Guilt, Duty, And Unrequited Love Essay Example For Students

Guilt, Duty, And Unrequited Love Essay Guilt, Duty, and Unrequited Love: Deconstructing the Love Triangles in James Joyces The Dead and Thomas Hardys Jude the Obscurequot;Its no problem of mine but its a problem I fight, living a life that I cant leave behind. But theres no sense in telling me, the wisdom of the cruel words that you speak. But thats the way that it goes and nobody knows, while everyday my confusion grows.;quot; New Order, Bizarre Love Triangle, from Substance, 1987Most people who have watched a soap opera can recognize that the love triangle is a crucial element to the plot. In fact, the original radio broadcasted soap operas seemed to consist almost entirely of love triangles. The love triangle, for plot purposes, seems to be a popular technique employed to change the dynamic, add dimension, and generally spice up an otherwise stagnant monogamous relationship. It would make for a pretty dull and quite unpopular show if such popular daytime soap characters as Luke and Laura or Bo and Hope had enjoyed a sm ooth courtship, uncomplicated marriage and then grew old and gray together without a single conflict. The viewers watched them go through many conflicts, some of which involved the classic love triangle. Such conflicts as the love triangle keep the story moving. Common elements of triangles in todays soaps consist of lust, greed, jealousy, any of which are interchangeable with the conflicts resulting from situations involving lovers coming back from the dead or paternity uncertainties. Yet love triangles, whether in the soap opera or in the novel, are not all uniformly constructed. James Joyces The Dead and Thomas Hardys Jude the Obscure, both modernist novels, each contain love triangles as an integral element of the story. The key triangles I will focus on are comprised of Michael, Greta and Gabriel, and, Philotson, Sue, and Jude. Although not absolutely identical, deconstruction reveals guilt, duty, and unrequited love as essential components to the construction of both. #9;Besides the most obvious similarity that both triangles are composed of one woman and two men, guilt also figures prominently. Although the men of the triangles may have their own guilt-related issues, it seems as though it is the guilt felt by the women that presents the most conflict. In The Dead, Greta has to live with the knowledge that it is because of her, although indirectly, that Michael died. It is likely that because of this guilt that she pauses on the staircase to listen to The Lass of Aughrim, a song that, as she tells Gabriel later, reminds her of Michael. At the time, her husband interprets her expression on the staircase as one of quot;grace and mysteryas if she were a symbol of something.quot;(Joyce 2028). He was correct, except not in the way that he thought. All the way to the hotel, the lingering memory of that sight of her incites his passion. However, he experiences a terrible upset as Greta tells him about the song and what it means to her. This is the criti cal moment where Michael, or rather his memory, enters and completes the triangle, although he may have been there all along without Gabriels knowledge. To Gabriel, this turn of events casts a different light on his entire marriage to Greta as he quot;thought of how she who lay beside him had locked in her heart for so many years that image of her lovers eyes when he told her that he did not wish to livequot;(Joyce 2035). He wonders quot;how poor a part he, her husband, had played in her lifequot;(Joyce 2035). Although it is a bit peculiar for one of the members of this bizarre love triangle to reside beyond the grave, we see here that Michael plays a significant role, perhaps altering Gabriel and Gretas relationship forever, with Gretas guilt as the instigating factor. #9;As for Sue, in Jude, her guilt operates on a completely different level, a religious one. Like Greta, Sue also had a sick man die after braving the elements just to see her. Yet, unlike The Dead, this event has no great impact on the love triangle between Jude, Sue and Philotson. This three-cornered romantic disaster, because of Sues return to Philotson, had already reached its climax. If anything, Judes death made Sues promise never to see him again easier. But because Judes death happens at the end of novel, the reader does not find out if this adds to or detracts from her guilt. All we are told is that she is quot;tired and miserable,quot; quot;years and years older,quot; quot;quite a staid worn woman,quot; and still absolutely repulsed by Philotson (Hardy 431). Sues guilt originates from societal pressures, and then surfaces after the death of the children. She knows that shacking up with Jude after her divorce from Philotson is frowned upon, yet she does not share the same morals and values as the society in which she lived, thus, does not expect any sort of punishment. She takes the horrifying death of her children as a sign of divine admonishment. quot;I see marriage differently now!M y babies have been taken from me to show me this!quot;(Hardy 369). Therefore, so that their deaths would not have been in vain, Sue becomes religious and returns to Philotson, adding more complexity to the triangle. Sues last words to Jude before he dies are: quot;Dont follow medont look at me. Leave me, for pitys sake!quot;(Hardy 412). This bizarre love triangle may not be broken even after Judes death, for it is he whom she really loves. For Philotson, Sue only feels a sense of duty. Golden Rice EssayThis may be how Philotson felt when he found that his love for Sue was so undeniably unrequited. How damaging it must be for a mans ego to find that his wife would rather brave sleeping in a closet than with him. Philotson wonders wry, quot;What must a womans aversion be when it is stronger than her fear of spiders!quot;(Hardy 232). The poor man had normal expectations for his marriage, only to find that the mere suggestion of intimacy prompted her leap to what could have been her death. He explains to his friend Gillingham, quot;She jumped out the windowso strong was her dread of me!quot;(Hardy 241). This is the final straw and Philotson grants her a divorce. Yet, he is not the only one to experience unrequited love. Jude does also, but definitely not to such a severe degree. Although, Sue loves Jude, she does not seem to love him enough to stay with him, at least not in the way he loves her. He wants her as a wife and she is content to go back to just friendship. quot;Well be dear friends just the same Jude, wont we?quot;(Hardy 374). She asks him, as if Jude could so easily dissolve his romantic feelings for her. Sues only real true love appear to be her own values and moral urges, which seem to change with the tide throughout the novel. #9;Love, with its power to create agony or ecstasy, is a dependable source of drama, whether it be for the novel or the soap opera. As we see in Jude the Obscure and The Dead, the tension of the love relationship is increased with the addition of a third party. Jude and Sues relationship may likely have been quite simpler without the presence of Philotson. He would not have been an option for Sues need to rectify the death of the children. In fact, she may have seen marriage to Jude as the right thing to do. They may have actually gotten married and been very happy. But for some reason, Hardy did not allow this to happen. Instead, he preferred to leave the reader with the dark view of love, where there is n ot always a happy ending. As for Gabriel and Gretas relationship, if Greta had not told of Michael, Gabriels evening may have ended much differently. He would most likely have satisfied his lust, yet the novel would lack the epiphany Gretas confession causes him to have. The components of guilt, duty, and unrequited love, though not universal traits, do well to maintain the complexity and efficacy of these particular love triangles.