Examples Of Antithesis In Different Literary Pieces

 Literature across the ages has the profound ability to transform ones view of the world and the people that inhabit it, fiction in particular enables oneself to step into the world of another and experience their thoughts and personal journey, one that the reader may never encounter. The portrayal of the mother and her dynamic within fiction- particularly the characterisation of an unorthodox parent and the act of motherhood- are themes thoroughly explored by authors Charles Dickens in his novel ‘Great Expectations’, and by Lionel Shriver in her novel ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’.

Initially published as a weekly periodical; ‘Great Expectations’ was Dickens thirteenth novel, though which Dickens explored the themes of corruption, love and motherhood. Contextually; Victorian women and mothers were expected to conform to the precedent set by Queen Victoria: women were to be simultaneously submissive to their husbands whilst also performing as strong independent mothers to their children. Ironically, independent women, such as single mothers or spinsters were frowned upon by wider society and subsequently disenfranchised. One could argue that Dickens’ character Miss Havisham is a critique of these constraining societal conventions, Miss Havisham is more of a caricature than an individual, “Some ghastly waxwork”, who Dickens uses to portray a wildly distorted image of the ideal Victorian woman. Miss Havisham is never described as having any motherly qualities, instead she is horrific, Dickens use of the adjective “ghastly” allows the audience to infer how terrifying and how unconventional a woman she is. The semantic field of decay and degradation that cloaks descriptions of her character is typical of Gothic literature, Gothic imagery is invoked during the introduction of Miss Havisham- she is uncanny, eerie and the antithesis of an archetypal mother: “I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow.” One could infer from this description that Miss Havisham has lost the purity and righteousness that is expected of her by the a patriarchal society, and that is associated with the colour ‘white’. This eccentric manner of dress becomes physical manifestation of the archaic beliefs she attempts to disenfranchise her adopted daughter Estella from. Since she is no longer naive to the conventions and ways of Victorian society this has metaphorically stained her conscience. One could posit that Dickens employs Miss Havisham's character as a means of highlighting the negative effects that a mother could have on a child, and one could even go so far as to assume this is a contextual response to the Darwinian debate and 'nature versus nurture' debate. In part, it could be argued that the negative portrayal and subsequent of mothers across Dickens’ works is due to Dickens’ ambivalence towards his own mother, as they had an erratic relationship during his childhood. Dickens never forgave his mother, or his father, for their insistence that he work in a boot-blacking factory during his childhood rather than allowing him to have an education in the same vein as his elder sister Fanny.

To compliment this view: Lionel Shriver’s novel ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ acts as a criticism on corrupted contemporary social attitudes towards women and motherhood in the late 1980s and early 1990s America. As a character, Eva defies the traditional gender roles prevalent in America that dictated that men were the ‘bread-winners’, as she is a successful business woman living in New York City. She is independent, physically, mentally and sexually, up until she is coerced into conceiving a child by her husband Franklin: “I felt expendable, throw away, swallowed by a big biological project that I didn’t initiate or choose.”. The semantic field of disposability reflected in the adjective ‘expendable’ reflects that, to Eva, motherhood strips her on her identity and of the place she has worked to carve out of society, it degrades her and erodes away at her sense of self. In the work ‘Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity’, American philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler argues that gender is an improvised performance and one could suggest that as motherhood and gender are so closely tied together that motherhood inevitably becomes a gender identity of its own. Consequently, the individual can receive a backlash and negative consequences as a result of straying away from typical gender conventions. If we apply Butlerian Theory to Shriver’s novel and to the character of Eva in particular; we are made aware of how Eva is ‘punished’ for not behaving as a conventional mother: familial, societal and personal conflicts follow. Shriver evokes this loss of identity through Eva’s letter: “Swallowed by a big biological project”, the reader is forced to consider the consuming nature of motherhood. It is presented much like the biblical tale of Jonah and The Whale, Eva is doomed to be consumed by this new unwanted societal identity only to be spat out by that same society when she cannot conform to what they desire. One could argue that by creating the personality of “Mommer”, Shiver is allowing Eva to conform to the view demanded by society and subsequently the view of the audience. As the noun “Mommer’ is entirely made up, this allows Eva to fit herself into the constricting façade of a conventional American mother- a performance not unlike one suggested by Butler. Furthermore, when contrasted against her chosen identity further on in the narrative she writes, when Celia refers to her as “Mommy”, it is possible for one to infer that this not only signifies how Eva is more comfortable and in control of this attempt at parenthood, but that arguably she has fallen into the act of conventional American parenthood- the act she despises most. By creating these contrasting identities and approaches, Shriver is able to offer her reader two differing perspectives on motherhood, allowing the audience to form their own conclusion about Eva and her ambivalent approach to parenthood.

Throughout ‘Great Expectations’, the reader is presented with several portrayals of Motherhood, Dickens has the protagonist Pip hold idealistic notions of motherhood, and our view of characters he interacts with is shaped, ironically, by his expectations. The naive and barely literate Pip conjures images of his parents from the font inscribed into their gravestones: “The shape of the letters on my father’s gravestone gave me an odd impression that he was a square, stout, dark man... From the character and turn of the inscription, ‘ Also Georgina, Wife of the Above,’, I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.”. If one was to take Pip’s “childish” interpretations literally, we can infer how he sees the social hierarchy from descriptions: his father’s inscription is placed vertically and overshadows that of his mother’s inscription, metaphorically representing how Pip views men as superior to women and subsequently, fathers as superior to mothers. Dickens has Miss Havisham’s character violate the traditional view of motherhood held by Pip (and contextually, Victorian society), Miss Havisham is never truly presented as a conventional parent, as does Mrs. Joe Gargery- Pip’s resentful older sister who makes no secret of how she “Bought him up by hand,” likening Pip to a hand reared animal rather than a child. It is Mrs. Joe responsible for Pip’s susceptibility to Estella’s wiles: “My sister’s bringing me up had made me sensitive.”, one notes that Dickens rarely uses any sentimental language when talking about mothers, instead the language he uses is cold and emotionless. Rather than performing a maternal role, Mrs. Joe is the figure of authority within their family unit- a blatant transgression against conventional gender roles, and as such we perceive her as a villainous, aggressive and downright unlikeable character. Alternatively, it is Joe Gargery and Biddy who we perceive to perform the more maternal roles in Pip’s life, we as readers perceive them in a more positive and sympathetic light as a result. Joe’s character resembles that of a traditional matriarch rather than that of a traditional patriarch, Pip views him as a social equals rather than a parent, it could be suggested that Joe performs both maternal roles to a greater extent than any other character in the novel. On the other hand; Biddy is characterised as the antithesis to Estella- pleasant, thoughtful and attentive, teaching Pip literacy and numeracy in his childhood before assuming the role of his surrogate parent when she marries Joe. As a result of this caring, kind maternal attitudes, Dickens rewards these characters with a positive ending and Biddy and Joe are married at the novels’ denouement- whilst on the other hand both Mrs. Joe and Miss Havisham suffer grisly deaths.

Similarities can be drawn between Great Expectations and We Need To Talk About Kevin, as both novels contain portrayals of atypical parental roles. Shriver creates Eva to be the antithesis of her husband Franklin: who blindly adheres societal norms about what it means to be masculine, to be a ‘good’ parent and to be a model American citizen- when demanding his son have a conventional American name he simultaneously strips Eva of her Armenian heritage and cultural identity. Eva on the other hand, is cautious of the American stereotypes and identity and openly detests the culture it fosters, feeling as though she cannot argue against Franklin. Eventually the couple compromises: a girl would share Franklin’s All American last name ‘Plaskett’ while a boy would take Eva’s distinctive Armenian last name ‘Khatchadourian'. Eva laments these moments in which her autonomy is stripped from her in her letters, recounting in a moment of ironic hindsight “Kevin turned out more American than a Smith and Wesson.”, a ‘Smith and Wesson’ being an American made handgun- subtly referring to his decision to enact the most American tragedy possible on the fateful “Thursday”: the school massacre. This is one of many instances in which Eva succumbs to the traditional role of a woman, one who cannot stand up to her husband and reverts to acting like a model wife. By structuring her novel using epistolary format, Shriver is able to reinstate Eva’s voice, allowing her the freedom to speak her mind. Epistolary form in novels originated as a safe space for women to communicate their thoughts and emotions, typically to other women, without the threat of being silenced. One could argue that there are religious undertones to these letters between Eva and Franklin; reflections of Biblical letters between Saint Paul and the Colossians. Like those of Saint Paul, Eva’s letters are used as a means of absolution as she recounts all the truths she had kept hidden and internalised. Shriver subtly posits the idea that Eva uses epistolary formats a means of freeing herself from the constraints posed on her by Franklin- in the moment she had kept her thoughts to herself like a traditional wife, used to being silenced or “talked over”, now Eva’s letters exist as a catharsis for a voiceless woman who felt trapped in her traditional heterosexual relationship.

One could postulate that, in Great Expectations, Dickens presents Miss Havisham as a better, more loving parent towards Pip than to her own daughter Estella, therefore one could argue that Estella's nature is a fault of Miss Havisham's nurture. Dickens highlights the fact Miss Havisham’s incompetence as a parent has destroyed Estella and therefore ruined her nature, Dickens argues this idea through Pip; ‘it is not in Nature to behave as you are doing.’, to which Estella responds: ‘it is in my nature.’, as she mimics the improper ideals her mother has indoctrinated into her, dutifully marrying a man for money and status rather than love. When Miss Havisham talks to Estella, Dickens never uses terms of endearment or language that would connote a mother daughter relationship, this helps foster a cold and loveless atmosphere between the two characters that is perpetual throughout the novel. It is only when Miss Havisham realises the true extent of the emotional damage and destruction she has caused to both Pip and Estella that she displays a modicum of loving, maternal emotion. It could be argued that this is the end of a drawn out Bildungsroman for Miss Havisham’s character; “There was an earnest womanly compassion for me in her new affection.”, indicates that Miss Havisham has matured from a wounded and vindictive girl into a typical woman, Dickens describes Miss Havisham’s character without gothic imagery, “Womanly compassion” is reminiscent of the ideal Victorian woman and mother, the antithesis of her introductory description wherein she is described as “Some ghastly Waxwork”. On the contrary, I would personally argue that this emotion does not come from newly found motherly love but is in fact selfish act, Miss Havisham attempts to manipulate Pip to gain his sympathy and this would be more typical of her character. Overall; Miss Havisham’s character is typically presented as cruel and manipulative, she is not characterised by Dickens with traits that are conventional of Victorian Mothers, as a result, her death comes with a sense of poetic justice, as her lifetime cruelty is punished with a painful death.

Conversely, Eva is metaphorically tortured by society due to the murderous actions of her son, which are perceived to be her fault. Shriver characterises Eva in an ambiguous manner, allowing the audience to form their own conclusion on whether it was Kevin’s nature or Eva’s nurture that culminated to “Thursday”. What is not ambiguous is that Eva truly loves her son: unlike the characters of Miss Havisham, Mrs. Joe and the other mothers features fleetingly in Shriver’s novel, Eva admits as such in the closing paragraph of her final letter: “I can finally announce that I am too exhausted ... to keep fighting, and if only out of desperation and laziness: I love my son.”. There is a sense of finality and catharsis to this declaration, Shriver chooses to present motherhood as an intrinsic bond between parent and child that is not always felt in the same stereotypical way and cannot be broken. The semantic field of the closing paragraph is defeat: “Exhausted” and “Desperation” reflect Eva’s Bildungsroman across the novel; she has learned to stop fighting to portray herself as something she is not, instead choosing to love her son openly. Shriver uses Eva’s conceit as a means of exploring motherhood in the 20th and 21st centuries, using the characters of Kevin and Celia to present two parallel characterisations of how motherhood can appear, good or bad. Ultimately, it is up to the audience to judge if Eva is merely a misunderstood woman, or if she is truly the bad mother her society vilifies her to be.

To conclude; it is undeniable that motherhood is one of the most interesting dynamics to portray in fiction, it has been thoroughly explored across the centuries. One could argue that an authors portrayal of motherhood is not only a reflection of the relationships they have experienced but is a reflection of society and what has come to be expected from parents. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy portrays the theme of parenthood as an idyllic fairytale in her poem “The Cord”, in which the umbilical cord becomes a symbolic forged between mother and daughter, Queen and Princess. Conversely; the theme of forced motherhood is integral to Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 historicist novel “The Help”, in which two black maids, attempt to break free of the systemic racism ingrained into the 1960s American Deep South: where the white middle class often saw children as an accessory, complimentary to the American Dream they chased, and rather than parenting their children they employed American American maids to parent for them. I personally believe that the portrayal motherhood in fiction act both as a critique on our societal expectations, and although they may not be explored through a conventional character, portray the traits we feel (as both parents and children) are most important to us.