At the end of "The Secret Woman" by Colette, the husband experiences "consternation" when he witnesses his wife's casual promiscuity at the Opera ball. In class, I expressed the view that he's freaked out by the fact that the anonymity of wearing a mask "restored" Irene to her natural state and that the reserved, well-mannered woman he is accustomed to is merely a facade. While the husband feels betrayed and confused by his wife's behavior, he approaches Jessica Benjamin's concept of mutual recognition by viewing Irene as a subject at the end of the story.
When her husband follows the disguised Irene into the chaos of the ball, she is initially described as being "seized" by one man and being "imprisoned" by several arms (pg. 330). This diction implies that the husband interprets what he sees to be other guests dominating Irene. Not only is she literally the object of the verbs in these sentences, but she is also the object in the SUBJECT/object binary.
However, as the story progresses, Irene becomes the subject. She grabs one woman, causing her to cry out (pg. 331). Likewise, she "disdainfully" holds and kisses a faint young man who has collapsed on the floor (pg. 331). In both of these scenarios, she clearly dominates the recipient of her actions as both the grammatical and theoretical subject.
This change in verb usage parallels the transformation that the husband's image of Irene undergoes over the course of the story. Although he is shaken and troubled by the mystery of Irene's nature, by accepting that she is voluntarily taking part in the ball's activities, he recognizes her as a subject and sexual being. In doing so, he takes a large step towards Benjamin's idea of mutual recognition.
When her husband follows the disguised Irene into the chaos of the ball, she is initially described as being "seized" by one man and being "imprisoned" by several arms (pg. 330). This diction implies that the husband interprets what he sees to be other guests dominating Irene. Not only is she literally the object of the verbs in these sentences, but she is also the object in the SUBJECT/object binary.
However, as the story progresses, Irene becomes the subject. She grabs one woman, causing her to cry out (pg. 331). Likewise, she "disdainfully" holds and kisses a faint young man who has collapsed on the floor (pg. 331). In both of these scenarios, she clearly dominates the recipient of her actions as both the grammatical and theoretical subject.
This change in verb usage parallels the transformation that the husband's image of Irene undergoes over the course of the story. Although he is shaken and troubled by the mystery of Irene's nature, by accepting that she is voluntarily taking part in the ball's activities, he recognizes her as a subject and sexual being. In doing so, he takes a large step towards Benjamin's idea of mutual recognition.
Wow, your point about the changing diction totally went over my head, but is so poignant. And I think your explanation of the ending gives me some clarity that I had previously not been able to form in respect to my own understanding of the ending.
ReplyDeleteIn reading this short story I was blinded by the progressive secrecy demonstrated by the woman, and I failed to recognize as you pointed out the diction used to describe her as the victim at the ball. Although she acts progressively for a woman in her position she is described as like you said "imprisoned" or "seized." However I think that we should keep in mind that the narrator is biased and is lead to believe that is wife contains more innocence that in reality.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Fiona. I also think that the SUBJECT/object binary is a very interesting idea to explore in this story because of the way it exists in sex. At all different levels of extremity, there are people who enjoy dominating and those who enjoy being dominated. And what domination means in sex is not necessarily the same as what it means in society.
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