Dreams and Values in the Works of Kate Chopin, and T.S. Eliot - Essay Example

? Dreams and Values in the works of Kate Chopin, William Wordsworth and T.S. Eliot number Dreams and Values The works of Kate Chopin, T.S. Eliot and William Wordsworth are separated by time and distance. They however, display the eternal longing of man for fulfillment of dreams and the presence of values in the lives of mankind. In the works of these three authors, there is a constant pursuit of dreams that the characters undergo, be it Edna Pontellier, J. Alfred Prufrock, or the solitary reaper and the poet who gazes at her. These characters reflect the values and dreams of the societies that they were a part of and also that of the writer who created them. The ideologies that they follow and the choices that they make in their lives reflect the beliefs and sentiments of their creators. This paper shall seek to analyse the works of Eliot, Chopin and Wordsworth and the dreams and values of the characters that people them. The dreams of a character like Edna Pontellier are based on the desire for equality that she feels when her husband treats her like a possession of his. Her desire to be free of the hold of patriarchy is reflected in the need that she feels to be relieved from the duties of a wife. She dreams of a life as an artist, which would be possible only if she would abandon the patriarchal values that her husband stood for. Chopin’s novel is the story of the conflict between the feminist values that Edna comes to accept and the patriarchal values that the others in her world held dear. The conflict is also that of the dreams that both sets of characters have for their lives- She perceived that her will had blazed up, stubborn and resistant. She could not at that moment have done other than denied and resisted. She wondered if her husband had ever spoken to her like that before, and if she had submitted to his command. Of course she had; she remembered that she had. But she could not realize why or how she should have yielded, feeling as she then did. (Chopin, 35) While Edna dreams of a life of freedom in her role as an artist, her husband is unable to let go of his dream of a wife who is submissive and obedient, which would contribute to his conventional and stereotypical values of patriarchy. In the end, however, Edna is unable to find any solutions to her problems and commits suicide, since she is unable to free herself from the values of her upper-class belonging, something that she shared with her husband. Unable to lead a life without either the patriarchal wealth of her family or the lack of freedom that it entailed, the only option that Edna gives herself is that of leaving the patriarchal setup through suicide. The conflict of the novel, is one between the dreams and values of two world orders. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, T.S. Eliot is able to depict the life and character of Prufrock, one of the most famous characters in literature. In this poem, Eliot elaborates the ideas of the failed dreams of a middle-aged man who is trapped in a life of inertia. In his poems, Eliot tries to bring out the sense of ennui that people of the twentieth century felt. Individuals were not ready for this experience that led to a numbing of the senses, which led to a lot of frustration. The main reason for this frustration was the abrupt change that they were forced to make in their life as a result of the rapid changes in the twentieth century. Prufrock’s nineteenth century sensibilities are frustrated as a he grapples with thwarted dreams that his masculinity has to contend with. The ideals of chivalry that he hold close to his heart are a thing of the past and Prufrock feels as if he doesn’t belong in the world of his existence. This anxiety about the nature of one’s existence is characteristic of modernist poetry and comes to a height when Prufrock laments, I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. (Eliot, 5) In this poignant moment, when Prufrock realizes the failure of his dreams, he seeks to relinquish his very humanity, reminding the readers of the changing values of the century that he and his creator was a part of. The poem, The Solitary Reaper is one that makes the ideas of William Wordsworth the poet, clear to his reader. Rather than the subject of the poem, it is the poet and his views regarding the reaper that attracts the attention of the reader of the poem. The poet is obsessed with the song that the reaper sings, without caring to understand the exact nature of the song and its meaning. Wordsworth is content to know that the song has a melancholy quality to it. Even though he questions, Will no one tell me what she sings?- Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago: Or is it some more humble lay, Familiar matter of to-day? (Wordsworth, 95) he seems to be uninterested in fathoming the reason of the song. The reason for this seems to be the vast gulf between the values and aspirations of the poet and his subject and the poet’s inability to empathize with his subject, the reaper. This is probably because of the difference in the class-belonging of the two parties involved. Without understanding the source of the melancholy of the poem, which probably is a hidden sorrow that may require the poet’s attention, Wordsworth chooses to look at the reaper as nothing more than an object that symbolizes his own Romantic dreams and values. The values that were popularized by the French revolution, those of liberty, fraternity and equality, are ignored by Wordsworth in this poem. By doing so, Wordsworth is also ignoring the dreams of the lower classes of his times, while indulging his dreams of an England ruled over by people of his own class. The dreams and the values that form a part of works of literature are those that are espoused by the creators of those works. Their ideologies and hidden commitments are visible in the comments that they make on certain issues and characters in their works. The popularity of these works is also owing to this, since in some way or the other, the dreams that they talk of are those of some sections of the society, sections that may form the readership of these authors. Works Cited Eliot. T.S. Prufrock and other Observations. Accessed on 21st July, 2011. Chopin, The Awakening and Other Stories. New York: Oxford U.P., 2000. Print. 35 Wordsworth, William. Selected Poems of William Wordsworth. Heinemann Educational Publishers:Chicago. Print. 95 Read More