All literature is one literature

On 14/7/16, our teacher initiated an online discussion with reference to a short story “A Joke” by Anton Chekhov.

This Discussion helped us a lot to understand a poem “The Wasteland” by T.S.Eliot.

Here’s the link of the story:-

Source: http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/joke.html

We studied in Eliot’s Tradition and Individual Talent: “what happens when a new work of art is created is something that happens simultaneously to all the works of art which preceded it. The existing monuments form an ideal order among themselves, which is modified by the introduction of the new (the really new) work of art among them. The existing order is complete before the new work arrives; for order to persist after the supervention of novelty, the whole existing order must be, if ever so slightly, altered; and so the relations, proportions, values of each work of art toward the whole are readjusted; and this is conformity between the old and the new.”

Let us read this as all literatures are connected with each other; all, those which are already written, those being written and those yet to be written. Thus, to understand a work of art, one must have an understanding of this continuity. This means that a writer makes use of one sign, symbol, character, situation for a specific purpose. If the same sing, symbol, character, situation is used by other writers, and if this goes on recurrently happen, it turns into literary metaphor.

Later, Northrop Frye also conifirmed this argument.

·        “Every organized body of knowledge can be learned progressively; and experience shows that there is also something progressive about the learning of literature.

He developed theory of Archetypal criticism based on the idea that whole of the literature has oneness of its existence. All literature shares common DNA or skeleton.

Here is an interesting example to prove this point.

These lines from The Waste Land can better be understood if we read it in the context of short story of Anton Checkhov (A Joke).

And when we were children, staying at the archduke's, 

My cousin's, he took me out on a sled, 

And I was frightened. He said, Marie, 

Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. 

In the mountains, there you feel free.

Read the short story (English and Gujarati translation of original Russian short story is attached) and give your interpretation on these lines in reply to this email.

Clues:

·        Marie feels nostalgic about childhood/adolescence experience of going in the mountains over the sled. Can you read this as not merely childhood freedom from worldly preoccupations and give interpretation of the first lover or infatuation or attraction which is on the verge of lustful relation?

·        Do you see any connection in these lines with overall theme of the poem which is spiritual degradation where all are burning with lustful fire?

·        Any other possible interpretation?

Here are my views about this:-

If we compare Marie's incident with Nadia's story, normally it might be taken as an nostalgic childhood experience.

If we plunge deep into this, we can see the symbolism lying in both the incidents.

Marie and Nadia at first are afraid of this lustful relation but slowly they start enjoying and it becomes a monotonous part of everyone's life. There is a common symbol of 'Sled' in both the work. Generally 'Sled' is used for the fun and adventurous activity to come down from the peak or from height of a snowy mountain. Thus, 'Sled' in both the work is the symbol of sexual perversion resulting into spiritual degradation.

And when we were children, staying at the archduke's, 

My cousin's, he took me out on a sled, 

And I was frightened. He said, Marie, 

Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. 

In the mountains, there you feel free.

The above lines are connected with the overall theme of the poem 'The Wasteland'. Marie's incident reflects the Europe of Eliot's time, where people were indulge in lustful relations. All were burning with lust.

Words like 'hold on tight' reflects sexual perversion and 'down we went' reflects spiritual degradation. Thus, these lines are connected with the overall theme of Spiritual degradation and sexual perversion.

Another thing observed in the short story by Anton Chekhov. Everytime the narrator used to say 'I love you' to Nadia. In the end, he thinks why he used to say this. Thus, it can be pointed out that there is difference between 'love' and 'lust'. Normally it gets confused.

The wastelanders were burning with lust. There was no love, because love leads to sacrifice and spirituality. Lust leads to spiritual degradation. This confusion between lust and love was there in the past, during the modern time as well as it will be in future.

Thank you...

You can read this story and “The Waste Land”  to share your views here.