5-29-06
For Women, by Kate Simon didn’t mean very much to me. Perhaps it is because I am male and haven’t experienced the come-ons of the Italian men, or of Italian women for that matter. I have seen Italian men checking out girls, and I guess it is noticeable, but I don’t think it is any more noticeable than in the states. I sort of equivocated Kate Simon’s piece with the sort of locker room banter I am accustomed to, the “have you seen _____, she looks really hot” and the more vulgar remarks as well. I wonder if watching “Summertime” would give me a better grasp on what she is writing about. I have noticed that women play an important role in the depiction of life in Italy in the travel novels we have read, Hilda, Miriam and Daisy Miller all play pivotal roles in their respective novels. I do recognize that Kate Simon asserts a woman’s right to engage in sexual activity as she sees fit, but this assertion is very different from what I am accustomed to from my studies. I have been at a small, very conservative liberal arts college for the past four years, so everyone knows the past of everyone else to a certain extent and what would there be labeled sexual promiscuity is frowned upon. Therefore, I have a different perspective on this piece than I imagine my classmates have. It was mentioned in class that there is a way of talking about what is seen and heard in Rome that we might not otherwise put down on paper, this is an interesting idea for me because I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t be put down on paper. I mean, there are novels and papers, essays and editorials about everything I have seen, so I think that I ought to attempt to open my eyes more and discover what it is that I am looking it and not perceiving. I wonder now, for example, if there is more to my almost daily interactions in the local Supermacatio where the woman manning the cash register rolls her eyes and sighs heavily when I do not have correct change, perhaps not something sexual as seen in Kate Simon’s story, but some interplay of power that I don’t think about. The woman who is upset with me, but not with the Italian customer who follows me even though we both give large bills and need change. Then again, I begin to wonder about the women at home for these flirtatious Italian men. The women I have seen are very much in control of their bodies, and their escorts. On my walk up the Janiculum I saw young couples, I would guess around 15 or so, holding each other in, shall we say extreme public displays of affection? The young ladies I have seen about Rome in passing seem rather coy with their escorts, and from what little I have noticed, they rather jealously guard their young mans attention. For this reason I wonder what happens as relationships mature. We are in the seat of the Roman Catholic Church which, from what little I know, frowns upon extra marital relationships.
Professor Benson posed a question in class, he asked us to consider how the author knows what they write about. Though this question is interesting in the fictional works we have read, it is even more interesting in the non-fictional texts we are supposed to be looking at, our maps and our travel guide. I was looking through some of the information in our eyewitness guide, and I begin to wonder why these sights are more important than others. I have noticed that when I discover something on my own and find it written up in my travel guide that I feel justified, I feel as though the piece of art I enjoyed before is even more important because other people have noticed it as well. For example, there is a fountain on the Banca da Roma outside of the Sede where I fill my water bottle before walks with Professor Martimucci. It was an interesting fountain because of the way it is set into the wall, because the nose is broken off (which reminds me of Hawthorne and James’ disgust with the abuse these public sculptures bear). But, this sculpture became even more significant to me I saw that it was in my travel guide, and not just because it is a talking fountain, or might be a representation of Martin Luther, but because somebody else noticed that it was interesting. So, I’m not quite sure what to do with the question Professor Benson posed, but I am going to try to think about it more as I read through the texts he has assigned.
I wasn’t terribly engaged by Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever either, until I came to class. When I read the story I thought that it had a cute twist at the end, and saw that it had some connections to Daisy Miller with the midnight rendezvous at the Coliseum, but other than that I thought it was a fun read that went by rather quickly. Then I went to class. When we were talking about the story, the first thing I thought about was the intersection of American identity and Rome. Lengthy descriptions of Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansely are given after the scene is set atop the Hotel Forum. I was led to expect that they would behave in certain ways, and they fulfilled those expectations up to a certain point. As the two ladies begin to interact more, I began to see that they were keeping their conversation purely civil, but there was something more under the surface which would occasionally bubble up, even as early as when Mrs. Ansley recognizes that the waiter seems perplexed when they remain overlong at their table and make no signs of leaving.
One of the questions raised about this text was, what does Rome mean for the story? Obviously it is the scene in the sense that the story takes place in Rome, but I think that it takes on more significance than that. I mean, could this story have taken place anywhere else? I originally thought that the two women were rather ordinary, but as I read the story I saw that they had extraordinary underlying characteristics. Could those characteristics come out in a place other than Rome? I think the answer to that question is no. They lived across the street from each other for some time, and though Mrs. Slade did snub Mrs. Ansley somewhat when she mentioned that it would be more interesting to live across from a speak-easy because there would be more action, they didn’t have much animosity. And then, their original visit to Rome, the inciting action of the drama which unfolds in this story, could not have happened anywhere else. Not only because of the Roman Fever, but also because of the purpose of their visit. They were husband hunting, and they were hunting for a particular class of husband, the class that would be able to make The Grand Tour. The thing that brings them together these 25 years later is that they are doing the same thing for their daughters. So I believe that it is reasonable to say that these characters have come to Rome in spite of its archeological and grander historical significance. That is, they don’t want anyone who would come merely for those reasons to marry their daughters, they want someone who is capable of coming all the way to Rome, and yawning at the sights of the city. I think this carries through in some of Edith Wharton’s descriptions of the city as she tells her audience about the sights of the city from the parapet and describes them with a flowery prose completely foreign to the meaning the sights have for Mrs. Slade who seems to be observing them.
I think that there are a great number of little symbolic clues placed throughout this story by the author, things which make the story very dramatic. The correlary between the setting of the sun and the rise in the pace of the action, the depiction of the sky as silver turning to gold as the story progresses, and the final moment when Mrs. Ansley “began to move ahead of Mrs. Slade towards the stairway.” I think about them as I would when designing a play, how could I show the different status of each women? How could I show from the very beginning hints about the eventual outcome? What would I leave as leftovers on their plates? What would they have had to drink? What sort of knitting is Mrs. Ansley performing? But, these questions fall outside of what is given to me in the text, and though I could come up with fascinating answers that would further shape and develop the characters of the two women, I would shape them in a way I wish for them to be seen, because theatre, in performance, is a diminution of a text. Edith Wharton gives certain hints and details, referring to the old letter writers on page 326, or giving us the story about Mrs. Ansley’s great aunt, but she only gives us as much information as she wants us to have, she has painted the characters in such a way as to leave us somewhat free to decode them differently. Though I saw Mrs. Slade as a tragic heroine whose pride in her class led her to attempt the destruction of her friend through the revelation of a secret and in the end only destroyed herself, some of my classmates saw her as a conniving witch, and other still saw Mrs. Ansley as the most important character of the story who was to be sympathized with.
After discussing this story at some length in class I really want to reread it and look at the details more. I want to consider again whether Mrs. Slade knew the consequences of sending Mrs. Ansley out at night, I wonder if she was hoping that Roman Fever would strike her friend down. I wonder what she expected as a result of her revelation. I wonder if the affair between Mrs. Ansley and Mr. Slade stopped when they left Rome, or if it continued. And I wonder if Mrs. Slade wonders at Barbara’s parentage beyond her brief mention of it on page 327.
Professor Benson posed a question in class, he asked us to consider how the author knows what they write about. Though this question is interesting in the fictional works we have read, it is even more interesting in the non-fictional texts we are supposed to be looking at, our maps and our travel guide. I was looking through some of the information in our eyewitness guide, and I begin to wonder why these sights are more important than others. I have noticed that when I discover something on my own and find it written up in my travel guide that I feel justified, I feel as though the piece of art I enjoyed before is even more important because other people have noticed it as well. For example, there is a fountain on the Banca da Roma outside of the Sede where I fill my water bottle before walks with Professor Martimucci. It was an interesting fountain because of the way it is set into the wall, because the nose is broken off (which reminds me of Hawthorne and James’ disgust with the abuse these public sculptures bear). But, this sculpture became even more significant to me I saw that it was in my travel guide, and not just because it is a talking fountain, or might be a representation of Martin Luther, but because somebody else noticed that it was interesting. So, I’m not quite sure what to do with the question Professor Benson posed, but I am going to try to think about it more as I read through the texts he has assigned.
I wasn’t terribly engaged by Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever either, until I came to class. When I read the story I thought that it had a cute twist at the end, and saw that it had some connections to Daisy Miller with the midnight rendezvous at the Coliseum, but other than that I thought it was a fun read that went by rather quickly. Then I went to class. When we were talking about the story, the first thing I thought about was the intersection of American identity and Rome. Lengthy descriptions of Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansely are given after the scene is set atop the Hotel Forum. I was led to expect that they would behave in certain ways, and they fulfilled those expectations up to a certain point. As the two ladies begin to interact more, I began to see that they were keeping their conversation purely civil, but there was something more under the surface which would occasionally bubble up, even as early as when Mrs. Ansley recognizes that the waiter seems perplexed when they remain overlong at their table and make no signs of leaving.
One of the questions raised about this text was, what does Rome mean for the story? Obviously it is the scene in the sense that the story takes place in Rome, but I think that it takes on more significance than that. I mean, could this story have taken place anywhere else? I originally thought that the two women were rather ordinary, but as I read the story I saw that they had extraordinary underlying characteristics. Could those characteristics come out in a place other than Rome? I think the answer to that question is no. They lived across the street from each other for some time, and though Mrs. Slade did snub Mrs. Ansley somewhat when she mentioned that it would be more interesting to live across from a speak-easy because there would be more action, they didn’t have much animosity. And then, their original visit to Rome, the inciting action of the drama which unfolds in this story, could not have happened anywhere else. Not only because of the Roman Fever, but also because of the purpose of their visit. They were husband hunting, and they were hunting for a particular class of husband, the class that would be able to make The Grand Tour. The thing that brings them together these 25 years later is that they are doing the same thing for their daughters. So I believe that it is reasonable to say that these characters have come to Rome in spite of its archeological and grander historical significance. That is, they don’t want anyone who would come merely for those reasons to marry their daughters, they want someone who is capable of coming all the way to Rome, and yawning at the sights of the city. I think this carries through in some of Edith Wharton’s descriptions of the city as she tells her audience about the sights of the city from the parapet and describes them with a flowery prose completely foreign to the meaning the sights have for Mrs. Slade who seems to be observing them.
I think that there are a great number of little symbolic clues placed throughout this story by the author, things which make the story very dramatic. The correlary between the setting of the sun and the rise in the pace of the action, the depiction of the sky as silver turning to gold as the story progresses, and the final moment when Mrs. Ansley “began to move ahead of Mrs. Slade towards the stairway.” I think about them as I would when designing a play, how could I show the different status of each women? How could I show from the very beginning hints about the eventual outcome? What would I leave as leftovers on their plates? What would they have had to drink? What sort of knitting is Mrs. Ansley performing? But, these questions fall outside of what is given to me in the text, and though I could come up with fascinating answers that would further shape and develop the characters of the two women, I would shape them in a way I wish for them to be seen, because theatre, in performance, is a diminution of a text. Edith Wharton gives certain hints and details, referring to the old letter writers on page 326, or giving us the story about Mrs. Ansley’s great aunt, but she only gives us as much information as she wants us to have, she has painted the characters in such a way as to leave us somewhat free to decode them differently. Though I saw Mrs. Slade as a tragic heroine whose pride in her class led her to attempt the destruction of her friend through the revelation of a secret and in the end only destroyed herself, some of my classmates saw her as a conniving witch, and other still saw Mrs. Ansley as the most important character of the story who was to be sympathized with.
After discussing this story at some length in class I really want to reread it and look at the details more. I want to consider again whether Mrs. Slade knew the consequences of sending Mrs. Ansley out at night, I wonder if she was hoping that Roman Fever would strike her friend down. I wonder what she expected as a result of her revelation. I wonder if the affair between Mrs. Ansley and Mr. Slade stopped when they left Rome, or if it continued. And I wonder if Mrs. Slade wonders at Barbara’s parentage beyond her brief mention of it on page 327.
posted by Harvy at 4:51 AM
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