I wanted to delve back into the idea that Clara's "fall from grace" is not adequately, nor rightly described as such. Throughout the novel, we see that Clara begins the contemplate, more and more, the ideas of crime and death. When she finally experiences these concepts for herself, through murderer and robber, Carwin, and Weiland's murdering of his own family, we see that the aura of her thoughts begin to change. She, unlike her brother, has not fallen from grace, but has rather experienced a gain of knowledge (and experience) and the reactions and emotions that coincide with the occurring events.
With the Wieland men, I think it is safe to say that they have “fallen from grace”. We see that both the father and the son have, in a sense, taken their religion to extremes, where “the conditions were prescribed; the decree had gone forth, and nothing remained but to execute it…”(pg 190).
All this, especially the paralleled events occurring, we see, reinforces the underlying idea of the natural vs. the supernatural. Clara is desperately searching for answers for the cause of these mysterious events, and constantly falters between the idea of natural causes or supernatural causes. In general, she seems able to grasp the idea of the supernatural, but just as easily, can provide a logical explanation against such. For example, on pg 210, in reference to Pleyel’s European lover, who we find to actually be alive, “…the voice in the temple which asserted her death, must either have been intended to deceive, or have been itself deceived the latter supposition was inconsistent with the notion of being spiritual, and the former with that of a benevolent being”. Judging Clara’s character, who seems not to be a very religious or spiritual to begin with, I think she will end up discovering natural reasons for the occurring events. We see that both Wieland the father and Wieland the son have, in essence, already accepted the idea of the supernatural. As Clara continues to explore the ideas of the natural vs. the supernatural, I think we will continue to see her grow into a character of thought and reasoning, and respond to the events that are occurring around her.
while i certainly agree with this perspective of Clara and the other Wielands. i previously thought of Clara's "fall from grace" as a theoretical/ metaphorical fall and not so much in a literal sense. the reason i thought this is because as the novel progresses, we see that Clara, who was once of sound mind and confidence begins to question herself when things she perceives to be supernatural start occurring with the arrival of Carwin. the fall i think that Clara experiences in short, is more so a psychological one, in which we note a decline in her confidence and resolve, while simultaneously seeing a rise in character inconsistencies within her. at times i was confused as to whether or not Carwin was really the culprit of these strange voices, or was there really something supernatural going on. it seems to me that Carwin was responsible for the voices that everyone heard in the beginning, but how would one account for the voice that Wieland heard telling him to murder his wife and children? it seems to me as if the novel was constructed to play off of this idea of logical/ natural explanations vs. the supernatural, which is why the novel was so confusing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jenny that the "fall from grace" label is not an adequate one for Clara. She has not sinned, which is essentially what Satan/Lucifer did in Paradise Lost, and so she cannot have really fallen from anywhere. In addition, I disagreed with the point someone made in class that she was like Adam or Eve since she is now gaining new knowledge. Again, the reason is because that would mean she has sinned in some way, and she hasn't. She may exaggerate or contradict herself in her story, but nowhere does she actually sin. I think the best way to describe what is happening to her is that she has been living a sheltered life, and someone (Carwin) is taking advantage of that, and therefore exposing her to the "outside world." In fact, though she may exaggerate a bit to make herslef look better, she is dealing pretty well with the circumstances being thrown her way now.
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