In the lesson we further discussed Wolf-Alice with particular emphasis on the figures of the moon and the mirror within the tale. We were first asked to find similarities between a mirror and the moon. These included the fact that both these objects reflect light, they both do not have their own presence in the fact that you cannot see them without external light and so on.
The class went on to re-read Wolf-Alice and focus on the mirror and the moon. We also discussed the narrator, who does his best to distance himself from Wolf-Alice by claiming that she is different from "us". We spoke about how Wolf-Alice would have quite clearly been an outcast and as such the villagers would not want to be associated with them; so they share responsibility by referring to "us" and not 'I'.
After finishing the tale, Sir put up quotes referring to the moon and the mirror and asked us to think of what the quotes are revealing about the objects. Examples of these quotes are:
The Moon
"When it again visited her kitchen at full strength...bleeding again"
In this quote the class concluded that this quote is referring to the power of the moon, the way in which Wolf-Alice cannot stop it shows the way women have no control of their body in a patriarchal society.
The Mirror
"The lucidity of the moonlight lit the mirror propped against the red wall, the rational glass, master of the visible"
This probed us to discuss the differences between the moon and the mirror in the tale. We said that the mirror refers to others opinions of us, and because the Duke has no reflection it shows that he is a social outcast so the public has no opinion of him. On the other hand, the moon represents truth and rationality, a constant, that's why it appears every month and Wolf-Alice bleeds.
Sorry for late blog forgot I had to do it.
Roman A.
Great Blog Roman.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of similarities between mirrors and the moon was an interesting, but hard one. "Wolf-Alice" is certainly full of narrative techniques which really put across Carter's views as a feminist writer.
The quotes from what we done
ReplyDeleteMOON
"The moon and mirrors have this much in common you can not see behind them"
Mirror
"His mirror faithfully reflects his bed but never the meagre shape within the discordered covers"
"lucidity of the moonlit the mirror propped against the redwall the national glass the master of the visible"
"The mirror ever whose surface the Duke passed like a wind on ice"
"As she continues her ministrations emerges, first, a formless web of tracery... the fishing net yet still shadowed outline until at last as vivid as real life itself as if it brought into being together soft, moist gentle tongue, finally the face of the Duke,"
Including what Roman wrote
ReplyDelete