We covered a lot in class today, touching on the text as a kind of allegory for the politicization of the primitive. That is, Cather is interested in how the nation conceives of itself as a "family" (which can reproduce only through incest) versus the assimilation of foreigners (like Louis) and other corrupting influences of modernity. Do you agree with this reading or want to expand upon it? How does it help illuminate the relationship between Godfrey and Tom? In that light, consider the inexplicable malaise that sets upon the professor: where does it come from and what is interesting about his dramatic episode near the end of the book?
Finally, what kind of political commentary might be implicit in the description of the peoples of Cliff City? In the description of the city as a place of "design"?
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7 comments:
The juxtaposition between the original and the new serves to create an "American" identity as well as comment on the positive and negative aspects of modernity. The idea of progress is generally thought of positively, with almost everyone wishing to make progress. The move into the new house represents the progress of modern technology, and the old house the character and originality that is inherently lost when a new technique or method is created. Obviously there is merit in progress for it allows us to better accomodate ourselves in a harsh world. There is something to be said, however, about the connection that people have to physical objects and setting. A chair becomes the favorite reading chair, and the house becomes a part of the professor's character. Giving physical entities more agency and character is akin to the artistic movement of the time, where objects were being represented in abstract ways to express a meaning that couldn't be realized by just recreating the physical form of the object.
Scott
By the end of the book, it's very clear that Tom represents the past golden age, or the untouched innocence. Tom's death has allowed him to "escape" the corruption of modernity. As an idea, Tom the elusive golden past had to disappear before the new foreign modernity - Louis - can exist. It's easy for Godfrey to make a connection with Tom, because Tom represents the ideal of the past, a sort of childhood. Godfrey has lost his childhood and his sense of that childhood. When he regains it at the end of the book, the ideal no longer exists.
As for the peoples of the Cliff City, the ideas of family and incest immediately spring to mind. This society must have been very self-contained, isolated within the mesa. In fact, as far as can be deduced, the introduction of foreign peoples caused the downfall of the Cliff City people. The idea of the female causing disruption also appears in the descriptions of these people, after Father Duchene hypothesizes that the female mummy was unfaithful and was thus punished. The peoples of Cliff City were isolated and self-sustaining and thrived. The descriptions of these people raise them above other tribes of the era and suggest that it is their isolation that allowed them to flourish. The positive connotations of the self-contained familial society are clear. However, this society has perished, and is now only an ideal of the past, much like Tom.
- Marissa Rousseau
I was interested in the idea of the national family largely because of its opposition to change. As we mentioned in class, being an American is an indefinable quality that one must naturally possess. No one can assume the title of being an American if they are not born into the “family.” Yet, no one is quite sure what being an American really is. Clearly, those who reject foreigners into the family are expressing a wish for constancy because without diversity introduced into the population there can be no positive change. The professor is one of these characters. He is resistant to change in every part of his life, even including the move from his old house to the new one. For example, he insists on keeping the forms because he is used to them being in his study though they play no important role in his work. This resistance to change is similarly reflected through the exclusivity of the American family. Louis’s feminine characteristics and foreign status sharply contrast with the manly, timeless qualities that Tom Outland, the true American, exudes. Louis is rejected as a brother and son by the professor because he brings change to the constancy of the idea of what is American.
-Carol
Family plays a significant role in “The Professor’s House” because it embodies several symbolic meanings. For example, Godfrey’s family is divided by the two houses. Lillian and Louie are connected to the new house, while Godfrey and Tom relate more to the old house. Here, Cather is showing how the family can be influenced by both “outsiders” and the implications of modernity. The family becomes corrupted by Louie’s desire for attention in building Outland. Godfrey’s connection to Tom prevented him from feeling comfortable in the new house. Godfrey struggles to assimilate to the modernity of Louie and the new house. This illuminates the relationship between Godfrey and Tom because it shows that although they are not family, they still share a special father-son bond. For example, in Godfrey’s eyes, Tom is family because they share a past. On the other hand, Louie’s idea to materialize Tom’s legacy prevents him from being accepted by Godfrey. Tom’s death devastated Godfrey, which caused him to lose his sense of self. Godfrey began to question his reason for living and expressed his loss of love for his family. He did not want to live in the new house with his family; instead he preferred to stay in the professor’s house where he can reminisce on his past memories. Godfrey’s struggle between the present and the past caused him to have suicidal thoughts, which almost led to his death. After his dramatic episode he finds reason to live and prepares to face his future.
- Shantae McKinney (above comment)
The portrayal of the primitive as the ideal past, with its values of order, family and incest, is historically interesting and characteristic. World War I was the beginning of a new, global world in which the United States was reluctantly a key player. This was considered the "War to end all wars"; people held a sense of hope throughout, characterized by Woodrow Wilson's attempt at the end of the war to form the League of Nations. This recognition of the new global political culture was highly unfavorable with many of the American people and the peace after World War I was not as thorough as they had hoped. In reaction to the turbulence of the war and the years immediately after, the 1920's was characterized by a desire to return to isolation. This also resulted in an increase in anti-immigration and racism. Thus, historically, Cathar's portrayal of the primitive as an ideal was characteristic, and her indication that the ideal cannot again be reached needed to be realized not only by St. Peter but by the American people.
-Jenna Sopfe
The novel is interested in the idea of the corruption of society through influences of modernity. This corruption is seen towards the end of Book Two: Tom Outland’s Story, as Outland travels to Washington D.C. in attempt to interest the modern world with the idea of the Blue Mesa. Because Tom Outland had been ignored and rejected by the officials in Washington D.C., he later realizes that the beauty of the Blue Mesa would have been corrupted by the modern generation of historians and museum executives. Further, as Outland returns to the Southwest to discover that Rodney Blake had sold away the remains of the cliff-dwellers, Outland finally realizes the importance of the past society and ancestry of the Cliff City and its neighboring communities. In his epiphany, Outland understands that the conduct of the modern world, including the exchange of the historical remains of the natives for material value, corrupts the overall interpretation of the primitive lifestyle.
The Professor begins to return to the lifestyle of the primitive towards the end of the novel in his dramatic episode of suicidal attempt. His late decision of living for himself and ignoring the overruling aspects of his life, including his wife and children, allows the Professor to see the importance of returning back to the primitive for a better understanding of the value of his life. Tom and the Professor, both inevitably become obsessed with the meaning of the primitive world and the feeling of relating to the ways of society before the corruption from the materialistic world of the modern.
-Ashley McFadden
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