We briefly discussed the way in which Woolf wraps up this story. I believe we were all a little confused at the sub-plot of Septimus and Rezia when it was first introduced. It was difficult to determine if they were important characters and if they were going to keep appearing throughout the novel. As we read on we learned of Septimus and his story, but the question was still in my mind; What is Septimus doing in this novel about Mrs. Dalloway?
There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Clarissa and Septimus. It was mentioned in one of panel presentations that Septimus embodies Clarissa's dark impulses and thoughts. I find this quite an engaging idea. The first thought that comes to my mind is the connection with windows. Clarissa first mentions windows in the scene with Miss Kilman and Elizabeth. After Miss Kilman leaves with Elizabeth for the stores, Clarissa looks out the window (p 126). She sees the old lady next door walking upstairs and go to her bedroom. In the midst of Clarissa's hostile thoughts towards religion, love, and Miss Kilman she takes a moment to realize the solemnity of the moment. She respects her in a way that is unknown to us. She sees the lady and thinks how peculiar it is that she moves away from the window as soon as Big Ben strikes "as if she were attached to the sound"(p 127). She realizes there is a connection between something "gigantic" and the "midst of ordinary things".
We see that she has some sort of almost subconscious connection with this neighbor and she feels connected to something bigger. Woolf uses this idea to articulate the relationship between Clarissa and Septimus. Towards the end of the novel Clarissa finds out about the suicide of one of Mr. Bradshaw's clients. Somehow she recounts the events in almost the exact way they happened. I believe Woolf used this to re-articulate the idea of this broader connection. The connection is supported when Clarissa looks out the window again during the party. She sees the old woman, but this time the woman looks back at her. The woman pulls the blinds in response to the sound of Big Ben. By thinking of this gigantic vs ordinary connection she somehow connects with Septimus. She thinks of his suicide and realizes his situation and we get a sense of contrast between Septimus and Clarissa. "He made her feel the beauty, he made her feel the fun." (p 186) I think this shows that Septimus was the dark side of her thoughts, the suicidal insane part, and by connecting with these darker idea she was better able to appreciate the beauty and fun of life.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Following Footnote's Footsteps
"Awww Crap. I still have summer reading to do. There are only a few weeks of summer left. Well, I better get it over with." I open to page 1 of The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. "... undulating outer edge of LP. 1 " "Hmm a footnote, what stupid vocab or explanation do I get to learn about today?" I jump down to the bottom on the page and read "I love the constancy of shine of the edges or moving objects". "What?? This isn't a footnote, there most be something wrong." Weird.
That about sums up exactly what was going on in my head the day I started reading The Mezzanine. It probably sums up the internal conversation everyone had when they first opened this Baker novel. As I continued reading the novel I was shocked at the way the footnotes were used. It was something that Ii had never seen before. It wasn't an editor explain complex concepts or abnormal vocabulary. It was the actual author of the book using them as an opportunity to digress from the actual substance of the book. Baker goes off on these wild tangents ranging from paper vs plastic straws to people's eyebrows (p 97). It was quite entertaining most of the time.
It was nice to have a change of pace for once. Most books just roll right along never pausing to allow time for thought. They just impose a strict plot that follows a linear path of events until the climax. This novel was fun to read because it encouraged digressions and time to think. When I was reading I could space out for 5 minutes just to think about what I read and how I had never thought about/noticed it in my own life. While this change was nice it was also very annoying at times. In addition to the fact that it took forever to read -- because I would space out randomly -- sometimes Howie would rant about stuff that I didn't care about what so ever.
When I started writing my pastiche to demonstrate this same technique in the footnotes I found it really difficult. I made an outline to direct my thoughts and sort of planned out digressions and ideas. However, when I actually started writing I found opportunities for much better digressions that I hadn't intended. This is the sort of tangents that Baker is after. The kind that one can just write about -the kind that just keep going and going- and then have a problem coming to a stop.
That about sums up exactly what was going on in my head the day I started reading The Mezzanine. It probably sums up the internal conversation everyone had when they first opened this Baker novel. As I continued reading the novel I was shocked at the way the footnotes were used. It was something that Ii had never seen before. It wasn't an editor explain complex concepts or abnormal vocabulary. It was the actual author of the book using them as an opportunity to digress from the actual substance of the book. Baker goes off on these wild tangents ranging from paper vs plastic straws to people's eyebrows (p 97). It was quite entertaining most of the time.
It was nice to have a change of pace for once. Most books just roll right along never pausing to allow time for thought. They just impose a strict plot that follows a linear path of events until the climax. This novel was fun to read because it encouraged digressions and time to think. When I was reading I could space out for 5 minutes just to think about what I read and how I had never thought about/noticed it in my own life. While this change was nice it was also very annoying at times. In addition to the fact that it took forever to read -- because I would space out randomly -- sometimes Howie would rant about stuff that I didn't care about what so ever.
When I started writing my pastiche to demonstrate this same technique in the footnotes I found it really difficult. I made an outline to direct my thoughts and sort of planned out digressions and ideas. However, when I actually started writing I found opportunities for much better digressions that I hadn't intended. This is the sort of tangents that Baker is after. The kind that one can just write about -the kind that just keep going and going- and then have a problem coming to a stop.
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