I'm having some trouble sympathizing with Stephen's
character. I'm very wary of his angsty romantic fantasies, and honestly,
they're making me pretty uncomfortable!!
For example, the tram scene immediately made alarms go off in my head. Stephen's thought progression reminded me of the "other side" of #MeToo testimonies that document women's experiences being sexually harassed on public transportation.
Here are some lines from the tram scene that I found
particularly troubling:
"He heard what her eyes said to him...he had heard
their tale before"
"He saw her urge her vanities"
"She too wants me to catch hold of her"
"She came with me to the tram"
"NOBODY IS LOOKING" (capitalized for
emphasis!!!)
I find Stephen's romantic fantasies worryingly predatory.
In the lines presented above, Stephen seems very sure that he knows what this
girl wants. According to Stephen, she followed him onto the tram. She wants his
attention. She wants him to make a move. These delusions remind me of the
way men often victim-blame to justify their inappropriate actions. "She
was asking for it." "I know what she wanted." As we all
(hopefully) know, these victim-blaming statements are rarely true.
Stephen also explicitly notes that no one is watching. This shows that Stephen isn't completely caught up in his fantasy. He's at least semi-aware of his surroundings and semi-considering making a move on this girl.
It doesn't help that Stephen's fantasies are heavily influenced by angsty romantic poetry. I can't imagine these brooding, male literary figures having incredible respect for women. In fact, Stephen is beginning to remind me of the "revolutionary artist with troubled life story" motif. Picasso, for example. Father of cubism. Raped a 17-year-old girl. Most people know the first part, but very few know the second. We let artists get away with a lot because of what they create.
I digress.
I'm not trying to imply that Stephen will become a sexual predator. I just can't help but note the connections between troubled artist, angsty teen, and predatory romantic fantasy.
I'm aware that my interpretations of Stephen's character
are a product of the era I'm growing up in. The #MeToo movement has transformed
our society's views on sexual harassment and consent just in the past
year.
I also understand that the tram scene could be read
innocently. Stephen is a young teenager exploring newly-discovered romantic
feelings towards a cute girl at a party. These thoughts don't manifest in any
form of action; they remain purely internal. The reader is getting uncensored,
un-consented access to the inner workings of Stephen's brain. No doubt he would
present himself differently if he knew we were "watching" him.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to read older novels with
contemporary insight. A modern perspective can potentially shed light on
various social forces at play during the time at which the novel was
written.
I agree! As I've been thinking about the novel and reading some other blog posts, I've noticed again and again the trend of Stephen using women to help him come of age as a man in the world, and yet not respecting or understanding women in the slightest. He's been exposed to two distinct images of women in his life: the idealized, perfect, virginal woman and the sinful, forbidden whore. Either one is a similar way of looking at women that removes them from their own agency and forces them to stay tools that men use to improve themselves. Stephen's idealization and premature assumptions of Emma are worrying, especially since at the same time he's sleeping with prostitutes he doesn't make an effort to know or care about. I'm not saying it's his fault exactly, since this simplified, black and white version of womanhood is all he has been exposed to his entire life. I just agree with you that it's terrifying to see him grow up thinking of himself as a romantic hero and assuming that the women he encounters want and need to change his life. I think he could change still, but it's unlikely.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in our current climate this scene could be read as troubling. Certainly those trigger phrases you mentioned could raise some questions. Personally I read some of those phrases (like no one is watching) to be the internal back-and-forth that we sometimes have with ourselves if on one hand we're trying to convince ourselves to just go for it with our crush and on the other hand our biological warning system is going nO what if you get rEJeCTeD? I read it as though he were convincing himself that she reciprocated interest purely because it's a lot less painful to believe that they like you back. But if Stephen and Emma were total strangers and he did not have a pre-existing crush on her, it would be extremely creepy for him to think of her this way.
ReplyDeletePREACH SISTA I love this post!!! I was super creeped out by the tram scene and I couldn't pinpoint exactly why, and you nailed it! I totally agree with the point about the brooding male artist figure (and I too learned that about Picasso UGHGHGH that makes me sick). As an artist myself I know that having a complex creative persona is no excuse for being a predatory creep. Sure, his society is a lot to blame, giving kids no education on these strange feelings they start having (not to mention no info on ya know RESPECTING WOMEN), but this skewed vision of a romantic hero is still worrying. I agree that I am aware of this due to my upbringing in a liberal environment during #MeToo times, and I also fear that kids (especially boys) are still getting these equally toxic messages.
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