Author: Claire S.

My Pride in Elizabeth

On By Claire S.In Story PowerLeave a comment

The book that I enjoyed the most this year was Pride and Prejudice. I’m not sure if it is the book that changed me the most, that might be Beloved, but I adored Austen’s story and it still changed my outlook on life for the better. I love a good romantic-comedy, so reading the “original rom-com” was really fun. My favorite trope is also “enemies to lovers” which is exactly what Pride and Prejudice is. Elizabeth despises Darcy because she believes him to be prideful, stuck-up, disrespectful, and cold; essentially the exact opposite of what she values in a person. However, then she both learns some of her preconceptions are false and then he improves himself because of her disdain for him and she falls in love with him. I found it easy to fall into the world of the Bennets and the Darcys; I felt frustrated for Elizabeth’s sake and I felt frustrated at her for taking a while to see the truth. I genuinely would be smiling and giggling while reading the book because I was so invested.

I felt like I could relate to Elizabeth Bennet’s character despite living in a different century. I couldn’t relate to the social expectation to find a husband as a young woman or to not introduce oneself as a woman to a man, especially to a man of social superiority. However, I could relate to her determination, her appreciation for her genuine female friendships, her hatred of arrogant and fake people, and her trust in herself. Lizzy’s refusal to give Mr Collins, originally Mr Darcy, and Lady Catherine what they wanted (either their hand in marriage or to refuse a proposal) was brave and admirable. Despite the pressures to get married, especially to a rich man, Elizabeth did not want to give up her own freedom and her own values. 

Other than loving Elizabeth, I loved Darcy too. While he starts out arrogant and insults Lizzy and her family multiple times, he ends up undergoing extreme character growth. Mr Darcy finally sees the errors in how he walks through the world believing he is better than anyone of lower social standing; Through Elizabeth’s rejection, he realizes that he must become a better person. It is so sweet in my opinion that Darcy changes himself because he thinks so highly of Elizabeth’s opinions rather than changing because he wants to impress Elizabeth. He doesn’t become a more generous person in order to win Lizzy over and marry her. This is obvious because he doesn’t even tell her that he helped save her sister Lydia from ruining the Bennet name when she eloped with the evil Mr Wickham. He literally put Elizabeth’s family before his own ego, reputation, and wealth by paying off his enemy and associating with this scandal. If he had bragged to Lizzy about this or even told her it might make her feel guilty and decide to marry him but because he tried to keep it a secret it made his actions so genuine. Additionally, once Darcy and Elizabeth marry they became close friends with her aunt and uncle who are lower high class showing that Darcy is less prejudicial against those with less wealth.

I greatly appreciate how Austen wrote a book with such smart social commentary for the time that still is valuable and relevant to our current world. I am obsessed with the feminist message of it, although of course in today’s world it is nowhere near as revolutionary as current stories can be. However, it is so inspiring that this beloved romance book is so significant. 

Lastly, I recently read a P&P inspired novel, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev and I really liked it. It is gender swapped and I would say that it is a pretty good take on the original story. This author writes books based off of different Jane Austen novels which I love (I read her version of Emma after I read Austen’s and I enjoyed both). So, one thing that reading Pride and Prejudice is that it has opened me up to consume other versions of the story which I am very excited for. However, the main thing that this book has brought me is just happiness; I love Jane Austen and this book just gave me so much joy. It hasn’t shaped how I see the world too much (although it has certainly reinforced the “he would if he wanted to” mindset because Darcy is the epitome of this). However, Elizabeth’s strong sense of self and her stubbornness has reinforced my appreciation for having these qualities too. I am proud that she made such independent choices based on what she wanted rather than what society wants and that makes me realize that I need to live my life this way too. If Elizabeth Bennet could do it in the 19th century then so can I in the 21st century.

Rom Coms: More Than Just Love

On By Claire S.In Comedy/Satire2 Comments

I am here to defend Aristotle’s traditional definition of Comedy. While often romantic comedies–the epitome of “happy endings”–are cheesy and repetitive, this genre can still have depth to their stories. In many modern day rom-coms, the protagonist often achieves success in many parts of their life by the end of the story, not just success in love. While this broadens Aristotle’s definition to include things like success in one’s career, friendships, and family in addition to romantic love I would argue that it still falls into this category. 

I recently read Happy Place by Emily Henry, one of my favorite romance authors, and I think that it is a good example of a comedy that has depth to it. It is a “second-chance” romance that follows a friend group from college that grows up and grows apart. The main character has been dating one of the other friends for years and they are engaged but have secretly split up. The story explores the deep friendships between all of them and how time, death, and depression estranges people and family from one another. It focuses on how the traumas of people’s childhoods follow them through adulthood and influence who they become and how they form their own relationships. It demonstrates how loving someone so wholeheartedly can turn into a vehicle to hurt you.

While the ending of Happy Place is a happy one–there is a marriage between two of the other friends, a pregnancy between two other friends, and the protagonist finds joy in a new career and she and her fiance fit their lives back together–the book is still filled with sadness and a deep understanding of the complexity of life (tears streamed down my face for the last few chapters of the book). Essentially, rom-coms can draw out emotion in audience members. They are meaningful works of art.

It would be incorrect to ignore the fact that there are some comedies that are just fluffy pieces of art that only scrape along the surface of the human experience. Yet in my experience with rom coms, many of them include more aspects of life than just romantic love. Many rom coms include plot lines about school, work, grief, adventure, and more which ultimately shapes a more genuine story of what it is to be alive. 

I also often find that when comedies stray from being strictly a love story (specifically for hetero-sexual love stories with a female protagonist) they are feminist stories. Due to the nature of a traditional comedy that ends in marriage or at least love, this type of story can be very conservative; it can limit women’s hopes and dreams only to marriage. However, with the better rom coms I find that they center around career success as well, making them less traditional. 

An example I love is Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott (my favorite film version is by Greta Gerwig). All of the sisters in this, excluding Beth who dies, end the story happily married; however, the main character Jo finds success through publishing her book as well as finding love. This story isn’t a rom com, but it for the most fits Aristotle’s definition of comedy and I find it to be one that explores many important aspects of life: sisterly love, reaching adulthood, death, women’s acceptable role in society. Little Women has consistently been cherished by readers and viewers proving that it holds value. 

In my opinion, hope and comfort can be just as essential to viewers or readers as despair and discomfort. Just because a story ends with love does not mean that it didn’t move the audience or that it cannot influence their perspectives of the world. Countless comedies have influenced my life and I believe they will continue to.

The Highest Crime: A Supreme Court Leak vs Forced Birth

On By Claire S.In Comedy/SatireLeave a comment

This piece of satire “Desi Lydic Foxsplains: The Supreme Court Leak” from the Daily Show posted on May 6th, 2022, is a parody of a news story, specifically from a Conservative news outlet. Additionally, the title of Lydic “Foxsplaining” is a parody of the word mansplaining, making it abundantly clear that she is adopting a Fox news perspective on the Supreme Court’s leak that Roe v. Wade was potentially being overturned–which has now been overturned. In the video segment, Lydic generally denounces the leak of the draft of Roe v. Wade’s overturn using hyperbole and irony to demonstrate the hypocrisy of Republicans who are opposed to abortion. The purpose of this satire is to keep abortion legal and stop the attacks on women and pregnant people’s bodily autonomy and access to healthcare. 

Lydic utilizes hyperbole heavily throughout the video in order to convey the ridiculousness of Republicans’ horror towards the government leak and the insanity of re-banning abortion. Lydic proclaims that the leak is “the worst injustice in the history of the American legal system” which is such an extreme exaggeration of the truth. It is evident that the American legal system has allowed for crimes staggeringly more unjust throughout history such as the legalization of slavery, segregation, displacing Indigenous Americans, etc. Arguably forced birth in a country that criminalizes abortion is worse than a leak of Supreme Court drafts. Lydic continues with the tragedy of the leak, “Leaking a draft opinion is the most serious crime you can commit in America. It goes leaking, treason, being a gay sesame street character.” The characterization of the leak being a high crime is comical because it is incorrect–the additional dig at Fox news for being homophobic about a children’s show character enforces the hyperbolic nature of this claim. Lydic also employs hyperbole to show the ridiculousness of abortion bans, “If a woman wants an abortion, here’s an idea. Build a time machine and go back to the night you were impregnated.” Evidently, this is impossible. No one would reasonably advise someone to travel back in time to prevent themself from getting pregnant yet Lydic is implying that through making abortion illegal, this seems to be the only way to get rid of an unwanted or unviable pregnancy. She is trying to show that it is inhumane to criminalize abortion.

Irony is also used to communicate to the audience that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned and that pro-choice people are hypocritical. Lydic claims, “Drafting a supreme court opinion on abortion is a private activity. It should be between one man and every woman in America.” This is an example of situational irony because as an audience member you expect her to say a pregnant person’s choice on having an abortion is a private activity. It should be between a woman and her doctor. However, she makes the opposite statement that men and the government should control access to abortion. In my opinion, the most impactful piece of satire in this video is this ironic statement, “I am equal parts pro-life and anti leak. That being said, we need to find this leaker and execute them.” She defines herself as “pro-life” yet she wants to execute the leaker; these perspectives are contradictory. This emphasizes the hypocrisy of people who are against abortion–often people who are pro-life are pro-gun and pro-death penalty which are all antithetical to the idea of being “pro-life.” Lydic is purposefully drawing out these contradictions. Another ironic statement is, “Vaccine: my body, my choice. Abortion: my body, your choice.” Lydic is once again proving the hypocrisy of people who want to ban abortion. She is trying to send the message that people who are pro-life are really pro-controlling women’s bodies, not protecting people’s lives, given that these people were against vaccinating themselves and wearing masks in order to protect others from the spread of Covid-19. 

Ultimately, Desi Lydic is attempting to bring awareness to the unjust criminalization of abortion and the contradictory, dishonest perspectives of Fox News and other Conservative news sources. Her satirical news segment is effective in its use of parody, hyperbole, and irony in order to criticize the patriarchal society we live in that denies women and people who can get pregnant full autonomy and freedom. 

The Deaths of Goneril and Regan: Shakespeare Wronged Them

On By Claire S.In Drama/Theater, King LearLeave a comment

In Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” the killing off of sisters Regan and Goneril was upsetting for a few reasons. While I was not upset because I liked the characters, they were manipulative and cruel, I felt angered for the way in which they died. They killed each other over a man. A man! They were powerful women who schemed their way into destroying their father, the King, in order to control the nation. They could have died in a more valiant way, yet they did from fighting over Edmund. 

Goneril and Edmund were having an affair but both Goneril and Regan wanted to marry him causing Regan to poison Goneril and then commit suicide when Edmund is killed by his own brother. I thought that this form of death belittled the strength and power–although misguided–that they showed throughout the play. Their relationship just turned into the trope of women who despise each other solely because they want the same man, rather than their real relationship of two powerful women who want to be queen and will stop at no means to reach that glory. 

Of course, I do have to factor in the fact that during the time, Goneril and Regan did need to be married to a man in order to be allowed to wield the power they desired. However, their actions were more out of desire for this particular man than just any man because Goneril still had a husband. It seemed to be played up that Regan wanted Edmund to spite Goneril rather than feeling pressured to remarry after her husband’s death. So really, their deaths were caused by a petty fight which feels ignorant of their role of having genuine strength throughout the whole play. 

Additionally, Lear’s absence of any grief for Regan and Goneril’s deaths made me angry. Lear was beside himself because his favorite daughter, Cordelia, was hanged to death but when he heard that his only other two children were dead he only said “Ay, so I think” (V.iii.354). While of course, Goneril and Regan tried to kill him giving Lear good reason to be apathetic or relieved that they were dead, I would think he would have at least some sadness. Relationships are more complicated than that; just because someone has hurt you doesn’t mean that the love you once had for them is erased, it usually just morphs into a different emotion. Perhaps Lear’s anger expressed towards his daughters earlier is where all of that former love went. However, I still believe that he would have some sadness or at least a more dramatic reaction. 

Love is a Knife

On By Claire S.In Music, Music Poetry1 Comment

The song “Who We Are” by Hozier from his album Unreal, Unearth uses strong imagery and repetition to articulate the emotion of the song. Andrew Hozier Byrne is known best for his song “Take Me To Church.” He is celebrated for his moving songwriting and his most recent album, Unreal, Unearth, tackles themes of capitalism, love, death, perseverance, and youthfulness. 

“Who We Are” is a song articulating the grief of heartbreak; the grief of losing someone. It begins and ends with the verse:

You only feel it when it’s lost
Getting through still has a cost
Quietly, it slips through your fingers, love
Falling from you drop by drop

The language “slipping through your fingers” and falling “drop by drop” are metaphors comparing love to water. These two lines emphasize the fleetingness of relationships. The speaker is evidently speaking directly to the person they used to love and now no longer know.

In the next verse, water is brought up again. Hozier sings:

So someone with your eyes
Might come in time
To hold me like water
Or Christ, hold me like a knife

The speaker is yearning for the love they lost. The words “someone with your eyes” assumes that the speaker wants the person back in their life, or at least someone they can pretend is their old lover. The line “to hold me like water” is reminiscent of the lines about love slipping and dripping from someone’s hands. This image indicates that the speaker wants to be held like they are someone precious; someone who can be lost; someone who is essential to the other person. The comparison of love to water is so significant because water is literally something that people need to survive. Humans cannot live without water. We die.

Then the line “Or Christ, hold me like a knife” is a simile too. It brings in a more direct idea that love is dangerous. It is also potentially showing why this relationship failed; maybe there was fighting and anger within this love. Maybe it was toxic. The speaker also seems to be okay with being held like they are something dangerous rather than precious, they just want to be held again.

My favorite verse is:

You and I burned out our steam
Chasing someone else’s dream
How can something be so much heavier
But so much less than what it seems?
Darling, we sacrificed
We gave our time to something undefined
This phantom life
Sharpens like an image
But it sharpens like a knife

The lines “This phantom life / Sharpens like an image / But it sharpens like a knife” is bringing back the idea of love being a knife. The “phantom life” are just their speaker’s memories with their former love. These memories haunt them; they are painful. The lines “How can something be so much heavier / But so much less than what it seems?” are very powerful in my opinion. This contradiction of something having weight, but being “less” is interesting.

“Who We Are” by Hozier is very poetic. Its use of metaphors, imagery, and repetition brings out the emotion and meaning behind the song. The symbols of water and knives add to the speaker’s experience of heartbreak.

How Gender Roles in “Trust” Influence Maria’s Character

On By Claire S.In Trust (film) - Hal Hartley2 Comments

One thing that stuck out to me in the movie “Trust” was how it played with traditional gender roles by both conforming to them and simultaneously rejecting them. There were many characters, particularly female characters, who seemed to demonstrate these contradictions, however I will focus on Maria. Often clothing, discussion of marriage, love, and abortion exemplify the emphasis on misogyny and feminism in this film.

Maria’s complex character seems both radical and conforming to society. She at first is portrayed as the stereotype of a dumb and beautiful girl who is not afraid of her sexuality. However, later in the movie, she seems to accept the more traditional values of women becoming mothers and wives. The most important piece of how her character impacts the film’s final statement on gender is how Maria does not outright reject the idea of romantic love in the end of the movie, yet she makes her own choices about what she will do next in life.

This character change is apparent in how she is styled in the movie. To begin, she is wearing bright purple lipstick, a full face of makeup, and tight, small clothing. Then after she meets the character Matthew, she looks different: she begins wearing a modest dress for the rest of the movie, glasses, and no obvious makeup. This new appearance seems to emulate what a “housewife” would look like. Evidently, Maria seems like she wants to conform to how an adult woman was supposed to live. I found both of the stereotypes used here to be misogynistic because Maria becomes pinned into being a certain “type of woman” – She is more than just a stereotype, she has complexity and she has autonomy, just like all women. 

Maria’s change in character is also influenced by her intelligence and desire to learn. In the beginning, she drops out of high school again. She did not feel like she was smart and decided to forgo graduating. However, later she begins reading and trying to expand her vocabulary. One part that frustrated me was when Maria was trying to pronounce the word “naive” and kept saying “nave” instead and Matthew laughed at her. While yes, I often find it funny when my friends mispronounce words, I found this part to be condescending. It annoyed me. It characterized Maria as a stupid, young woman while Matthew is some smart, all-knowing, older man. It wasn’t playful teasing, it seemed like Matthew was “mansplaining” it. Whether this part was meant to be a critique of this stereotype or it was buying into it, I’m not exactly sure, but hopefully it was trying to critique “mansplaining” and the portrayal of pretty women as dumb. Women can be beautiful and smart.

The most radical part of her decisions on education is when she told Matthew that she wanted to go back to school and that she did not want him to teach her. She was reclaiming autonomy by deciding that she did not want to depend on a man. She also did this by getting an abortion. She decided that she was not going to rely upon Matthew by marrying him and raising a family with him. She was claiming independence. However, the most interesting part to me was that despite Maria rejecting Matthew’s proposal, having an abortion, and deciding to return to school she still wears Matthew’s mother’s modest dress and her glasses. She is demonstrating that she has autonomy and is confident in her decisions, yet she is still a changed woman from these experiences. 

The act of her putting her glasses on in the last scene seemed to be showing that she would wait for Matthew when he gets out of jail because he likes how she looks with glasses. Yet this action also seemed to be for herself. It was a statement that she can see for herself; she can make choices for herself. To me the ending of this movie was claiming that independence for a woman does not require rejecting romantic relationships, but it also doesn’t require accepting them. However, overall I still found conflicting messages on feminism and gender roles in this film.

“The Stranger,” Existentialism, and Phoebe Bridgers

On By Claire S.In Albert Camus, Existentialism, Stranger2 Comments

When I learned that we could connect Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” to a song, I knew I had to write about Phoebe Bridgers and her songwriting. To me, her lyrics are unique in their depressing nature; she often sings about very dark or heartbreaking topics. There are many songs of hers that seem to have existentialist ideas, similar to the existentialism in “The Stranger.” The song that I will discuss here is “I Know the End.”

Bridgers often has seemingly nonsensical lyrics such as “A slaughterhouse, an outlet mall. Slot machines, fear of God” (Bridgers). However, these lyrics do portray a greater meaning. They are supposed to show the chaos and slow destruction of our world that are covered up by social constructs of the importance of wealth and God. By juxtaposing a slaughterhouse where animals are killed and a mall where people buy objects and clothing to fit into society’s ideas of wealth and beauty, Bridgers is using an inherently existentialist perspective. It agrees with the existentialist philosophy which argues that society’s values have no real meaning and are only illusions used to hide the ugliness and randomness of life. Bridgers in her lyric “fear of God” is rejecting the idea of God and religion just like the character Meursault from “The Stranger.” Meursault believes that living life in fear of a God or even just in trusting a God, is worthless because “we’re all elected by the same fate” of death (Camus 121). Even looking at the song’s name, “I Know the End,” shows a story of knowing that we all have an end; we all die.

The lyrics, “Close my eyes, fantasize. Three clicks and I’m home” (Bridgers) relate to Meursault’s initial perspective on being imprisoned. He wishes to be free to hear “the sounds of a town that I loved and of a certain time of day when I used to be happy” (Camus 97). While his perspective on this later shifts, so does Bridgers who by the end of the song declares “No, I’m not afraid to disappear” (Bridgers). Meursault also says on the second to last page that sirens “were announcing departures for a world that now and forever meant nothing to me” (122). This line is blunt and hit me hard as a reader. He no longer cares. By the end of both Bridgers’ song and Camus’ book they accept the end.

Additionally, the recurring motif of the oppressive sun and heat in Camus’ book really stood out to me. The character Meursault even uses the heat as the sole reason for why he kills a man. For this reason, the lyrics in “I Know the End” stood out to me “Driving out into the sun. Let the ultraviolet cover me up” (Bridgers). The imagery of light covering her up is beautiful, but almost disturbing even though light is around us always. Essentially, the portrayal of the sunlight just reminded me of Camus’ motif of sunlight and heat.

There are more parts to this song that remind me of “The Stranger” yet these are the most important parts. (Also I love this song except for the ending where there is screaming and hissing noises even though these are important parts of the song which add to the chaotic and apocalyptic feel of it).

Autonomy and Power

On By Claire S.In George Saunders, Short Stories

The short story “My Chivalric Fiasco” by George Saunders has similarities to both “Victory Lap” and “Escape from Spiderhead” also written by Saunders in his collection of short stories, The Tenth of December. “My Chivalric Fiasco” appears more similar to “Escape from Spiderhead” on the surface, but it has a similar commentary on life compared to “Victory Lap.” 

This story takes place in a world where there seems to be jobs that are real life video games. The main character Ted begins the story working as a Janitor in this world yet he points out that “our pigs were fake and our slop was fake and our poop was fake” implying that everything at his work is imaginary (205). Additionally, later in the story when he works as a Pacing Guard, he paces the door with a King behind it and has a choreographed scene when a Messenger runs into the room which is reminiscent of video games with knights, elves, wizards, etc. (209). 

How this story most relates to “Escape from Spiderhead” is that both have drugs legally used to alter a character’s thoughts and actions. In “My Chivalric Fiasco” Ted takes “KnightLifeⓇ” for his job as a Pacing Guard and it causes him to use words such as “anon,” “whence,” “visage,” and “doth” altering his ordinary language to an imitation of medieval language. This is extremely similar to the drugs forced on the inmates in “Escape from Spiderhead” such as “VerbaluceTM, VeriTalkTM, ChatEaseTM” which makes the main character of that story, Jeff, “[wax] poetic” (69). Both of these stories use the concept of temporarily mind controlling drugs, exploring the concepts of autonomy and language.

Now, getting into the plot of the story, it starts with Ted witnessing his boss, Don Murray, run away after raping his coworker, Martha. In the beginning Saunders is ambiguous about what happened to Martha, causing the reader to infer that she was sexually assaulted. Martha begged Ted not to tell anyone about it, declaring it “no big deal” despite the tears flowing from her eyes (203). Then the next day at work, Don Murray promotes Ted and Martha, giving her an additional thousand dollars, and Murray insistently claims that what Ted witnessed was a “voluntary fling” (204). This language makes it evident to the reader that Martha was raped even though Saunders only alludes to it. 

An interesting contrast within this story is that during the first half, Ted does not have an inner monologue critiquing or even commenting on Don Murray’s disgusting actions, which makes it appear that he is indifferent to the violence against his coworker, yet later his actions directly contradict this assumption. Later when Ted is under the influence of “KnightLifeⓇ,” he becomes very distressed by what Don Murray did to Martha, describing his thoughts as “Thunderclouds” (211). Then, he makes a “right Honest proclamation… That Don Murray had taken foul advantage of Martha” (211). Ted is now taking action to “protect” Martha and to bring Don Murray to justice. He feels guilt for standing blindly by and taking the bribe to stay silent. 

The most ironic part of this is that Ted does this under the assumption that he is doing the “Honest and Manly” thing (211). Yet, looking at our culture, being “manly” is often seen as being a gentleman through publicly defending women’s “honor” and “purity” while privately committing violence against them. Saunders is commenting on the misogyny that pervades our society which teaches men that they can abuse women without repercussions. Essentially, what is it to be “manly?” Is Ted being “manly” by calling out Don Murray without the consent of Martha, or is he taking more power away from her and demeaning her even further?

Ted’s failed action to get his boss in trouble for sexually assaulting Martha is similar to the character Kyle’s actions in “Victory Lap” to prevent his neighbor Alison from getting kidnapped and raped by a stranger. Kyle is very conflicted about saving Alison, yet he does, because he has very controlling parents that have ingrained in him rules that he must not break. In order to help Alison, Kyle had to break rules such as “running in the yard… hopping the fence… leaving the yard… entering the Secondary Area without permission” (22). In “My Chivalric Fiasco,” Ted also seemed to have conflicting emotions about standing up for Martha because he didn’t do anything until he was under the influence of “KnightLifeⓇ.” Therefore, both Ted and Kyle had moral concerns about doing the “right” thing. Additionally, both characters seem to make these choices out of selfish reasons because Kyle did not want to be known as “the guy who’d done nothing” and Ted wanted to assuage his guilt of his “earlier Neglect with respect to [Martha]” (21, 210).