A
prominent theme throughout British Literature in a good number of the works we’ve
read this semester is escapism. This theme
is most openly recognized in Confessions of an Opium Eater, Alice’s Adventures
in Wonderland, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde but is also
recognizable in a more indirect works like Lenora and The Lady of
Shallot. Pretty much every piece of
literature from 1780 to present has some form of escapism even if not directly
stated.
One form of escapism is the most literal form
depicted in The Importance of Being Ernest.
Jack and Algernon both come up with alternate personas as an escape from
their realities; Jack goes to visit his brother Ernest in town and Algernon
uses Bunbury to go to the country. Both
characters have dissatisfaction within the normality’s within their own lives and
as a result come up with, as one blogger described, a “physical escape” responsibilities
and obligations to be whoever they want to be.
Another
example of an escape from reality is in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
For Carroll, Alice in Wonderland was an escape from reality for the
readers of the time. Because Carroll
uses satire, imagery and figurative language to depict the serious issues going
on within the government and in society.
In looking at the genre of nonsense literature as a whole, it was a way
for authors of the time to “bash” what they didn’t agree with. In the presentation that I did with my
partner, we discovered this topic and what it meant to authors like Carroll to
use escapism as means of social commentary.
We found that he uses personification and imaginative language and
situations to delve into issues that concerned the people of England at the
time.
Another
way to look at the escapism in Alice’s
Adventures is the whimsical escape that it provides for the readers based
on the nonsensical plot from just a fantastical point of view. As Alice makes her way through Wonderland and
it many worlds, learning its many lessons, the reader is able to venture with
her and escape from our own realities. This
goes hand in hand with the perception that Alice is literally escaping from her
sister and her own world to follow the white rabbit down the rabbit hole. However, the deeper she dives into her fantasy
reality, the deeper she delves into reality and the new sense of awareness that
comes from experience. This proves that
maybe there is something to be learned from an escape from reality.
This
concept is also similar in Strange Case
of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jekyll
seems to delve deeper into his true desires and personas of himself through the
escape of Mr. Hyde. In a sense Jekyll is
using Hyde, like Jack and Algernon in The
Importance of Being Ernest, as a way to escape the realities of society and
the responsibilities of life. At the
same time, he is also using it as a way to explore his deepest desires. In a class discussion we talked about how
Hyde is a representation of Jekyll’s repressed carnal desires and this form of
escapism, for Jekyll is a way of exploring that side of his personality. Obviously, due to societal expectations and
social confines, this hidden desire has escapism written all over it.
The
most direct and brutally honest representation that we’ve read about escapism
is in De Quincy’s Confessions of an
English Opium Eater. De Quincy
explores what writers went through and why they took opium as a way to explore
their creativity. The drug itself and
what it did for the artists can be seen as the ultimate form of escapism. It was a way for the writers to delve into
new worlds for the sake of their writing.
It is also a representation of what a frightening place letting one’s
self escape into their wildest imaginations can be. Opium is personified as a terrible and
negative outlet into the darker places of imagination. This can be seen as a representation of how
the concept of escapism isn’t always a positive one. Through the use of confusing medical
terminology and long winded explanations, the reader can truly feel the frustration
and terror almost (but not quite) as if they were experiencing it firsthand.
A
much more abstract form of escapism is it Burger’s Lenora in the way that she is disillusioned by her loved for the
soldier. When death comes to visit her,
in the disguise of her love, she sees the whole ordeal as a means by which to
escape with him off into the sunset. However,
she does not realize that she is so disillusioned by the idea of being consumed
with affection that she is blinding and willingly escaping to her death. Much like that which is explored in De Quincy’s
thoughts about the terrors of escapism, Lenora is experiencing those same
terrors until she finally disillusions herself to her biter demise.
Another
abstract work read this semester is in the Lady of Shallot. There are many subtle references to escapism
hidden under all the feminism and social issues; the first of these being the
mirror. The Lady of Shallot is forever
trapped in her tower, never able to even look down at the actual world around
her but instead she is forced to only see the world through a mirror image. The mirror is a representation of a world
that she can never be a part of but so desperately wants to be.
My
final example of escape literature is in Cowper’s “The Negro’s Complaint.” One blogger wrote about a bit of an identity
crisis going on with the author and to me escapism and identity crises go hand
in hand. This all goes with an
exploration of one’s self and doing so through the use of another persona. By Cowper writing the piece through a slave’s
perspective, he is taking a deeper look in what it would be like from that
point of view. As a writer, one is able
to experience many more things that others do not as well as exploring
different perspectives. In this he is
able to get his point across to the people and give them a new insight into
what the enslaved peoples go through.
These
are among the many examples of escapism in places that are both clearly visible
and well hidden. It is clear that no
matter whom you are and what your story is, the ability to get away from
reality is a strong driving force. So,
no matter if you are using escape to get away from realities and responsibilities,
a new means of self-exploration, or a means of perspective understanding,
escapism is everywhere. Everyone has
something that they are running from or looking toward. This is a theme that was prominent in the
past, as well as one that still haunts us today.
Work’s
Sited:
- · The Importance of Being Ernest. Film clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcnbutsPmyM
- · http://scarboroughvoice.co.uk/2012/10/16/the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-at-whitby-pavilion/
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