Relationship That Grows between Mame and Patrick - Essay Example

College: Auntie Mame An orphan at the tender age of ten lives with his crazy aunt, and a series of hilarious events occuraround them. Patrick Dennis writes those funny stories in his book, Auntie Mame. When Patrick inherits his father’s property in accordance with his will, he goes to live with Auntie Mame, an only sister to his father and the sole living relative he has. This classic novel principally focuses on the relationship that grows between Mame and Patrick. Mame takes the responsibility of being an honest guardian, educates Patrick and takes care of him. Mame and Patrick also respect each other and try their best to support one another. Auntie Mame does not hide her lifestyle from Patrick, and she takes care of him with as much honesty and assurance, as she possibly can. Mame is appointed to raise Patrick by her brother as the legal guardian, but when Patrick arrives at her house, she is hosting a party for other people. She feels sorry about that, and she asks Norah, Patrick’s nanny, “But why didn’t you tell me you were coming today? I’d never have been giving this party” (10). After Auntie Mame laments on her mistake, she happily embraces and kisses him, giving him the reassurance that he is safe. Auntie Mame is also very proud to have Patrick around, as she goes around and introduces him to her guests. Her pride is apparent from her statement that “This is my brother’s son and now he’s going to be my little boy” (13). After Mame welcomes Patrick into her home, she apologizes for her mistake and promises him that they will talk more the following day. This relationship is an exemplary example of the importance of honesty, acceptance and assurance to a child. Mame does not want to hide anything from Patrick, and she readily admits that she has made a mistake for forgetting about his arrival and hosting a party. Her behavior also provides him with comfort and makes him feel cared for and safe. Auntie Mame and Patrick not only share a child-parent relationship, but also a youngster-mentor bond. For instance, Patrick looks up to her aunt to learn the difficult words that she uses in her conversations with other people. When Mame finds out that Patrick does not comprehend her words most of the time, she is happy to have the chance to teach him or engage in “molding a little new life” (19). She instructs Patrick to write all the words that he does not understand for later explanation. Patrick seems very excited about this learning process because he “immediately wrote down six new words which Auntie Mame said to scratch out and forget” (19). Patrick’s father stated in his will that he would like him to be sent to “conservative schools”, but Mame thinks that the schools are “dull”, “tiresome” and “tedious”, and she wants him to go to her friend’s new school since it is “ Coeducational and completely revolutionary and all classes are held in the nude under ultraviolet rays” (20). Many parents or adult guardians give their children a strict education and make it an obligatory and tiresome process, but Mame tries to make education a fun and engaging process. This not only promotes Patrick’s willingness to learn new information, but it also increases his curiosity in learning about life’s experiences. Even though Mame faces many difficulties especially in regard to her financial problems, she does not give up taking care of Patrick. For instance, during the Great Depression, Mame’s investments fail, and she can only have “two hundred dollars a month”, so she has to go to work in order to “keep Patrick in that wretched St. Boniface school” (40). Mame finds and engages in many jobs during this period, but none of them lasts long. For example, Mame becomes a copywriter at Vanity Fair and is fired due to inaccurate writing; she also works as a reader, but she loses the manuscript and gets fired. Mame keeps working and finding jobs to sustain her family until she meets and falls in love with Beau Burnside, who is a rich man from Texas with vast oil fortunes. While Patrick is at boarding school, Mame gets married and becomes wealthy. Despite this distance, Mame and Patrick stay in contact, and they write each other letters, in order to know each other’s status. This proves that parents or guardians should always make an effort to enhance the relationship between them and their kids. Sometimes, Mame suggests unconventional ideas and asks Patrick to accomplish them, and he, in turn, does his best to finish them. Patrick’s father will, explicitly stipulates that he should go to a conventional school, so Mame and Mr. Babcock discuss the schools to which Patrick should go. Mame knows that Mr. Babcock must send Patrick to a conventional school, and Buckley is his suggestion. Her intention is to send him to her friend’s school, Ralph Devine, but she readily agrees to Mr. Babcock. She says, “Mr. Babcock, don’t say another word your choice is right” (33). However, when Mame and Patrick leave Mr. Babcock’s house, they have an interesting conversation. Mame tells Patrick to go to Ralph Devine instead of Buckley, and Patrick is very confused. Mame says, “You’ll learn later in life that sometimes it’s best not to be too honest” (34). This is not a statement that one would expect a grown up to tell a child. Even though her words do not seem wrong in real life, it is inappropriate to teach a kid to break a promise. As a result, Patrick goes to Ralph Devine and plays “Fish Families” with the teachers and students (36). Similarly, prior to his graduation of high school, Mame puts Patrick in a difficult situation, where he must take care of a pregnant lady named Agnes. Mame entrusts him with the responsibility of taking Agnes for shopping two times a day and exercise walks. She also registers Agnes in a local hotel under the name Mrs. Patrick Dennis. In order to accomplish this assignment, Mame tells Patrick that he can drive a car without a driver’s license. She says, “I’ve never had one myself, and look at me” (132). She also wants him to get away from school and have exercise walks with Agnes in the evening. Mame tells him that “Anybody can get out if he really wants to” (133). The most absurd thing is that, Patrick needs to “climb up” to the third floor window using a rope, in order to get to Agnes’ room. Even though Mame makes Patrick to do such extreme things, he does everything she demands at last; he even skips his classes and shortens his sleeping time. Patrick does not want to disappoint her because he knows that she is the closest person he has. Even though Mame feels that some girls are inappropriate for Patrick, she gives him her approval and supports him fully. At one point in time, Patrick decides that he wants to marry Gloria Upson. Mame is dying to know her personality, so she makes an appointment to meet her family. She discovers that her family is only concerned about money. This is evident from Patrick’s comment when he returns from visiting his prospective in-laws that, “The discussion covered money, the more spiritual aspects of young love, money…my religious and political affiliations, insurance, and money” (187). Mame does not want Patrick to marry Gloria and she prepares a “special” dinner for her family. Mame invites her “queer” friends and she gets “dressed as the Queen of Sheba” to have dinner with Upson family, that is, Victoria Regina, Vera and the footmen, and she wants to “make a good impression on Gloria’s family” (196). However, Patrick is fed up with her intrusive behavior, so he tells her to behave herself and “act like a normal human being” (196). Mame knows that he has already made up his mind, so she follows his advice and upholds proper behavior in the presence of Gloria’s family. Mame even gives her “baroque sapphire necklace” to Gloria as a wedding gift. At the end, Patrick gets offended when Mame is insulted by Gloria’s family because of inviting her Jewish friends to dinner. As a result, he breaks up with Gloria and leaves the place with Mame. Additionally, when Mame takes a trip to Maddox Island, she sends back some pictures to Patrick. He develops interest in the three sisters in the pictures and keeps asking Mame the information about the girls. Mame keeps ignoring his question and the girls because she knows that the girls are not suitable for him. Patrick cannot endure it anymore and goes to the Maddox Island to find the three sisters. In the beginning, Patrick cannot see the girls because Mame is against his prospects of meeting them. After a couple of days, Patrick finally gets a chance to see the three sisters. However, when Patrick develops feelings for one of the sisters, Mame interrupts their romantic advances. She does her best to separate Patrick and the girls. Patrick is very mad and asks Mame to leave them alone. As a result, Patrick gets engaged to one of the girls, Margot. The most interesting thing is that, Margot wants to live with her two sisters if she marries Patrick. Patrick and Margot cannot settle this problem and Patrick decides to end this relationship. Even though Mame knows that the three sisters are “gold-diggers (277),” she still gives the best wedding gift to them. Mame says, “She was up there all afternoon telling me about the cunning litter villa I was going to give you as a wedding gift.” (276). Mame uses her honest and free spirited nature to educate and look after Patrick, and the two also try to understand and support each other. Mame does her best to enroll Patrick in school and protects him from unhealthy engagements. She also enables him to develop a vibrant and tolerant nature. Patrick also understands Mame’s unconventional and wayward nature, so he also does his best to support her. Towards the end of the book, Mame says, “I am the one who always has to get you disentangled from the scrapes you insist upon thrusting yourself into…The time has come for you to be cracked from your crustacean lethargy into the free-swimming sea of manhood.” (278). Even though Mame seems unconventional to Patrick, their strong and tight relationship cannot be broken by any external influence. Works Cited Cain, James M. The Postman Always Rings Twice. New York: Vintage Books, 1992. Print. Read More