’m a god damned woman. I thought if I’d be a girl and stay a girl I’d have a baby at least. Not even that.” (p. 71)
In this part, David decides to work on his writing again. He spends his time to work. He knows that he should manage his time for the writing and his wife. He writes in the morning, and therefore he still has time to join his wife. On the other side, Catherine is jealous about the writing. She is often mad at David because she misses much time to be with her husband. She has to go everywhere by herself. She spends her days by own activities. She changes her hairs to turn her husband’s attention. She changes her gender to disturb her husband. She does anything nonsense to prevent her husband from writing.
c. Crisis
In this level, the story goes as the way Catherine’s jealousy grows deeper and uncontrolled. David spends much more time on his work. He is in the time of concentrating to the writing.
He had worked very hard for four days. (p. 76)
In achieving to turn David's attention from writing, she makes a lot of plans. She assures David that this time she is not going to start so bad and wild. But the fact, it is still ridiculous. It is about to get her husband’ hair cut as the same style as hers. She wants him to be identical with her. She has planned every thing. She has found the coiffeur who can make it as fair as Scandinavian, the one she likes. It will match with their dark skin. The quotation below shows the way Catherine persuades her husband to follow her plan.
“This would be much fairer. He said he could make it fair as Scandinavian. Think how that would be with our dark skin. And we could make yours lighter too.”
As Catherine is success in persuading David, they go to the coiffeur. The coiffeur, Monsieur Jean, firstly cuts Catherine’s hair. She wants it to be fair. There she lies to the coiffeur that David has given his decision to make the hair as fair as her pearl. She is also the one who makes the decision for David’s haircut. They go back to the hotel with the result of the cropping, the same style hair cut. It pleases her so much. She is very happy and satisfied of the result. David is the one who does not know exactly how he is, what he has done. In the hotel he tries to think about what happens. He tries to see what’s going on toward him actually. He matches himself, and is trying hard to like the way he looks now. He does not get it at all.
He looked at the face that was no longer strange to him at all but his face now and said,” You like it. Remember that. Keep the straight. You know exactly how you look now and how you are.”
Of course he did not know exactly how he was. But he made an effort aided by what he had seen in the mirror. (p. 85)
In the night, when they are in bed, Catherine asks David to be a girl. The reason is that according to her it is not so easy to be a girl.
Another achievement is that she wants her husband to write her down in his writing, no matter it is where she has been bad put in; she wants him to include her in the writing. She demands it and does not want the writing to be copied for sell. She will keep the writing for them. She does not want the writing to success. She is too jealous to let it happen.
The next day, as to prevent her husband from writing, Catherine has created her other whim. She has brought him a girl. The girl is the one whom they saw yesterday when they sit in the cafe. Catherine is so impressed with the girl’s beauty and she likes the way the girl to blush. It is a surprise that Catherine brings the dark handsome girl. The girl is uncomfortable, because she does not want to disturb David’s day. But David welcomes her. The thing that he does not welcome is that then Catherine invites her to stay with them in the hotel. David does not show his objection in front of the girl. While he is alone with Catherine, he shows his anger and asks Catherine for kind of nonsense surprise she makes right now. Catherine explains that the girl, named Marita, is a nice girl and she likes her. She needs the girl to accompany her while David is working. She wins over her husband.
“Don’t be so violent. She’s a nice girl and I like her. I know it was unforgivable to bring her up without speaking to you. I’m sorry. But I did it and it’s done.” (p. 100)
Starting from that day, three of them are going to any where together. It is because Catherine wants them to always being together. She always asks the girl to join. David is so upset. The existence of the girl is annoying. But he does nothing. He just keeps silent. He shows his anger by giving rude responds to Marita. He is not too enthusiastic to make any conversation with the girl.
“When I drink I want to say things I should never say, “the girl said. “Then don’t say them.”
The girl is nonsense in some points, especially when she says that she loves David. David does not believe her although she has convinced him that she does fall in love with him in the odd way, the way that she does not even know either.
The condition of the relationship is growing bad. Catherine always offers him the ridiculous whims. At the time three of them are together, Catherine makes a rule that Marita is now David’s girl too, so that David should treat her as his girl. It surprises him so much. He does not think that it can grow that way. Catherine gives her the ridiculous relationship and he is in it. Poor David passively accepts the situation after Catherine asks him to kiss Marita. First time David kisses Marita, Marita is crying and he blames Catherine for that thing.
David put his arms around the girl and kissed her and she started to kiss him and turned her head away. Then she was crying with her head down and both hands holding the bar.
“Make a joke now,” David said to Catherine. (p. 103)
Instead of feeling guilty, Catherine is attacking David back as the one who should take a responsibility that he makes Marita crying.
“I tried not to.”
“I egged her on about you. I’ll go out and find her.” “No. Wait a little while. She’s too sure of herself.”
“How can you say that, David? You just broke her all up.” (p. 104)
Catherine does not stop to that point to hurt and undermine David. Catherine creates a scandal. She has kissed Marita when they are going to the town.
out of the car now,” Catherine looked at him lovingly but rebelliously and then said, ”It was fun and I liked it. You kiss her too. The boy’s not here.” (p. 110)
For Catherine it is game. It is a kind of fun that she has her own pleasure by playing her husband’s feeling. She wants him to think about the relationship’s problem, in which he will feel disturb to do his writing. It does work. David is so sad that he can say nothing. David can understand whatever she does, but not this part. Catherine is terrible of thinking that David can be leaving her. When David appears, he is shocked at the dead way she looks and at her toneless voice. His appearance relieves her worries. He comes back, hurts, but still stays.
In this part, David starts to have a real conversation with Marita. They talk about his novel. The novel is about East Africa. Marita knows about the book, she ever reads it, she likes it and it gets David’s attention. They discuss it. Marita is crying when reading the story. She understands enough how the story goes. It irritates Catherine so much. She surely does not want Marita to like David's writing. She plans Marita's existence to be one way to separate David and his writing. Catherine becomes rough and sarcastic.
“What I wanted to say when you interrupted,” Catherine said,” was did you think of him as a writer when you kissed him and liked it so much?” “”Wait until you read it,” Catherine said. “It’s a book you had to die to write and you had to be completely destroyed. Don’t ever think I don’t know about his books just because I don’t think he’s a writer when I kiss him.” (p. 112)
nice respond. He recognizes his different feeling toward Marita, he falls in love with her.
She was gone for about ten minutes and he felt of the girl’s drink and decide to drink it before it got warm. He took it in his hand and raised it to his lips and he found as it touched his lips that it gave him pleasure because it was hers. It was clear and undeniable.
“You’re very beautiful,” he said. “And I love you.” (p. 127)
This level reaches the point where David is trapped to his wife’s whim that is a triangle relationship. He makes progress on his writing. Whenever he finishes from working, in his loneliness, Catherine is not the only one he misses like yesterday, but Marita has taken her own place in his heart. Marita is the one who understands about the writing. He lets Marita to read the story when the story about his father has finished. This is the first time he shares what he has written to someone. He discusses it with Marita, the way he never does before. He knows that it is ill manner and stupid. He has never done before with anyone and it is against everything he believes about writing but he does enjoy the moment when he shares it with Marita. He can not help wanting to read it with her and he can not help sharing what he has never shared and what he has believed can not and should not be shared.
Catherine wants to go to Prado and she asks David for that. Marita is opposed her, because David has to work. Marita and Catherine are arguing. Catherine is selfish. She persists to go. Catherine is jealous to Marita.
“Who is the third drink for?” “Marita.”
“Your paramour?” “My what?”
The effect is she attacks Marita and David’s writing when she is joining them. She becomes so rude. When knowing that Marita has read the story, she also wants to read it. The story is about David’s childhood in Africa when he is hunting an elephant with his father. She wants to read it not because she cares about the writing but because Marita has read it. Catherine reads the story. She is very disappointed because according to her the story is bestial. She also mocks David’s handwriting by saying that it is horrible. She can not keep her anger so then she tires the cahier and throws it on the floor. She accuses Marita and David that they both conspire to make her read it. She mocks him as a monster and she hates him. They are in their bedroom. Catherine is still mad at him. David is at her side to calm her down. She asks David whether he is going to write again next morning. It knocks her down when he says yes.
“I’ll sleep then. Are you going to work in the morning?” “Yes. I might as well.”
“You’ll work well,” she said. “I know you will. Good night David. You sleep well too.” (p. 158)
Catherine does not want to lose her power in stirring David. She tries to create another whim to stir David. She asks him to go to Jean’s again. David refuses her. She reminds him that if she wants it so bad, David will do it to please her, like usual. Then, they go to Jean’s and they are back identically like when they are in Grau du Roi.
planning things as she wants about the story. She plans to get the book out. She is going to have the manuscript typed up to where it is now and sees about getting illustrations. She has to see the artist and makes the arrangement. David absolutely disagrees with her. Because it is his writing and it must be him the one who makes decision for his writing. She is so uncontrolled. She mocks David by saying that the stories are just David’s way of escaping his duty. When it seems that she does not success to undermine David, she also decides to have an affair with another woman. It shocks David so much.
“But she may decide to have an affair with another woman if she ever takes it up again. There is quite a bit about another woman.”
“Christ I never thought it would go this way.” (p. 191)
She becomes brutal. She talks so rude. She has dumped Marita. Marita is not her type at all. She gives Marita up to him. She calls Marita as “the gamin type”. She is not interested with gamin type. She acknowledges that she does break herself in pieces in Madrid to be a girl. That is the reason that all she wants is for David and Marita to be happy. The thing she needs now is asking them to forget it all and just being friends. It hits David deeply. He is angry to himself and to Catherine. She is very disappointed and hurts. It is found that Catherine is changing fast to be someone else because of the jealousy. And Marita is there with no jealousy of the work. She understands about the writing.
d. Climax
She accuses his father has defraud his wife and all his friends. She continues to hurt David by telling him that he certainly makes his father despicable by writing about him. David explains that his father is not “bogus drunken father”. David tries to sober himself down, that his anger will not blow out. He feels empty. All Catherine’s works breaks his heart. She undermines him by underestimating the story, but David knows that he has worked well. The writing is meant so much for him. He assures himself that he must stand and go on, faces what he has to face without being irritable or hurt when someone does not understand and appreciates what he wrote.
He feels better after thinking that the writing do good at all. But, then he faces the game made by Catherine again. When he wants to ask the girls swimming, he finds Marita and Catherine are in bed. They are lying on a big bed together side by side; the sheet is pulled up under their chins. Marita is silent and serious. Catherine is laughing to see David shocked. The terrible one, Catherine is so excited and invites David to join them. She challenges him to sleep with them both. She absolutely wants to hurt him.
He opened the door. They were lying in the big bed together side by side; the sheet pulled up under their chin.
“Please come in, David,” Catherine said. “We’ve been waiting for you.” …
Catherine was laughing.
“Won’t you come in too, David?” (p. 212)
Africa and his drunken father and his press cutting. She tells Marita that the clippings are hundreds and they are all the same pictures. It is horrible. She complains about anything related to his writings and clippings. She murmurs about the wastebasket, the ridiculous child’s notebook and David’s grammar. David’s French is worse. He fakes along well enough in conversation and he is amusing with his slang. The whole business is a fraud really. David and Marita are there listening all what she said. She is also the one who burns the clippings. David feels completely hollow. Catherine is satisfied. She feels win; her face is calm and reasonable.
The top of these happens in the evening when David opens the big Vuitton suitcase. He finds the pile of cahiers that the stories have been written in was gone.
Now there was no danger and no emergency. It was only disaster now… He still could not believe that she had done it but he felt sick inside himself when he close and lock the door (p. 219).
But he knows that it has happened. It is so empty and dead in his heart. He can not stand with the worse possibility that Catherine has done something bad to the writing. He comes to see her and asks her where she puts them. The worse thing truly happens. She does the cruelest thing above all her insanity that is burning the writing. She says that she does it for him and for all of them. She burns them all so that David can concentrate to write only the narrative.
“Where did you burn them, Devil?”
“In the iron drum with holes that Madame uses to burn trash,” Catherine said.
“Yes. I poured on some petrol from a bidon in the remise. It made a big fire and everything burned. I did for you, David, and for all us.” (p. 220-221)
David is on the top of his anger. His anger blows up. All of his words are to show that he is really angry with Catherine. He is explicitly expressing his anger. He is terribly sorry that he ever met Catherine and ever married her. He becomes heartless. He is sad, mad, and terrible. He is afraid of her no more. He does not care about his love he has for her. All he feels is he truly can kill her.
“All I want to do is kill you,” David said. And the only reason I don’t do it because you are crazy.” (p. 223)
Everything he has achieved, his writing he has worked on for months has gone just in a nonsense way, burns by his nuts wife. She succeeds in breaking him!
e. Denouement
After the burning, David awfully gives up about Catherine. In the morning, Catherine says to David she is feeling sorry that she has done a great unforgivable fault. It is one reason she decides to go to Paris. He just lets her go, because he does not even know what he feels toward her, he does not even know what he is going to do toward her.
“Except for the fact that I feel I’ve probably done a great wrong to you that I must try to set right I feel very well,” Catherine said. “That was one reason I was going to Paris. I didn’t want to tell you.” (p. 227)
I won’t end as I’d like to because it would sound too preposterous to believe but I will say it anyway since I was always rude and presumptuous and preposterous too lately as we both know. I love you and I always will and I’m sorry. What a useless word. (p. 237)
It is the first letter that he receives from Catherine. So that is going on. She does leaving. At last, David is staying with his new girl, Marita. He is broken and in pain. He tries to accept everything. He tries to work again, although firstly it does no good. There has been too much emotion, too much damage, too much of everything and his changing of allegiance, no matter how sound it has seemed, no matter how it simplifies things for him, is a grave and violent thing and Catherine’s letter compounds the gravity and the violence. He has to try to recover everything. He does not want to spend his time thinking how bad things are. He decides that he has three choices. They are try to remember one that is gone and write it again, try to write the new one, or write on the god damned narrative. He finally chooses the first choice.
And Marita with her patience always stays beside him. She loves him, cares of him, encourages him, and understands him and his writing. The story is closed with his ability to write the story about his father again. He finds that he knows much more about his father then before. He writes steadily and well. The leaving of Catherine and his ability to write steadily and well are the actions to bring the conflicts into its denouement.
2. The Characters
a. David Bourne
has just been married Catherine and he has the honeymoon in the French seaport village of le Grau du Roy. He loves fishing.
He fished for some time with no luck and watched the mackerel boats tacking back and forth out on the blue sea and the shadows the high clouds made on the water. Then his float went under in a sharp descent with the line angling stiffly and he brought the pole up against the pull of a fish that was strong and driving wildly and making the line hiss through the water. (p. 7)
He likes drinking. It can be seen from the way the author describes his habit or manner. He drinks wine very often; no matter it is in the morning, afternoon, or at night. He drinks wine, brandy, vermouth, or whiskey whenever he wants; after making love, after swimming, before going to bed, in the morning in the café while reading or waiting for his wife, Catherine. He has his own rules of drinking.
This was the first time since they had come on the wedding trip that he had taken a drink of brandy or whiskey when they were not together. But he was not working and his on rules about drinking were never to drink before or while he was working. (p. 14)
He has a professional preoccupation that is writing. He is a good writer and is successful on his book. In the beginning he is described as a novelist who enjoys his early success. He is brilliant in writing. His first and second books are satisfied. The books are sensationally sold. He receives excellent reviews. The publisher wants him to write more. His next book is expected to be better than the first and second book. It pleases him.
can love her so much that he cares about nothing else. Other things seem inexistent for him. He thinks of nothing but being with Catherine whom he loves and is married to. He puts aside everything except enjoying honeymoon, sharing affection and love with her.
David absolutely falls in love with Catherine. He can not handle his felling toward his wife. He is really flattered, burning into the flame of love. He realizes that he is deep in love with his wife and feels that he can not be happier than this time. All he truly knows is he feels good at all. So the thing he does is filling his days only with caring, cheering and loving. He has deep love for her. He is in passionate love. He wants to share and gives the full affection to his girl. His days are full of happiness and love. It can be seen from the David’s words below.
…that showed the beautiful new strange line of her head as she slept on her side he leaned over and said to her but not aloud, “I’m with you. No matter what else you have in your head I’m with you and I love you.” (p. 20)
Because of his deep love toward her, David becomes sensitive, full of love and tender, so that he always fulfills his wife’s will. He is actually an introvert husband that he seldom shows how he feels. He rarely shares what happened inside his heart. All he does is just keeping it in and feeling it by himself. He keeps his dislike, his objection in order to please his wife. He keeps anything to make her happy. He does not tell his wife about his true feeling.
He is a man who is not able to say no his wife. It shows that when his wife starts to change, he seems to disagree. He hurts when he sees the change that is his wife becomes a boy with short hair cut. His reaction to that situation is just keeping silence. He follows any idea that his wife has. He never interrupts or rejects although he knows that the idea is disturbing, nonsense and ridiculous. When his wife persists to do anything crazy, like cutting his hair the same way as hers and changing her gender as a man and David must act as Catherine, he just goes for it.
When his wife wants to change to be a boy, the truth is that it confuses him. He does not understand why she does it. He does not want her to change, especially that way. But he pretends that it is all right, and just asks her whether she really wants to be a boy. He is full of love and tender. Above all, he wants to see her happy. When his wife says yes, he instantly says yes. It is bothering him, but he just agrees with her idea. It indicates that actually there is no good communication in the marriage.
his mind to like it. The truth he feels like someone else. He can not get the point where he can like the haircut. It is still strange for him, although he has convinced himself that it does well. But it does not work. He does not even know the one whom he looks at the mirror.
David Bourne is a compliant husband. He is always being compliant when he gets a strong argument or quarrel with his wife. For instance, they are arguing because Catherine wants to go to the café.
…Do you mind if we do?” “No, Devil. Why would I?” “I didn’t want to if you didn’t.” “You said you wanted to.”
“I want to do what you want. I can’t be more compliant than that can I?” …
“Let’s clean up here and go.” “Where?”
“Anywhere. The god damned café.” (p. 88)
Through the conversation between Catherine and David above, it seems that David wants to calm down the situation by being the one who losses. The last sentence is the expression of David's anger. It is his rude words to call a cafe as "the god damned cafe". It shows that actually Catherine's manner irritates him. But, he does not want to urge longer about the simple thing. The best way is just being a compliant.
is trapped into his wife’s madness. He is trapped by the situation of accepting two women at once. It is absolutely nonsense, considering that he actually realizes that the relationship is in danger because Catherine is out of control. As a man and as a husband, he does not have a strength and effort to rebel and fix it. He, confusingly, gets involve and allows her to pull him into the crazy game that somehow unmans him. His wife undermines him. His wife wickedly uses his passive reaction to influence and control him.
Firstly, Catherine wants the woman, named Marita, to stay with them. David surely disagrees at all. He felt that he needs to reject it because he dislikes it. It is nonsense. He only wants to be with his wife, no one can interfere. But again, the objection is only in his mind, and what comes out was the contrary.
“Please stay a few days,” Catherine said. “David and I would both love to have you...Tell her David.”
The hell with her, David thought. Fuck her.
“Don’t be silly,” he said. “Call Monsieur Aurol please,” he told the boy who served. “Well find out about the room.” (p. 97)
David’s speech above shows that David pretends to be happy accepting Marita's existence. He does not try to speak up his mind that he actually does not agree if Marita is staying with them in the hotel. Then when they are in their room, David tries to share his wife about his objection. But again, his wife is able to control him by assuring him that Marita is nice and it will be fun if she can stay with them for a while.
following his wife’s demand is when he kisses the girl because Catherine asks him for.
He knows that it is strange to him because he knows the girl a few hours before. He does not give a firm rejection to Catherine’s odd demand. He is unassertive that he falls to the situation, follows it and does not try to get out from it, although he actually does not comfort with it. It is to undermine him when Catherine tells him that she has made a scandal by kissing Marita in the car when they took a walk to the town. He is sad and desperate. He is angry to Catherine. Below is the conversation to show David’s feeling.
“I can’t help you.”
“You can. You can’t go away. I couldn’t stand it if you went away. I don’t want to with her. It’s only something that I have to do. Can’t you understand? Please understand. You always understand.”
“Not this part.”
“:Please try. You always understand before. You know you did. Everything. Didn’t you?”
“Yes. Before.”(p. 114)
From the previous conversation, it is discovered that he can take a right action in facing Catherine's odd whim by showing his real feeling to Catherine that he is angry with her. But, again, that is all. When Marita tells him that Catherine is terrible because Catherine thinks that David is leaving, he gives up. He is shocked at the dead way she looks and at her toneless voice. He forgives his wife and acts that nothing bad happens.
his unassertiveness, he is terribly easy to fall in love with Marita. It means that he comes into the trap made by his wife. He is too weak to face his loneliness. Although he knows that it is wrong to want them both, he does want them both. It firstly comes when he finishes writing. He feels lonely, begins to think about them, and misses them. It is strange, but he does miss them both.
He seems to realize that Catherine is going out of control, but he does not want to think about it further. He just wants to follow the game; so far he has involved and enjoyed it by letting himself to fall in love with Marita. Falling in love with Marita does never exist in his mind. After it happens, he is trapped deeper to the game Catherine made. The pressure that is made by Catherine toward him, his weakness to face it, his habit to always follow anything Catherine wants, his passionate love that he can not handle make him falling to the ridiculous situation of their marriage. He is too weak to face the pressure that is given by his wife. He uses to follow anything Catherine wants. It does truly unman him when Catherine asks him to marry Marita, so that he will have two wives.
“I told Heiress everything about my new leaf,” Catherine said. “The one I just turn over and how I want you to love her too and you can marry her too if she’ll have you.”
“Would you really?” David asked the dark girl. “Yes,” she said. “Ask me.” (p. 144)
himself, his wife, and the relationship. And he is tired to think about the change. He does not think at all. Thinking does no good and he just lets it be. He has thought that if he does not think then everything that is wrong might go away.
He realizes that everything goes wrong. He regrets it so much. He is tired. He is broken. He knows that he is tired of all things happen. He finds in his own story that he wrote, about his father. The understanding is the beginning and he realizes it as he wrote in the story of his father. Actually he has thought about it.
Tiredness brought the beginning of understanding. (p. 182)
It is actually his own conscience that in his life, he also comes to his understanding about his life, his wife and his relationship. Starting from this point, David begins to change. He begins to give notice to his wife’s whims and he begins to aware of what happen. But it is all too late. His wife is growing uncontrolled.
b. Catherine
Like her husband she also loves drinking and she is obsessed with tanning. She wants to be as darkest as she can. She is so obsessed that she wishes she has some Indian blood. It can be seen from her words below.
“How dark are you going to get?”
“As dark as I can. We’ll have to see. I wish I had some Indian blood. I’m going to be so dark you won’t be able to stand it. I can’t wait to go up on the beach tomorrow.” (p. 31)
Her speech shows that it is truly her obsession to change her skin becomes so dark. It is her favorite activity to go up on the beach and getting tan there for the whole day. As she obsessed, she is getting dark and Colonel John Boyle, a friend of David, adores her as the darkest white girl he has ever seen. He is asking her questions how she can be so dark and it flatters the girl so much. Therefore the dark skin that she gets is not satisfied her. She still keeps her desire to have the darker skin. She still wants to be darker.
From her manner, it can be seen that she cares about fashion and the way she looks. As it is narrated, she goes to the coiffeur at Aigues Mortis and cuts her hair as short as a boy’s. Her hair is cropped as short as boy’s. It is cut with no compromises. It is brushed back, heavy as always, but the sides are cut short and the ear that grows close to her head are clear and the tawny line of her hair is cropped close to her head and smooth and sweeping back. She likes it firstly because the style of cropping is different. It is something new and that kind of hairs is rare for the girl in the village. Below is the example of the way the author shows that she likes fashion.
