Friday, April 2, 2010
Maggie's Lovers
The middle half of the book introduces Maggie as a young woman. It seems to me that Stephen and Philip, while similar in some ways, appeal to very different aspects of Maggie's personality and psyche--and are almost two sides to one whole. You are certainly free to disagree with this assessment of them, but I ask you this week to consider what each offers to Maggie, what they help her to discover about herself, and how they complicate her life and the story. And as a side note, how does Tom fit into this storyline?
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Stephen Guest is courting Lucy, which of course complicates things when Stephen and Maggie realize they are quite attracted to each other. Maggie is torn between her feelings for Stephen and Philip Wakem and at the same time, Philip is suspicious of Maggie and Stephen. Maggie is aware that it is wrong for her to have feelings for Stephen when she is bound to Philip and she is brokenhearted by the fact that Philip would renounce his love for Lucy if Maggie would have him. Tom, Maggie's beloved brother, is constantly rearing his ugly head in Maggie's thoughts and Maggie is constantly trying to gain her brother's acceptance. She looks at her situation and attempts to find an easy way out that would please Tom. Tom is aware of Maggie and Philip's relationship and is very sore about it, which puts Maggie in a pickle. Philip is sad about Maggie's feelings for another man and starts wondering whether Maggie would be happier with Stephen after all.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I notice about Maggie is that she seems very conflicted and is slowly learning that neither of her options are looking good. If she stays with Philip, Tom will hate her forever. She'll hate herself (and so will Lucy) if she runs off with Stephen. So Maggie gives up both guys and frustrates all the readers instead. But first Maggie suffers the cruel punishment of the people back at St. Ogg's because everyone hears about her spending the night with Stephen. Maggie is crushed and realizes how cruel people are.
The big flood comes and Maggie and Tom are drowned. But first the two reconciliate, meaning that Tom forgives Maggie finally. Maggie finally gains Tom's acceptance, which she really wanted all along, but she takes this to the grave because there is nothing else left for her. She has tried love and failed, the people at St. Ogg's look down on her, thus leaving Maggie with only Tom's acceptance to set her free.
Stephen and Philip absolutely appeal to two sides of Maggie. Philip appeals to her intelect, and Stephen to her sexuality.Isn't a combination of the two what we are all looking for? It's complicated because Philip is deformed and is never going to attract her physically, but the fact of his deformation certainly brings out other things in Maggie, like compassion, but also a certain amout of power over him, since Philip is not exactly a hot commodity, and she would have the upper hand with him were they to actually marry.Stephen, on the other hand, Maggie feels intense passion for, which is compuonded by the fact that she feels she can't have him, due to the loyalty she feels toward Lucy. Tom will never trust her, she seems to only toil in vain for his love and approval, which it seems highly unlikely she will ever attain, especially since they're both dead now.
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