A Whisper in the Dark

Insanity plays into the American gothic tradition that “things are not what they seem”. When the concept of insanity is introduced into the text there is no longer a distinct difference between “right” and “wrong”. At the beginning of the text the reader believes that Sybil has been wrongly accused of having a mental illness. As the story goes on Sybil beings sleep walking and hearing voices. At one point Sybil believes that she may be insane and begs for Mercy from her uncle. “I stretched my hands to them, crying with an imploring cry, ‘Yes I am quite! I am hopeless!’” (236). Due to the fact that insanity is so complex there is no longer a distinct difference between what is “right” and “wrong”, and “good” and “bad”. We, as the reader, no longer know what to believe is the truth and what could be caused by mental illness.

Our prior ideas about mother/daughter relationships were based on the fact that the daughter should aspire to be like her mother. In the relationship between Sybil and her mother, Sybil learns about life and what to avoid from her mother’s mistakes. Though unknowing that she is warning her daughter Sybil’s mother instructs her to escape before Sybil ends up with the same mental problems as her. “What devil sent you I may never know, but I long to warn you” (238). Sybil was also not to be granted her father’s land if she was misfortunate enough to have the same illness as her mother. “If it should appear that I inherited my mother’s malady, the fortune should revert to my cousin” (240). Through the hardships of her mother Sybil is able to learn how to better live her own life. This type of mother/daughter relationship is very different from relationships that we have previously seen.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Throughout the stories that we have read children have been seen as a symbol of hope and potential. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin children are both a symbol of hope and a symbol of heartache. In the text Eliza’s main goal is to save her son from having to leave her and work for a “bad” man in the south. When we being reading Eliza is talking about how she feels as if she must be crazy for leaving her kind masters and the only home that she has. “With a confused and stunning sense of the risk she was running, leaving the only home she had ever known, and cutting loose from the protection of a friend whom she loves and revered” (243). She makes this dangerous decision because she knows that it is the only chance that she has to protect her son. Though her child causes Eliza much pain and self-sacrifice, she does it because above anything else she loves her son and wants the best for him.

The children in the text also symbolize hope. Throughout her journey Eliza receives help through the kindness of other mothers. Eliza and these women relate to each other through the love that they have for their children. When explaining to Mrs. Bird why Eliza has chosen to run away from her master Eliza asks Mrs. Bird if she has ever lost a child. Mrs. Bird shares with Eliza that she has lost her daughter and through the feelings that they both have about their children they are able to relate to each other on a deep and emotional level. “Then you will feel for me. I have lost two, one after another—left ‘em buried there when I came away; and I had only this one left. I never slept a night without this; he was all I had” (280). In this portion of the text we see children as a symbol of hope and potential by acting as a common thread that is able to bring women of all color and background together.

In previous text we have read such as The Wide Wide World and The Lamplighter there has been an underlying message that if you are “good” then people will love you, and everything in life will work out. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin we see characters such as Eliza and Uncle Tom whom are “good” and moral, but their lives are still filled with hardship and hurt. This message is not the typical one that we have seen in previous stories.

The Hidden Hand

One aspect of this text that I found very interesting was all of the “hidden” clues throughout the reading. Many of the Names, what was said, and what was not said hinted at something bigger, or something that was to come. The old man is called “Old Hurricane” which leads readers to believe that something about him will be fierce and unpredictable. Also, Le Noir is the French word that means “black”. Old Hurricane refers to Capitola as Capitola Black. The color black usually makes people think of mysterious and ominous things. I am sure that the author chose to use such a name to provoke feelings such as those. The women who took care of Herbert and her own son was called Mrs. Rocke. A rock is a symbol of strength and security. Mrs. Rocke was that strength and security for both Herbert and her son.

While Herbert was describing all of the things that Old Hurricane was willing to do for Mrs. Rocke and her son, Mrs. Rocke did not say what she was thinking but through her reactions the readers can assume that there was some kind of past between her and Old Hurricane. “Her cheeks were brightly flushed, her eyes were sparkling with light, her whole countenance resplendent with joy” (194). Also, the text does not tell the reader what the connection is between Capitola and the house that Old Hurricane lives in, but there are many clues along the way that point at a connection between the two. “And the first owner, old Henri Le Noir, was said to be one of the grandest villains that ever was heard of” (197). These clues along with many other symbols throughout the text hint at a secret past that is not specifically told to the readers, but instead is hidden within the text.

The Lamplighter

In contrast with what we were trying to teach girls 150 years ago, today we encourage young girls to be who they truly are. In the video Anna said that her advice to young girls was, “don’t think about what you have to do for people to like you.” This idea goes against what domestic fiction stories such as The Wide, Wide World and The Lamplighter were trying to teach young girls. These novels encouraged girls to dedicate themselves to serving others. They taught that making other people happy was the key to being a “good” and well-liked lady. In The Lamplighter Gerty cleans Uncle True’s house in hopes of making him happy. “Which the child felt herself more blessed in being permitted to perform than she would have done at almost any girl or favor that could have been bestowed upon her” (110). This is an example of how The Lamplighter portrays girls serving others as a source of being liked. As times are changing so is society’s view of how girls should be. Just as we did 150 years ago, today we are still following what society thinks a girl should be. At the end of the video everyone choose if they liked a butterfly or a rainbow better. We tend to think of these two things as “girly” and associate them with girls. Though some of the idea about what is “girly” may have changed from 150 years ago we are still associating certain characteristics and things with girls because that is what we have been taught to do by the world around us.

The idea of the show was to encourage girls to “balance” themselves. This idea of balance was to get girls to focus on their inner feelings and try to be themselves. Gerty’s balance was to try to contain her inner feelings of hostility. The text talks about the look that Gerty would get in her eyes when she would talk about Nan Grant. It was described as a look of hatred that could only come from the inner feelings of Gerty. Uncle True and others wanted Gerty to find balance in her life by riding herself of and containing those hostile feelings. If Gerty was to be asked by Amy Pholer what she does to create “balance” in her life, Gerty probably would have said screaming. When Nan Grant kills Gerty’s kitten and when the girls at school make fun of Uncle True Gerty uses screaming as a way of releasing some of her anger. “When Gerty was angry or grieved, she always cried aloud—not sobbing, as many children do, but uttering a succession of piercing shrieks” (91). Gerty would have taken a much different approach than Anna and her yoga.