View of Philosophizing Claude Wheeler’s Character in Willa Cather's One of Ours (1922)

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Technium

47/2023

2023 A new decade for social changes

Social Sciences

Technium.

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Philosophizing Claude Wheeler’s Character in Willa Cather's One of Ours (1922)

Baker M. Bani-Khair¹, Omar Abdullah Al-Anbar², Khaled Abdullah Al-Anbar³

1Associate Professor of English, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, The

Hashemite University, Jordan, ²Associate Professor of Arabic Literature, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Isra University, Jordan, ³Assistant Professor of Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, University of Jordan, Jordan

[email protected]

Abstract. This paper attempts to explore the thematic dimensions of Claude Wheeler's philosophy about life and death in Willa Cather's One of Ours (1922), which seem to be vague and complex at the same time. This philosophy that Claude develops through his relationships with the surroundings and the people around him governs the way he thinks about life and death, and thus veers and reshapes his torrent of thought that he made within in terms of several aspects pertaining to his psychological, romantic, spiritual, and military life. Despite the fact that Claude Wheeler is an ambiguous character who seeks for more harmony with his ideal self, his personality weakness functions as a motivating factor for more self-development and personality growth. Wheeler deeply and philosophically recognizes this desire which finally enables him to critically understand the meaning of his life much better through ideals and values he establishes for himself.

Keywords. One of Ours, Self-actualization, philosophy, ideals, Willa Cather

1. Introduction

The concept of critical philosophy in Willa Cather'sOne of Ours(1922) constitutes a major aspect that dominates Claude Wheeler’s character in all social, religious, military, and personal life. The novel setting takes place before and during World War 1 and concentrates on the character of Claude Wheeler who tries hard to pursue his idealistic dreams and wishes through a journey of self-discovery, which finally led him to perceive the ideal meaning of his own life and existence in a complete philosophical sense. He goes into many destinations, but most of them were frustrating and disappointing because he mainly could not find a purpose in his life. Finally, Claude Wheeler joined the war in Europe and survived the hardships of it, leading him to know just before he dies that his life has eventually become meaningful and purposeful with sacrifice in a distinct personal and philosophical view. In fact, as Muhammad Farhan (2020) states that "Willa Cather's novel One of Ours was published in 1922. This novel has the First World War as its background. It shows a sense of betrayal and lament the loss of traditional values which could no longer guide them in the course of their lives." (812)

Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 47, 325-328, September, 2023 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com

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This paper attempts to explore the thematic dimensions of Claude Wheeler's philosophy about life and death in Willa Cather's One of Ours (1922), which seem to be vague and complex at the same time. This philosophy that Claude develops through his relationships with the surroundings and the people around him governs the way he thinks about life and death, and thus veers and reshapes his torrent of thought that he made within in terms of several aspects pertaining to his psychological, romantic, spiritual, and military life. Despite the fact that Claude Wheeler is an ambiguous character who seeks for more harmony with his ideal self, his personality weakness functions as a motivating factor for more self-development and personality growth. Wheeler deeply and philosophically recognizes this desire which finally enables him to critically understand the meaning of his life much better through ideals and values he establishes for himself. Arnold M (1978) asserts that Wheeler represents a moral weakness on his personality side, but with his desperate wish to reconcile with his self, he could eventually reach harmony with his ideal philosophy about death and life and other moral virtues,

"Although Willa Cather sometimes stubbornly defended One of Ours as one of her favorite works, most readers tend to feel dissatisfied with it. Several reasons have been offered for its

“failure,” among them the complaint that it has no definable point of view, or that Cather was so close to Claude Wheeler that she could not achieve appropriate authorial distance. I believe that these are justifiable criticisms, but for me they do not strike at the heart of what is wrong with the book. In One of Ours Cather makes a technical decision that puts a weak character at the center of her novel, thus precluding a strong affirmation of values in her usual mode. This seems to force her into a rather desperate assertion that any value, even a false one, is better than no value at all. (159). Wheeler tends to philosophize the way he lives as he contemplates and further idealizes his concepts about existence. His philosophical reflections come with a series of flashbacks and memories that accompany the tiniest and slightest passing moments of childhood up to the anticlimax he has in his romantic life later when he married Enid Royce, a woman whom he could not find his self with. Such Philosophical reflections included the smallest flashing images of natural scenes around him. One example on this is his constant contemplations about nature that seem to be satirical, ironic, and idealized, but also consistent with his feelings and aspirations as a person who looks for freedom, ideal love and sacrifice. In the following quotation, we see that Claude has begun to look at things differently with much more keen criticism and irony. This is very obvious through his contemplations in the ranch and through his criticism of his father as a land owner: yet as for him, he often felt that he would rather go out into the world and earn his bread among strangers than sweat under this half- responsibility for acres and crops that were not his own. He knew that his father was sometimes called a land hog by the county people, and he himself had begun to feel that it was not right they should have so much land,-to farm, or to rent, or to leave idle, as they chose. It was strange that in all the centuries the world had been going , the question of property had not been better adjusted, The people who had it were slaves to it, and the people who did not have it were slaves to them (1006).

2. Claude Wheeler's Philosophical Criticism

It seems that Claude's personality begins to be more inquisitive and dubious. He starts to raise many questions about abstract values and life axioms, and he starts to criticize things with a sense of complete awareness of right and wrong. His personality develops as he becomes able to condemn some oppressive social forces and negative social habits and patterns, such as greediness, selfishness, exploitation, and oppression. Claude’s critical philosophy extends to take another deviation through his contemplations of his relationships with his wife, Enid Technium Social Sciences Journal Vol. 47, 325-328, September, 2023 ISSN: 2668-7798 www.techniumscience.com

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Royce, thus he starts to realize that true love should be based on truth and faith that goes beyond the boundaries of romantic feelings, which he basically could not find in his first and last marriage. Their relationship seems to go beyond traditional and conventional norms of marital life. Such relationship was not satisfactory for both of them, especially Claude Wheeler who rather feels detached and isolated from his wife psychologically and spiritually. Iqra Cheema (2021) explains that, "Willa Cather's One of Ours (1922) narratives an enigmatic relationship between Claude and Enid. Their ambivalent and apparently unconsummated marital relationship departs from the spectrum of heteronormativity. Claude has a "sharp disgust for sensuality," whereas "everything about a man's embrace is disgusting to Enid" (Cather 49, 172).Claude and Enid's explicit aversion to sex signals that they may be asexual—

simultaneously, it highlights Claude's deviant masculinity and Enid's uninterest in wifely roles.

By positioning these complex psychosexual and sociosexual intricacies in World War I, Cather highlights the inalienable connection of sexuality to identity and masculinity in Western societies." (81)

Cheema also asserts that, "All of Claude's interactions with both women and men occur under the socio-cultural heteronormativity, which is why the reactive fusion of identity, masculinity and sexuality is more visible in Claude. Throughout the novel, Claude's gender performance violates the heterosexual masculine code of his family and community in his aversion to traditionally manly tasks, his nonconforming romantic engagements, his passive (a)sexuality (82) This obviously shows us that Claude Wheeler's personality is extremely deviated from family life and obligations. He rather lives and thinks in his own world. His ideal part controls the way he deals with his wife and people around him. This is one of the things that made him criticize the relationship he has with Enid. We can notice this idea clearly in this quotation, “by morning the storm of anger, disappointment, and humiliation that was boiling in him when he first sat down in the observation car, had died out. One thing lingered; the peculiarly casual, indifferent, uninterested tone of his wife’s voice when he sent him away. It was the flat tone in which people make commonplace remarks about common things” (1093).

It seems that Claude has never thought that love could be a frustrating and disappointing turning point that has a negative impact on his personal and emotional life, and he confesses it saying to himself, " it’s the end of everything for me.” …Claude had been a well-behaved boy because he was an idealist; he had looked forward to being wonderfully happy in love, and to deserving his happiness. He had never dreamed that it might be otherwise”

...” “Enid could make his life hideous to him without ever knowing it...” (1103)

Another Philosophical dimension in his character is his infatuation with nature. To him, nature is an essential source of inspiration that Claude uses to express his criticism of human life and the human behavior. Claude uses nature as a projection technique to have an outlet for his own critical feelings and thoughts referring to ancient civilizations and criticizing the history of savage practices and oppressive behaviors. This is quite noticeable when he begins to contemplate nature such as the sun, as we notice from this quote when he referred to the history of slavery and human exploitation, "To him the sun rotated about the wheat fields.

But the moon, somehow, came out of the historic past, and made him think of Egypt and the pharaohs, Babylon and the hanging gardens. She seemed particularly to have looked down upon the follies and disappointments of men; into the slaves’ quarts of old times, into prison windows, and into fortresses where captives languished ….” (1100). It is quite clear now that Claude observations of nature are mixed with his critical philosophy that renounces certain social practices like slavery through his observations in the ranch which come in form of meditative views and projections within the space.

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3. Conclusions

In the military scene as well, Claude seems to be filled with a philosophy that charges his own spirit and enthusiasm. Again this philosophy stands to be an ideal kind that urges him to keep up with his own dreams and even prepares him spiritually to sacrifice his life for the sake of ideals. He could definitely have those fixed and solid convictions about life and death, as the narrator states “The sound of the guns had from the first been pleasant to him, had given him a feeling of confidence and safety; tonight he knew why. What they said was that men could still die for an idea; and would burn all they had made to keep their dreams”

(1266). Death is also another domain in his philosophy that means dying with values and beliefs. It also means a bigger theme than any ordinary death. The smile he had on his face before the closing scene of his life could tell us the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that Claude had just had before death, "he smiled at them as if he were going to speak...”

(1293).Despite the fact that Claude feels out of place and struggles to find his real ideal identity in this world, he still searches for his lost part which exists in his deep self. However, disillusionment seems to be an important part of his character that hinders him from grasping the peaceful essence of life which he discovers too late.

References

[1] Arnold, M. (1978). One of Ours: Willa Cather’s Losing Battle. Western American Literature 13(3), 259-266. doi:10.1353/wal.1978.0049.

[2] Cather, Willa. One of Ours. New York : Vintage Books, 1922

[3] Cheema, I.S. (2021). Asexualizing Willa Cather's One of Ours. Arizona Quarterly: A Journal of American Literature, Culture, and Theory 77(3), 81- 100. doi:10.1353/arq.2021.0017.

[4] Farhan, Muhammad (2020). Willa Cather’s Vision of War in One of Ours. Journal of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 22(10), 810-819

[5] LISA BOUMA GARVELINK (2004) Willa Cather's Voyage Perilous: A Case

for One of Ours, Women's Studies, 33:7, 907-

931, DOI: 10.1080/00497870490503851