Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Dead Pt. 1
Though I was not quite looking forward to reading Joyce, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed "The Dead." The major theme that stood out to me was the juxtaposition of a life well lived but terminated early as compared to a poorly lived life that lasts longer. At first, Gabriel is obsessed with control. His feelings for Gretta come not from his love for her, but his need to control her. Once he realizes that he has never really possessed her heart, he begins to ponder his own life. He realizes that he has never experienced what Gretta's true love has experienced. Even though her former lover is dead, it almost seems as if Gabriel is jealous of his position. It raises the question of whether a long life lived unhappily is really more successful than a short, passionate life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Your question is indeed and interesting one, and something that I have pondered myself a time or two. Many people assume that there will always be time for the things that we want to do in our lives, but then that leaves many of us with a long life of dreams we were never able to accomplish rather than a life that could end quickly but was lived as if every day were the last.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great reading. Your understanding of the text seems much better formed than my own. I agree that what he feels for Gretta seems to be more a love for his control over her than love for her person. It's interesting that you viewed Gabriel as being envious of the dead man, I agree in the general sense that Gabriel is envious in the sense of never truly possessing Gretta's love not so much the life or death of the other man.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Jessi's post about fading away. "Fading away" is very much related to life. When we get older, we lose abiliies we used to possess. Love and control are two things we also tend to lose as our life "fades away."
ReplyDelete