Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Journal #4
In the story "The Tenth of January" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, there is a major theme of irony that slowly develops and then comes together at the end of the story. Asenath Martyn, or Sene, as many people called her has had a life full of struggle and depression. Her mother was some sort of an abuser, probably of alcohol and of her daughter. Sene had scars and deformaties all over her face and was always in physical pain. She worked at the Pemberton Mill and after her mother died would come home to a very lonesome father. Sene always compared herself to the beautiful Del Ivory, one of her friends from the mill. Sene struggled with depression and very low self confidence, mostly because of the scars on her face. She thought that no one could love her. Dick was so good to her and cared for her so much, but she knew she couldn't be with him. After many times of suicidal thoughts and moments of weakness, Sene finally came to terms with her life and was finally happy this one January morning. And that same morning was the day the factory collapsed and killed many inside, including Sene. I thought this was so sadly ironic how the whole story was about her building of self asteem and self acceptance and finally once she had gone through so many hard times in her life, she was killed suddenly from a building collapsing on her and burning to the ground. It was as if luck wasn't even in the question when it came to Sene's life, once something seemed to be going well, something worse would happen. Although it is ironic that once Sene was happy with her life she would die in such a sudden and disastrous way, it is also fitting. If something this horrific would happen to anyone, it would be Sene. The lonesome girl with no friends, no pride, and an ugly scar down her face making her the laughing stock of Lawrence.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Christy, what a great thing to have realized! This concept of irony never even crossed my mind. I completely agree with you too--I never would have thought after an entire story of steady progression in a character, that the story would just end so tragically. Even when phelps foreshadowed the collapse at the beginning of the story, I never would have guessed. Phelps is extremely ironic in the way that she ended the story, and it's also a little bit dark if you ask me. Its sad to hear about a girl who lives such a sad, heartbreaking life, and only to end it in the dark irony that just as she was beginning to grow and love herself her life ends. Phelps really throws her readers for a tragic surprise, but I guess that is one reason why Phelps was such a great writer. The whole story's setting is dark, and the feeling of the story is just so gloomy but furthermore with feelings of loneliness and desolation, which is why I now am not as surprised that Phelps would have decided to write an ending with so much despair and sadness.
ReplyDelete