Burnt What??

 As I sit down to write this I am a little disappointed with the text. I really enjoyed the first part but I find the themes and ideas difficult to remember. I think this is important to point out because we discussed in class that the first part is a reflection of an event that occurred between Hail and Eliot. I think my inability to remember it comes from the personal nature of the section. I think that in Eliot’s distaste for authors and their personal lives being associated with their poems now seems valid. The intimate nature of the poem takes away from the universality of the poem. Unlike the previous poems that we read that drew the reader in, the first part of this one pushes the reader away. In the same way that Eliot was known to push Hail away, so does he push the reader away.  
 Despite the fact that the Rose Garden is supposed to represent love, Eliot’s own personal struggles cause him to write something that does not make love seem like an attainable thing, but instead as a constant struggle between two people. It also seems to become a thing to be challenged. This is evident in part V when the speaker states “Love is itself unmoving,/ Only the cause and end of movement.” This shows the way love takes on a life of its own, as powerful but it also causes movement as much as it ends it. This is very evident of the effect that love had on Eliot’s life. The negativity from this part really disappoints. I prefer a poem with a message that is not as evident or relating to the poet’s life.

To the Lighthouse

 So the end of this novel was like a reading something written by two different authors. Part two seemed very dull and lacked a lot of plot. Instead, Woolf chose to write the section in a way that reflected the section title: “Time Passes”. While I didn’t enjoy it, I can definitely appreciate the method. It definitely clarified the idea that as life ends and begins, time still rolls on. This is especially important in the way Mrs. Ramsey’s death was portrayed. In part one, she seemed to be the focus. Not only was the section predominately about her, but the other characters all existed in respect to her it seems. Without her, Mr. Ramsey had no identity, James had no true place, and all the people she took in wouldn’t have been a part of the Ramsey family. However, Woolf seems to challenge her true purpose by killing her off in a bracket. There is no extra information about her death, yet it just becomes a point of interest without a second thought.  
 This, to me, shows the way women are dispensable. It seems as if Woolf is making a statement that women who do not exist in their own realm of life are destined to be forgotten; to be victims of time passing. It reminds me of the quote “Well behaved women rarely make history.” This passage seems like an affront to women who settle for the way of life that Mrs. Ramsey pursued. As I read through part three I even forgot that Mrs. Ramsey existed. This section showed how she truly meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, as we see James and his father reconciling in a sense, or at least reaching an understanding, because the thing that defined their relationship was no longer around to be factor. On the other hand, it was a little disheartening to see how quickly her memory vanished and her position was filled with Lily, a woman who wasn’t even supposed to be the same type of woman. While she showed genius in figuring out how to step in, she seemed to regress from a modern woman to a woman destined to be lost in time. Who knows…

To the Lighthouse and Beyond...but not too far...

So far this book seems pretty interesting. I think the relationship between the males and females in this book is very interesting for many reasons. I think it is interesting to note that while Mrs. Ramsey seems very passive and very much stuck in the structure of the pre-modern woman, she also seems very modern in some senses. When I think of modern women of Woolf’s time, I think of women who speak their minds and exist outside of their marriages. Mrs. Ramsey seems to have achieved this. She exists as representation of beauty, not because her husband constantly says so, but because the other men around her are infatuated with her. Also, you can see, in part one, the way she seems to control her husband and his mind. While it is true that he needs her praise in order exist, she still has the power. She does not need him in the same way that he needs her.  
 I also see the way the oedipal complex is created in this novel. At first, I did not think of the hate between James and his father, but was instead more aware of the love between James and his mother. Their love to me did not appear to be coming from a ‘sexual’ place, unconscious or conscious but it seemed to be a commonality between the two. It seems as if James wants to be his mother, not like he wants to be like her. He seems drawn to her commitments and to the ideals that she gives him.
 In his eyes, it seems like his mother represents a sense of hope for him. She seems to represent a sense of acceptance for him while his father deals a reality that he does not seem completely welcoming of. The truth that his father is so drawn to may be because of some reason that we won’t learn until later in the novel. I wonder, rhetorically, if they will become closer.  
 

Ash Wednesday

This poem was actually pretty good. I appreciated the religious references in it because it made it so relatable. As I go back and read it again, it really does remind me of a romantic poem. In another class we discussed a quote where someone said “Romanticism is split religion” and I can definitely see that in this text. It is almost like text reaches past romanticism because it doesn’t seem to be the parts of religion that don’t quite fit the mold but is instead a true representation of some type of religion.  
 I’m not sure how I feel about the possible references to Eliot’s personal life because I’ve adopted the idea that he wants to separate the author’s life from the author’s works. I think that because he does closely associate this poem with people shows a change not only spiritually but also literarily. His ability to join his personal life into his works shows that he has in some way changed from being a poet for the people to being someone more focused on his soul.  

 This change is really weird to me. I’m not sure if he was trying really hard to create this which makes me think of Shelley’s “Defense of Poetry” which presents the idea that poetry is often created accidently. If this is the case and if Eliot was trying to create this, then somewhere in his religious quest, he has lost his power as a poet. I think making this argument is powerful because it challenges Eliot’s talent, which is not at all what I want to do.

On another note, I am starting to get annoyed with the part structure of Eliot’s poem. I have a question about why six parts. I guess if you think about the divine Trinity often associated with religion this makes sense.  

Best Eliot Poem...

I really enjoyed this poem. As I said in class, it is very lucid. In typical Eliot form, it is separated into sections which I find interesting. I am beginning to question his motivation for separating poems into sections. I think it reflects the parts of his life. As he writes in parts, he is showing a part of his soul to the reader. This is very interesting because he is against associating the author’s personal life with the work. However, I cannot think of what else he could be talking about.  
 I feel like associating this poem with a social situation would be taking the simplicity away from it. Instead, I think it’s important to acknowledge that this poem also came at a pivotal point in Eliot’s spiritual life. I think he uses a lot of religious elements as he tries to mull through all of the ideas of religion. The references to Heart of Darkness seem to be a reference to the literal dark heart. The references The Divine Comedy seem to deal directly with the religious aspect of Eliot’s life. The affect of being a traitor, and shame, to me, deals with the idea of shame associated with a religious unaccepted. I’d like to say more but I’m not sure I remember enough to make a logical point.
 The last section of the poem truly highlights the idea that the text is a peek into Eliot’s soul. It almost seems like a prayer of some sort as he confesses the kingdom to be the true place of finality. It almost seems like he has come to a realization about something in life, and this last stanza reflects the way he resolves something, which goes with what we discussed in class.

Paper Topic Ideas

I feel like I’ve learned a lot about both Woolf and Eliot thus far this semester. Some of the topics I’ve thought about writing about concerning Woolf and or Eliot are as follow:
Saffism, Vivienne Eliot, Men in Woolf works, Monk’s house and its affect on Woolf’s literary works, Woolf and Eliot’s feelings towards the Romantcis, and anger in A Room of One’s Own.  
Saffism interests me because it deals with the relationship between women. I think it would be interesting to tie this together with the homosexual relationships that people often think are associated with Eliot. It is hard to see the homosexual elements, to me, in both Eliot and Woolf’s work but I’m sure upon further research it is possible to see them
Vivienne Eliot interests me, but I’m not sure she made enough of a dent for there to be enough information on her. I’m also contemplating Elizabeth Hail as a muse of Eliot.
Men in Woolf’s work interests me because often Woolf focuses on women but I feel she takes the same voyeuristic approach that men previously too to write about women as she writes about men. It is almost as though she reverses the roles and becomes like a man. Also, she also seems to try to equalize men and women along some lines. This calls to my attention A Room of One’s Own and Mrs. Dalloway.  
I’m not sure about the other topics because they may be too vague and have far too little information. I think they may be good references in other essays. I think the idea of Woolf’s perception of the romantics may influence her own perception of men, as characters and as authors.

Mrs. Dalloway- Critical Women

In class the other day we each discussed things in the novel that interested us. Somewhere along the way we started discussing the interaction between Clarissa, Miss Kilmer, and Elizabeth. I think this relationship between these three women represent the different images of women in the novel. The jealousy, the envy and the interactions reflect the way women of Woolf’s time were learning to adjust to one another. What was most interesting about the different descriptions of the women to me is the way the women are viewed through one another’s eyes, but rarely to we get a description from a man. I think this says something about the social gaze of society. The way Woolf excludes men’s perceptions reflect the way she was trying to get women from being objects and subjects of men’s thoughts to being objects of one another.
 This novel provides the reader with a description of women and their feelings, outside of what men may have thought. As a woman, Woolf is able to provide a description of what women truly feel rather than a description coming from a man. Also, Woolf uses these descriptions to eliminate the myths about women not being able to have minds and thoughts of their own. Instead of presenting a novel about women in similar positions in life, she instead chooses to focus on women and their differences. I think she ironically presents them in strange ways to challenge the ideas that women are supposed to easily transition into their newfound freedom. Instead of showing the adjustment as simple, she instead shows the struggle of a woman trying to make her own place in society. 
 I think the way Woolf chooses to create a male character in her likeness says something about the situation of man. Woolf clearly shows that mental illness weakens a man the same way it does a woman. She takes out the gender of mental illness and instead makes it a challenge of the people. She universalizes disease.  

Mrs. Dalloway- A Choice

I think the issue in the first half of this novel is determining who the characters are. However, in typical classical style, Woolf describes the characters through their actions, not her words. For instance, we learn about Mrs. Dalloway through her walk, and her past thoughts, but not through a descriptive page of her personality. This is very expected. What I don’t expect is the way Mrs. Dalloway is portrayed. It seems as if Woolf really likes Mrs. Dalloway, not necessarily because she is a strong woman of an independent woman by any means. Instead, Mrs. Dalloway seems to be a woman aware of her position and proud of the path she chose. The key thing here is that she chose her path.  
 Just as she chose her walking paths, something she did alone, to appease herself, so does she choose her path in life. She was able to think logically and choose someone who was financially sound and fit for society. While she does play into the role of a woman who maintains her position inside of the household, concerned with the public perception of her she also maintains the position of a woman not afraid to make her own decisions. Instead of being completely dominated by what society deems appropriate she does what makes her happy first and foremost.  
 I think this addresses the conflict between the women adjusted to the old way of life yet still desiring to modernize. It shows that while a woman can be “stuck” she can be so by choice.

The Wasteland 2

 In class this week, we discussed the possible homosexual relationship that may have helped guide Eliot in writing parts two and three. I’m not going to say I agree or disagree. I think reading it this way means looking beyond the surface, and looking at the reader, something Eliot wouldn’t have agreed with. However, if we do look at his personal life, it is interesting to compare his own feelings with those associated with the weakness of love. If Eliot felt that loved failed, he may have felt personally vindicated by love because he was unable to experience his true feelings for another man. Also, it is interesting to think that in part two, each of the relationships are destroyed by women. In the first relationship, a woman messes up, and ironically so with another woman. I think this plays into the idea of homosexuality that can be associated with the poem. This shows the way love between man and woman fail, not necessarily how love fails.
 Also, in the relationship of the people on the lowest socioeconomic level, there is a death of a child. If Eliot is truly feeling let down by heterosexual love, then he kills the child intentionally, to show that a child can’t save a relationship and that the union between man and woman. Also, if a child represents the true bond between and man and a woman and he kills the child then he is destroying the union between man and woman.
 These things aside, I think Eliot blurs the line of lust and love. I think part 3 is not about lust, but instead about something else. I think it is about some sort of control that man has over woman. I think this type of control, as we said, contrasts Prufrock. In the same way, I think the speaker is striving to find a connection between man and woman by forcing it. If this relationship is forced, than it reflects the relationship he has with his wife, despite his sexual orientation.