On Calmer Seas

Ahoy there! The time has come for us to make the final stop of this voyage of the Jar of Dirt. While it is always a sad moment to pull into port for the last time, this final trip should lead us to sees calmer than those we've seen thus far.

Our journey today takes us through the works of Beatrix Potter, a British writer (and illustrator) of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century who was made famous for her many children's stories, the main characters of which were small animals.

One such children's book by Potter is The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In the story, Peter Rabbit and his three siblings are warned by their mother - a widow - that, when she goes off to run errands, they should not go into the garden of Mr. McGregor as his wife put their father into a pie. While his siblings obey, Peter goes into McGregor's garden and begins eating a number of the vegetables he finds there. Eventually spotted by McGregor, Peter is chased around by the old man, losing his clothes as various articles get snagged while he is running away. Eventually, the old man stops chasing Peter who returns home to his mother; she tends to him as he is rather under the weather, the product of his having been soaked after hiding in a watering can.

This tale is continued in Potter's The Tale of Benjamin Bunny. In this story, young Benjamin Bunny is on his way to visit his widowed aunt and his cousins when he happens upon Peter Rabbit (one of his cousins) wrapped in a red handkerchief, his clothes missing. Peter tells his cousin that his clothes are on the scarecrow in Mr. McGregor's garden. The two go to the garden and retrieve the clothes, Peter rather nervous the whole time, pleading with his cousin to leave. Young Benjamin Bunny does not, however, listen to his cousin, telling him to take some onions and wrap them in the handkerchief so they could take them back to Peter's mother. Suddenly, the two come upon a cat and are forced to hide beneath an overturned basket. The cat jumps on top, trapping them there for hours until Young Benjamin Bunny's father rescues them, locking the cat in the greenhouse. Benjamin's father does, however, punish them for going into the garden. Peter then returns home, his mother rather forgiving as he has found his clothes. Mr. McGregor, upon finding his cat locked in the greenhouse, the tiny shoeprints in the garden, and that the clothes went missing from the scarecrow, is rather confused.

Though, at first glance, these stories seem to be nothing more than quaint children's stories about talking animals, they may actually be more than what first meets the eye. The story told between these two books could really be considered something of a fable, a morality tale, emphasizing for children the importance of being responsible and obeying their parents. In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter's mother warns him that McGregor's garden should be avoided, that his father was eaten because he went there. Peter's disobedience, though it seems, at first, without major consequence, results in him not only feeling ill after over-eating, but leads to him almost meeting the same fate as his father. Though Peter does - albeit perhaps narrowly - escape McGregor, he does lose his clothing and fall ill after hiding in the watering can. In The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, Peter not only returns to McGregor's garden though he knows it's dangerous, but his cousin goes, as well, not listening to Peter's pleas to leave. As they do not leave immediately after finding Peter's clothes, staying to steal onions from the garden, they nearly fall victim to a cat. The two, though rescued by Benjamin's father, are subsequently punished by him for their disobedience, finally - it seems - learning their lesson. The recurring idea of disobedience followed by danger (which is only escaped by luck or the appearance of a parent) serves to send the message that parents set rules for the good of their children, and that, for their own good, children should obey those rules.

Well, my fellow literary sailors, it seems that we have reached the end of yet another fine adventure! I hope that your time in port is pleasant, but keep reading, me hearties, and sail on your own wherever the tides may take you.

Until next time!

A Whale of a Tale

Ahoy there! Be on the lookout - we may spot a whale or two!

Our next trip on the Jar of Dirt brings us back to Britain where it seems that the sister-in-law of the Duke of Cambridge has caused something of a scandal.

But, what do whales have to do with it, and how on earth is any of this at all relevant to British literature?

Well, according to an article published by the Guardian (see link below), Pippa Middleton, on a recent trip to Norway, sampled which incorporated whale meat, subsequently discussing the meal in the media. Not only is eating whale meat an endorsement for the controversial whale hunting industry, but Middleton's brother-in-law is known to be a supporter of wildlife conservation (not something that really seems to go hand in hand with whale hunting).

The article goes on to describe certain aspects of the whaling industry, including the International Whaling Commission's moratorium and how "support and demand" for the whaling industry is declining.

But, again, what does this have to do with British literature?

This article deals with ideas of conservation, appreciation for wildlife, for nature, all of which are themes featured in a number of works by poet Gerard Manly Hopkins. One of Hopkins' poems which captures these ideas with no small degree of depth is "God's Grandeur." The poem deals with the idea of the world being God's great creation which, rather than being appreciated and revered by mankind, has been trampled and abused. Hopkins' poem, however, ends with hope rather than despair as the idea that, by the grace of God, nature is never exhausted, is always made new, is emphasized.

Many look at the whaling industry as a form of abuse of wildlife that could easily fit with Hopkins' idea of the trampling of God's creation. While the industry has done its share of harm to the populations of various species of whales, improvements are being made, the industry's impact reduced, perhaps leading into some of the hope which Hopkins' poem ends with.

Well, my fellow literary sailors, it seems that our whale watching excursion has reached its end. But keep a weather eye on the horizon - the last leg of our voyage is fast approaching, and who knows what we'll see!

Until next time!




http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/17/pippa-middleton-whale-meat-dinner-blunder

Run Aground?

Ahoy, fellow readers! It’s time for our next literary adventure! This time, however, we will not be traveling to a new and distant land. We will be remaining in port. Not to worry - we haven't run aground! Our adventure here in Transylvania, dominion of the infamous Count Dracula and his creatures of the night, simply has not come to an end quite yet. While we will be remaining here a while longer, we will not be traveling the same paths we have before. Rather, we will be exploring new passages through the dark terrain of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

 

How will we do this? With a map, of course. To ensure that we don’t get lost in the literary foothills of Stoker’s novel, we will be following a map in the form of an article of literary criticism by Stetson University English Professon Jamil Khader, “Un/Speakability and Radical Otherness: The Ethics of Trauma in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.”

So, be prepared! It’s a dark road we venture down!

***

 

Khader’s article brings up a number of intriguing points regarding Stoker’s novel, including what it seems to say about trauma and memory. One major point which Khader makes relates to the fact that, in Dracula, it seems as though many of the characters struggle to deal with their traumatic experiences on an individual level. Khader states, “while traumatic vampiric attacks cannot be fully known or represented accurately and coherently at the individual level, it is possible, even advisable, to represent such events at the collective level.” Khader goes on to point out that this can be seen, among other instances, when Johnathan Harker gives Mina his journal, telling her that he does not want to remember the terrible things he knows he must have recorded, that – should she decide to read his journal – she should keep his forgotten experiences to herself. Khader also goes on to say, “unable to admit the trauma to themselves, the vampires’ victims can only register the traumatic vampiric attack on their unconscious, only to emerge later in disruptive and shattering form in their lives.” In explaining all of this, Khader indicates that the only way in which those who experienced, in some way, the horror of vampiric attack could only really begin to face the traumatic things which had happened to them when they pulled together as a group, when they began to compile their documents and share what they had gone through without fear of judgement by the others.

 

This leads into another of Khader’s major points, “the inhumanity of witnessing.” To better explain this idea, Khader references Giorgio Agamben and his work, Remnants of Auschwitz. Khader explains that Agamben indicated that many survivors of the Holocaust, rather than sharing their own story, tell the stories of those who died, thus removing themselves, in a way, from the experience. Quoting Agamben, Khader explains the problematic nature of this idea as, “it is impossible to bear witness…‘from the inside, since no one can bear witness from the inside of death’; and it is impossible from the outside, ‘since the outsider is by definition excluded from the event.’” This idea is then applied to Lucy and her role in the narrative. Though she plays a part in telling of her own experiences while she is still alive, Lucy’s narrative, as Khader points out, is immediately excluded upon her death, her perspective never shared after she becomes a vampire. However, while the others have trouble speaking of their own traumatic experiences, they try very hard to convey Lucy’s, acting as witnesses rather than victims and falling into the paradox explained by Agamben.

 

While there are many more paths explored on Khader’s critical map of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, these were among those I found most intriguing. The final path on this map which I would like to follow is this; Kader states, “it is impossible to overlook the ways in which Count Dracula’s voice is excluded.” Although the title character of Stoker’s text, the only time the reader really hears his voice firsthand is early in the text through his letter to Jonathan. Given this, I would like to leave you with a question; for what reason would Stoker exclude the perspective of the character who is (arguably) the most important in the text? While Khader poses the idea of anthropocentrism as a likely answer, I believe that there are many possibilities for what I believe to be Stoker’s very deliberate structural choice.

***

Our journey on land has come to a close, and it seems to be time to head back to the ship. I hope you haven’t lost your sea legs yet – our next voyage should be underway soon!

Until next time!

 

 

Khader, Jamil. "Un/Speakability And Radical Otherness: The Ethics Of Trauma In Bram Stoker's "Dracula.." College Literature 39.2 (2012): 73. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.