Thursday, September 2, 2010
clara's decline into the depths of sin and despair by robert barton
Clara's fall from grace is noted and reflected upon in several instances throughout the book. the first instance where this is noted is located on page 59 in the text. on this page we see that this is where Clara first comes into contact with Carwin. what is significant about this exchange is that when she hears his voice for the first time she notes that " a heart of stone could not fail to be moved by it" and that her heart " overflowed with sympathy and her eyes with unbidden tears". what was unusual about this instance is because she stated that it was involuntary and she, herself did not know exactly why she was crying. one of the last lines on the page sums up the reason for the tears in my opinion. that line states that " the importance of these circumstances will be manifested in the sequel. Based off of further reading, i would venture to say that the reason that Clara started to cry inexplicably was due to the fact that she herself represented purity and virtue, while Carwin represented evil and sin. the strange feeling she got upon hearing his voice could be viewed as an omen of sorts, in which she knew that Carwin somehow marked the beginning of her fall from grace. the second instance where one notes Clara's fall from grace is on page 118 in the text. here we see the following passage from Pleyel. " how art thou fallen! from what height fallen! a ruin so complete, so unheard of". this seems to suggest that Clara's fall has become more pronounced and noticeable by others as the story continues. at this point in the story it is noted that Clara has already endured countless scares and been in peril several times, so in my opinion i would say that she has in fact fallen into a place of sin and despair.
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I definitely agree with your explanation of the reason Clara cries when she hears Carwin's voice. Though this does play some role in the indication of Clara's fall from grace, I would like to propose that the first indication or event that begins Clara's fall from grace is the first instance of a series of events that ultimately leads to her complete fall from grace. First, it is necessary to define what Clara's fall from grace actually is. Just as Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, a place of bliss, happiness and innocence, Clara had an almost perfect family. As Brown writes, “The years that succeeded [her father’s mysterious death] were tranquil and happy. Our lives were molested by few of those cares that are incident to childhood.” (22) Her brother marries her best friend and the family’s peaceful afternoons are spent in the former temple, having fellowship and participating in animated discussions and debates. All in the close circle (Clara, Weiland, Pleyel, and Catherine) live their lives relatively peacefully and happily. However, just as Adam and Eve’s fall from grace eventually results their expulsion from Eden, pain, and death, Clara’s fall from grace results in Pleyel’s departure from Clara after accusing her of licentiousness and the tragic deaths of her family members by hands of her brother. Clara is ultimately devastated and loses all hope for continuing to live. The beginning of the transition between these two polar opposite situations (the beginning of Clara’s fall from grace) is when her brother first hears the “voice.” (37) This event is the first of a series of events that will affect everyone Clara loves and portray the two contradictory personalities of Clara. Though she is not affected by this first account, her brother was clearly was. Incidences of hearing mysterious voices would eventually cause Clara’s personality to seemingly change. This is the first incident that affects the “bliss” in the lives of Clara and the other three. The second incidence, when both Pleyel and Weiland hear a voice, affects Clara, making her ponder over the reality of the supernatural. During the third incident when she herself hears a voice (the voice of Carwin), Clara begins to change- hence her crying mysteriously. The fourth voice(s) she hears, causes her to run in for her life. Gradually, incidences of people hearing voices leads to bigger changes and more pain.
ReplyDeleteI'm struck by the use of the accusations of Pleyel as proof of her damnation. Pleyel's accusations are based upon an incorrect examination of Clara, based upon events she swears do not occur. They are, as she says, "some fatal, some incomprehensible mistake. (97)" To say that she has fallen from grace because someone has accused her of evil would be wrong. A fall from grace must occur both internally and externally. It is my belief that like the above, the other proofs of Clara's fall in this post are proof of external enticements to chaos, but never actually show that Clara herself has fallen.
ReplyDeleteThe extreme version of the external-fall situation is the story of Job. When God allows Satan to smite Job and destroy his life, though he lives in a life of sin and despair, Job himself neither sins nor despairs. I see Clara occupying that sort of place, where she is accosted outwardly, but remains sane and balanced within. For example, when Clara meets Carwin, though his influences may add an air of malice and danger to her environment, to simply feel sorry for a bad person, to cry without knowing, does not mean she is losing her internal grace or sanity. I've felt sad for individuals without knowing anything about them before, and I don't believe I'm crazy.
To use David's example of the Garden of Eden, Eve's fall was started by an internal choice to eat the apple. Clara, on the other hand, is struck by a series of events that I can in no way see she brought unto herself.
These supernatural, harrowing events grow in intensity. It is because of the increasing strength of change and threat of danger of the events that Clara has stronger reactions, not because of an internal fall or change. It might perhaps make more sense to run for your life after hearing the voice of a killer at night in your closet than hearing a voice in midday on a hill telling you to turn around.
This analysis of the events leads me to believe that while the world Clara lives in becomes stricken with supernatural events that deviate from a rational chain of conseqences, prompting a decline into chaos of the state of the world around Clara, she retains her internal rationality. She has not, herself, yet began to fall.
I never remember seeing her losing the will to live. While she is indeed struck by her misfortune at Pleyel leaving, she herself says that "the sentiment that now possessed me had no tendency to palsy my exertions" (127). While, also, Clara falls faint and hears voices, she never stops a process of rational analysis of events, always attempting to understand the voices, to tell the truth to Pleyel and to ignore the frailty of her body (105). Mentally, Clara remains strong.
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