English 48B
12/21/09
"Waythorne felt himself yielding again to the joy of possesorship. They were his, those white hands with their flitting motions, his light the haze of hair, the lips and eyes..."
This passage is Waythorne's thoughts about his wife Alice, after having discovered that her ex husband Haskett is coming to visit their ill child. He loves his wife, and adores her sweetness, but when he discoveres about Haskett, one of two ex husbands, his feelings about her begin to shift. He has knows of his wife's previous marriages, and it had never bothered him until he realizes that Haskett is of lower class. That is not the only thing that bothers him. He feels that his
wife's actions are only good practice from her previous marriages, and that she is willing to do anything that pleases him. He begins to feel less enjoyment of his wife, but more control. While most men would be thrilled about this discovery, he begins to be bothered by the fact that every action is not sincere, but a mere attempt to make him happy, for he is probably her last chance of a marriage. This quote shows Waythorne's attitude change, by realizing that he controls her. While in this particular sentence it brings him joy, the quote is followed by Alice pouring coffee in not the way the he likes it, but her ex husband Varick, and he become bothered by the possessive notion.
This particular quote stuck out to me for a few reasons. I feel that it shows a different side to Waythorne, not only in his change in feeling towards his wife. Throughout the rest of the story, he tries to gain the readers sympathy by making Alice come off as a horrible beast who is only using and manipulating him. This quote is a brief glimpse as to some of Waythorne's inner thoughts that are not so pleasing to the reader. While he goes into endless detail about how much he loved his wife, he also thinks of her as an object in which he possesses. Their are other brief occurrences as these, such as when Waythorne says "a man would rather think that his wife has been brutalized by her first husband than that the process had been reversed." He make Alice appear guilty of being an "actress", when he doesn't even think of his wife as sweetly as he makes it seem. Like Alice, he is also putting on an act. These acts represent the repression the wealthy lifestyle brings them, for they cannot openly say their true feelings to one another, without being unconventional or inappropriate. Another reason this quote struck out to me, was the punctuation. His thought ends with an ellipse, which shows that his thought is incomplete, that there is more that he is thinking, that he is not telling the reader. The fact that he won't share it, gives off the impression that he does not even find it suitable to be thought, for it is a very low thought about his wife. It can also show that he begins to question whether "those lips and eyes" are really his, or if he feels that she is the one who is possessing him.
This passage is Waythorne's thoughts about his wife Alice, after having discovered that her ex husband Haskett is coming to visit their ill child. He loves his wife, and adores her sweetness, but when he discoveres about Haskett, one of two ex husbands, his feelings about her begin to shift. He has knows of his wife's previous marriages, and it had never bothered him until he realizes that Haskett is of lower class. That is not the only thing that bothers him. He feels that his
wife's actions are only good practice from her previous marriages, and that she is willing to do anything that pleases him. He begins to feel less enjoyment of his wife, but more control. While most men would be thrilled about this discovery, he begins to be bothered by the fact that every action is not sincere, but a mere attempt to make him happy, for he is probably her last chance of a marriage. This quote shows Waythorne's attitude change, by realizing that he controls her. While in this particular sentence it brings him joy, the quote is followed by Alice pouring coffee in not the way the he likes it, but her ex husband Varick, and he become bothered by the possessive notion.This particular quote stuck out to me for a few reasons. I feel that it shows a different side to Waythorne, not only in his change in feeling towards his wife. Throughout the rest of the story, he tries to gain the readers sympathy by making Alice come off as a horrible beast who is only using and manipulating him. This quote is a brief glimpse as to some of Waythorne's inner thoughts that are not so pleasing to the reader. While he goes into endless detail about how much he loved his wife, he also thinks of her as an object in which he possesses. Their are other brief occurrences as these, such as when Waythorne says "a man would rather think that his wife has been brutalized by her first husband than that the process had been reversed." He make Alice appear guilty of being an "actress", when he doesn't even think of his wife as sweetly as he makes it seem. Like Alice, he is also putting on an act. These acts represent the repression the wealthy lifestyle brings them, for they cannot openly say their true feelings to one another, without being unconventional or inappropriate. Another reason this quote struck out to me, was the punctuation. His thought ends with an ellipse, which shows that his thought is incomplete, that there is more that he is thinking, that he is not telling the reader. The fact that he won't share it, gives off the impression that he does not even find it suitable to be thought, for it is a very low thought about his wife. It can also show that he begins to question whether "those lips and eyes" are really his, or if he feels that she is the one who is possessing him.
20 points. Like control, possession is another human illusion. Indeed, they may be the same illusion.
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