Here are the major points that I have from the discussion from the title story (feel free to comment if I miss anything):
- The natural order of the organic world "is the world of organized beings. These consist of orans; of parts which go to make up an individual, a being..." (25)...plants surviving where he is struggling, "geographical botany...what grows where?...why do rhododendrons grow in Sikkim and not here? He might spend his life in the search for an answer" (46) VERSUS politics and the order of man...constant quarrels, "he is never alone. he has never felt lonelier" (32), "the Sikh Wars and the annexation of the Punjab..."(46), the two almost mutineers who were lashed to the muzzles of the cannons (47) and the idea of Max being a cartographer--and the role of maps in politics
- Change within Max versus(?) change within Clara...concept of self changing, concept of each other changing--letters from the Clara of the past and the letters from the Clara of the not as distant past which means the relationship is never in the present--discovery of self and passion supported by ideas of evolution, fasting and discovery a different phase of reality and all of this being reflected in the change in tone of the letters
- Distance created by physical separation, creating or supporting an emotional divide--is there a place for honesty in this relationship? "What doesn't he tell Clara? So much, so much...he won't reveal the things that would worry her. He restrains himself, a constant battle; the battle itself another thing he doesn't write about..." (22-23) and the idea that Clara's only honest letter allows Max to postpone his return home, to pursue what is next.
- Is Max scared of going home, afraid of change? Is this why he does not return to Clara?
- Dima and Gideon?
- Imagery of the story: the body found in the "ice inside the crevasse, warmed by the heat it stole from Bancroft's body" (38), Max digging himself out of th crevasse "shaped like a smile" that he falls into (40), the children's feet left in the shoes...(48)
- Geography and plant life and how it reflects Max's growing sense of self: "Around me is a confused mass of rock and glacier and mist..."(35), "through all these transformations one can still discern the original morphology; the original character is altered yet not lost. In our separation our lives are changing, our bond to each other is changing yet still we are essentially the same" (32).
Things I want to talk about next time:
- being a servant of the map--noble idea? (55)
2 comments:
I thought it was very interesting that Clara's letters came out of order and most of Max's letters didn't even reach Clara. I also really picked up on Max's inablitity to be honest with Clara in his letters. It also seems apparent that he seems to have an obsession with having Clara know him while he is so far away but that he is not allowing it. "How will Clara know who he is these days, if he hides both his worries and his guilty pleasures," (Barrett 45). It seems that Clara is not being fully honest in her letters either. "You say not a word about your pains and trials," (27). They both seem afraid of how the other will react to what they write.
Also he doesn't seem to be able to put on paper how he feels their relationship is changing. "Deform: such a frightening word," (32). He seems too afraid of how the distance is affecting both of them.
I found it interesting yet frustrating that Max was never able to tell Clara all the details of his life. I remember Max mentioned that he wanted to keep in touch with Clara even though they could not physically touch. He wanted to keep in touch mentally, but he often held back his thoughts because he did not want Clara to worry about him. Or maybe he held himself back because he did not know who he really was or what he really wanted. "He wants to give her everything:What he is seeing, thinking, feeling; who he truly is. Yet these days he scarcely recognizes himself. How can he offer these aberrant knots of his character to Clara?" (Barrett 33). Max began to feel detatched from the world and more importantly detatched from himself. Often botany was the only thing he could relate to because it was the only thing he truelly understood.
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