Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Because I Could Not Stop for Death
         Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

Death is a natural process of life that occurs every day. In society, some people are willing to accept death and some fear it. Emily Dickenson for instance was fascinated by death and composed many poems about mortality. Probably the most famous poem she composed was “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” which reflects her views on death. Dickinson conveys her accepting relationship with death by using metaphors and diction. Dickinson uses metaphors to show that she is accepting of death. The first metaphor she employs is the comparison between death and a gentleman. Dickinson refers to death as a gentleman who “kindly stopped for [her]” (Line 2). By alluding death to a gentleman the speaker shows that she respects death and is not afraid of it. We must recall that the time period of Dickenson was vibrant with courtships between young ladies and gentlemen. Therefore, the speaker is symbolizing her journey with Death as a tentative and happy courtship. Also, she is rather impressed with the “gentleman” and is willing “to put [her] labor and [her] leisure too for his civility” (Lines 6-8). The other metaphor that she employs is the comparison between the house and her grave. During her journey to her death, she and the “gentlemen” arrive at a house. This house represents her grave and also conveys her thoughts on death. By calling her grave a house, Dickinson is showing that she is comfortable with death. A house is a place of peace and shelter further supporting the notion that she is accepting of death. Dickenson uses diction to reflect her accepting relationship with death. The overall tone of this poem is peaceful and calm because of its diction. She employs soft language and words to convey her overall message. For instance, Dickenson uses soft words when she states that death “kindly stopped for [her]” (Line 3). The adjective “kindly” shows her accepting nature because death is usually referred to something fearful not benevolent. Furthermore, Dickinson uses the word “civility” to describe death which shows her respect and admiration (Line 8). Overall, Dickinson is praising death with diction that contains positive connotations. The most interesting aspect of this poem is that it closely relates to Elizabeth Willard in Winesburg Ohio. Like the speaker in this poem, Elizabeth is accepting towards death and is willing to embrace it. In the story “Death”, Elizabeth states that her most cherished memories were when “her lovers Death and Doctor Reefy held her in their arms” (143). By calling Death as her lover, we can infer that Elizabeth views Death as her true love because it can provide her with happiness and peace. (As we know, Elizabeth is a lonely and miserable character in the novel.) Since Elizabeth views Death as a solace, the speaker in the poem must also view Death as a place of tranquility and pure joy. It is tragic that these two individuals choose death as the only hope for happiness.

The Womanizer

The novel Winesburg Ohio centers around a young man named George Willard. In “Sophistication”, George becomes “sophisticated” by crossing “the line into manhood” (145). Yet, I am always irked by the fact that he is described as a “sophisticated” young man. I believe that George is a serial womanizer despite his “sophistication”. It is evident in the novel that George has a lot of lady friends who are not simply his “friend”. Adding to that, a womanizer is defined as an individual who pursues women lecherously according to The Free Dictionary. Also, a womanizer is defined as a selfish, narcisstic, nefarious character who needs to manipulate and use women to feed his own selfish needs according to the Urban Dictionary. It might seem extremely pessimistic of me to describe George in a disparaging way but his history with women reaffirms my point. We are first introduced to his womanizing behaviors with Louise Trunnion. George jumps at the chance of having sex with Louise an even has a nerve to state that “she hasn’t got anything on me” after the encounter (28). In other words, he’s saying that he got what he wanted, sex, and will now have nothing to do with her. His assertion seems overly presumptuous portraying him as a rather selfish individual. The next woman he lustfully pursues is Kate Swift, his past school teacher. George states that “he began to believe she might be in love with him and the thought was both pleasing and annoying” (93). By saying that her affections for him is annoying, George presents himself as a pompous young man since he clearly believes that she is not worthy of him. Yet, he is also flattered since he is a serial womanizer who jumps at the chance of pursuing women. As a result, he begins “to have lustful thoughts” of Kate (94). What is more amazing is that during his “lustful thoughts” he also begins to dream of Helen White “with whom he had been for a long time half in love” (94). His short attention span towards women reveals his capricious and immature mind. I also must ask, what does it even mean to be half in love? Maybe it means that George’s desire for women persuades his mind to think that he is in love when he is not. Unfortunately, George and Kate do not work out so he starts to pursue another woman, Belle Carpenter. (What a surprise:() Anyways, the affair between George and Belle is just a shallow relationship since both of them use each other to attain their desires. George like a womanizer uses Belle to feed his own selfish needs of lust. He further uses her to be possessed “with the sense of masculine power” (113). Obviously, Belle and George do not work out at the end.  Now the final woman he pursues in the novel is Helen White. Helen and George’s relationship comes under focus at “Sophistication”. George states that he “wanted to be and be loved by her” showing his constant desire to be loved by women (149). Some might say that in this story, George is mature and has quit his womanizing tendencies. However, he is still continuing to pursue women which is in the form of Helen. Inferring from the interaction between George and Helen, George probably desires to form deep relationships with women since his mother died. He is most likely looking for a woman to heal his pains and also to fulfill his selfish needs.

The Dangers of Isolation

                Recently I had the opportunity of watching the famous horror movie “The Shining”. As famously known, “The Shining” is a provocative film that centers on a family who is staying at an empty hotel. At the isolated hotel, the father, Jack Torrance, supposedly becomes possessed by supernatural forces and attempts to murder his wife and young son. Yet I always believe that isolation rather than the supernatural plays an imperative role to Jack’s malicious actions. Jack who is already a selfish man is constantly jealous of the fact that his son receives more attention from his wife. Therefore at the isolated hotel, Jack is forced to watch the loving interaction between his wife and son driving him to a path of evil and uncontrollable jealousy. Also, Jack had no one to confide in so he resorted to unrealistic imaginations. His imaginations are further fueled by the fact that a father killed his family at this very hotel a long time ago. The potent effect of isolation also significantly affects characters of Winesburg Ohio. For instance, Enoch Robinson of “Loneliness” serves as an epitome of an isolated being. Enoch like Jack is characterized as “a complete egotist” (102). Therefore, Enoch resorts to isolation since he “[wants] most of all the people in his own mind, people with whom he could really talk, people he could harangue and scold by the hour, servants, to his fancy” (102). Enoch possesses a childlike immaturity so he indulges in unrealistic imaginations. As a result, Enoch is prevented from real social interactions depriving him of wisdom and worldly expertise. Enoch’s imaginary world escalates his dependence on imaginations. Consequently, the devastating effect of isolation claims Enoch as its victim. Enoch’s downfall begins when a female neighbor starts to visit his room. Enoch like other men becomes emotionally and sexually attracted to her. His strong feelings for her causes an inner turmoil within him since he is so used to being alone. For instance, Enoch first “[becomes] mad to make her understand [him]” but then also feels that “he would be submerged, drowned out” if the woman understood his imaginary world (106). Thus, Enoch rejects the woman forever ruining his chance of maturity. He further exacerbates his situation by saying “vile words” at the woman which results in “all the life that there had been in the room” to follow out the departing woman (107). By finally accepting the truth that his imaginary world is far from reality, Enoch sadly realizes that he will be all alone by himself. Enoch’s obsession with an imaginary world hampered his chance of love and most importantly, a vivacious life. It is evident that Enoch will now have a sad and vacant life since he is aware that he is the one to blame. Both Enoch and Jack chose isolation in order to satisfy their selfish needs. However, they did not know that isolation would get to them. Therefore, karma made a visit to both men: Enoch is now bound to be a miserable loner and Jack is simply dead.

"Tintern Abbey" and Mary Shelley

                      In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley establishes a connection between Henry Clerval and Woodsworth’s poem “Tintern Abbey”. At chapter 18, Henry Clerval is so awed by the beautiful scenery of the Rhine that Shelley quotes Woodsworth’s poem to describe him. For instance, Shelley describes that nature “haunted him like a passion” (139). Now we must wonder why Shelley chose to quote this poem at a seemingly random scene. It seems evident to me that Shelley was hoping to portray Clerval as a double of Victor. We must recollect that Victor is a passionate lover of nature as well. He even stated that nature “congregated around me: the unstained snowy mountain-top, the glittering pinnacle, the pine woods, and ragged bare ravine: the eagle, soaring amidst the clouds- they all gathered round me, and bade me to peace” when he was suffering from extreme guilt of his misdeeds (86). In other words, nature provided him “an appetite: a feeling, and a love” (139). Oh, what a coincidence! Henry Clerval as well is elevated by nature that he even states the Rhine “pleases [him] more than all those wonders” (139). Another interesting part is that both Henry and Victor have one place of nature that they greatly revere. For Henry, the beautiful landscapes of the Rhine become a place of reverence. He states that “the spirit that inhabits and guards this place has a soul more in harmony with man than those who pile the glacier” (139). The admiring tone and diction are indications of his strong affinity for this place. On the other hand, the Valley of Chamounix is a dear place to Victor’s heart. He especially admires this place since he had visited it frequently during his childhood. It can be inferred that Victor finds solace in this place since he can embrace his happy memories of childhood to forget his pain. Most likely, Henry Clerval would have found the Rhine as a place of solace like Victor if not for his tragic demise.

                Yet, I also believe that there is another reason for the incorporation of “Tintern Abbey”. I think Shelley wanted the readers to embrace the romanticists’ love for nature. Romanticists are famously known for their passionate predilection of nature so it was inherent for Shelley to do so. Also, Shelley like us (teenagers) was in some part under the influence of peer pressure. Her close group of friends consisted of Romantic poets and scholars. Her husband, Percy Shelley, and close friend, Lord Byron, were both imperative figures to Romantic poetry. Furthermore, Shelley herself has a personal love for nature in the form of Scotland. Shelley was sent to Scotland at the age of 15 due to the growing animosity between her and her stepmother. Like Victor, Shelley appreciated Scotland because she was able to escape her unhappy family life. She viewed the vast landscapes of Scotland as a place of serenity and unconditional love. We may never know why Shelley chose to quote “Tintern Abbey” but I have a strong feeling that it is tied to Shelley’s personal life. (She was always an emotionally charged individual throughout her life.)

Safie=Mary Shelley

                   As I have mentioned, the novel Frankenstein incorporates aspects of Mary Shelley’s life. In class, we had discussed Mary Shelley’s connection to Margaret Saville since they “coincidentally” shared the same initials, M.S. However, I felt that Mary Shelley had a more deep connection to Safie, Felix’s new bride. Safie like Shelley had a profound connection with her independent mother who eventually died. Safie’s mother “instructed her daughter in the tenets of her religion, and taught her to aspire higher powers of intellect, and an independence of spirit, forbidden to the female followers of Mahomet” which resembles to Mary Wollenscraft’s pro-feminist views (110). Also, Safie’s decision to marry Felix despite her father’s opposition strongly resembles to Mary’s marriage to poet, Percy Shelley.  (Mary married Percy which resulted in an estrangement between Mary and her father.) Safie marries Felix for love but also because of “the prospect of marrying a Christian, and remaining in a country where women were allowed to take a rank in society” (110). She was simply intrigued by the rights she could obtain by moving into this country. In my opinion, Safie seems to desire independence more than her love for Felix because of her mother’s powerful guidance. However, she does indeed love Felix as well since she even defies her father to “arrive in safety at the cottage of her lover (113). It can be said that her dangerous journey to Germany symbolizes her first steps toward independence. Shelley’s marriage as well seems to signify her desire for independence. Shelley elopes with Percy at the age of 16 despite the fact that he is married and both parents strongly forbid their matrimony. It seems likely to me that Mary defied her family in order to discover her self-identity. Shelley disliked her stepmother, Mary Jane Clairmont, who objected to Mary’s education and was jealous of the relationship between Mary and her father. Therefore, Shelley was forced to remain at home under the watchful eyes of her step-mother. Mary, who greatly respected and loved her biological mother, recognized her duty to her mother which led her to make this drastic decision. (Her mother’s wish was for Mary to become an assertive woman which her father failed to fulfill.) Mary and Safie both chose to listen to the advice of their strong willed mothers presenting themselves as an opposite of passive women. The last similarity I noticed was that both women were strongly encouraged by their respective husbands. Felix symbolizes as a door of endless possibilities to Safie because he can offer her freedom she desperately wants. For instance, he encourages her freedom by helping her father escape prison so he can make her his bride. He even faces great dangers for Safie despite the devastating consequences he receives.  He further encourages Safie by persuading her to “learn their language” helping her to become an educated woman as well (105). Percy Shelley displays his great support by encouraging Mary to write the novel Frankenstein. Percy was well aware of Mary’s outstanding talent so he taught her that writing can be the means of expressing independence and creativity. Both Safie and Mary Shelley value feminism but the strong presence of men in their lives contributes to their self-discovery.

Frankenstein: A Revelation of Mary Shelley's Life

            Mary Shelley was born to the great writers, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, which most likely gave her an innate skill for literature. She did indeed justify this assumption by releasing her book Frankenstein to the public. The novel Frankenstein was praised for its revelation on human nature such as unjust society, danger of knowledge, birth and creation and the overreacher. Some might wonder how a young woman could come up with such themes that still mystify and surprise readers. Fortunately, I believe I have the answer. A look into Mary Shelley’s life raises a great deal of connections between her and her famous novel.

                Mary Shelley’s birth serves as a connection to the theme of birth and creation. Mary Shelley’s mother died 11 days after the birth of Mary leaving her to lose an important female parental figure. Therefore, Mary Shelley seems to emphasize the significant role of women in the process of birth and creation. She reveals her admiration for a female parental figure when she describes Victor’s mother. Victor states that “my mother’s tender caresses and my father’s smile of benevolent nature pleasured while regarding, are my first recollections” (29). The admiring tone and diction of “my mother’s tender caresses” reflects Mary’s nostalgic emotions toward motherhood and quite possibly a yearning for a mother’s love (29). Also, she further romanticizes the role of a mother by depicting the death of Victor’s mother as pure and angelic. She states that Victor’s mom “died calmly and her countenance expressed affection even in death” (38). Maybe Shelley was imagining her own mother’s death which led her to incorporate an angelic tone in the depiction. Also, Shelley must have wanted to imagine her mother as a beautiful creature and not a woman who died so tragically. Shelley’s feelings towards her mother’s death is also portrayed in Victor’s quote “It is so long before the mind can persuade itself that she, whom we saw every day, and whose very existence appeared a part of our own, can have departed for ever -- that the brightness of beloved eye can have been extinguished, and the sound of a voice so familiar, and dear to the ear, can be hushed, never more to be heard” (39).  This quote is embodied with such passionate emotions of grief and sadness which most likely infers that Shelley was sharing her intimate feelings.

                Another vital person in Shelley’s life is her husband Percy Shelley who depicts the theme, overreacher. Here’s a brief story: Mary and Percy Shelley fell in love in 1814 despite the fact that Percy was already married. They went through great adversities such as estrangements from both parents, miscarriages, and the suicides of their loved ones. Anyhow, Percy is incorporated in the novel due to the fact that he is an overreacher. Percy first showed these tendencies when he secretly published a writing on atheism. In his writing, he berated God which was extremely radical in 19^th century England. What is ironic is that Mary implies in her novel that Victor’s attempt to play God is misguided when her own husband is condescending toward God. Most importantly, the death of Percy hints the consequences of being an overreacher. Percy drowned when his boat sunk during a storm which is coincidentally similar to Walton’s voyage. Percy was traveling to meet a fellow writer in order to establish a radical magazine which reflects his overbearing dreams and selfish tendencies as well.(He left Mary when she had just suffered a miscarriage) This strongly connects to Walton again since Walton abandons his family for a journey “to unexplored regions” (18). Finally, Mary reiterates her point by presenting herself as Margaret Saville in the hopes of cautioning readers of this theme. For instance, she states as Margaret that Walton’s enterprise is of “evil forebodings”.

            One must admit that Shelley has brilliantly incorporated herself in the novel in such a surreptitious way. Yet, the fact that Shelley’s life is reflected in this book is a sad reminder that she did not have a happy ending after all.

The Common Dilemma

Countless writers love to address the issue of society’s obsession with appearances. Even Abraham Lincoln states that “Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing.” So of course, a great writer like Mary Shelley brings up this point even from the beginning of her prominent novel Frankenstein.

It is evident that the creature in Frankenstein suffers from severe ostracism due to his “unusual appearance”. Every person he encounters runs away from fright or berates him when they behold his not-so-normal features. (He’s eight feet tall and made of decaying body parts!) One over-the-top reaction to the creature’s appearance comes ironically from his creator, Victor. Upon seeing the creation for the first time, Victor states that “breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Shelley 51).  What makes his reaction more dramatic is that he runs away from his own creation and falls into a “nervous fever, which confined [him] for several months” (55).From this, we can definitely infer that Victor is overreacting since the creature who had “a grin wrinkled [to] his cheeks” at that time obviously did not pose as a great danger (52). As a result of society’s unjust bias, the creature becomes isolated, spurned by the De Laceys and even gets shot for saving a girl’s life. All of these extreme events lead to the creature’s realization that he will be truly alone in this world. However, there is good news for the creature: he is not alone. There is a special individual who isolates himself to conceal his deformed face, The Phantom. 

            As many people know The Phantom is the main character of the famous book/musical The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom serves as an epitome of an isolated being who is driven to “unconventional” acts. (I must admit that I am euphemizing his actions since most people consider his acts as insane.) One instance, he murders a man and displays his body in front of a crowd who were just simply trying to enjoy an opera! Yes, I’m not kidding but thankfully he too has a pretty good reason for his unscrupulous acts. The Phantom also known as Erik was born with a deformed face which even aroused disgust from his own mother. Like the creature, the Phantom is abandoned by his own parent and is led to believe that his appearance is of cursed ugliness” (Leroux). The Phantom faces even more adversities when he joins a circus. The circus takes advantage of the naïve Phantom and locks him in a cage where he is displayed to the audience. At the circus he is treated like an animal which destroys his self-esteem and his sense of morality. He eventually escapes the circus and makes the Paris Opera House his home fully aware that society will reject him. He creates a lair in the Opera House and conceals his face with a mask driving him into deeper isolation.

            Despite the revelation that the creature and the Phantom share the same dilemma, they are both destined to an unhappy ending. (The creature decides to kill himself and the Phantom is forced to let go of his love). Hence, it can be assumed that Shelley and Leroux employed these two characters to represent society’s unjust bias towards people who are simply different. Also, they are alluding to the assumption that this bias is a cycle of human nature since we are still cursed by this oppressing issue.