The Surreal World

The cultural movement of Dada began in Zurich, Switzerland in response to the outbreak and violence of World War I. Those artists "scoffed at the conventions of artistic media," using anything from food wrappers to foil to newspaper to create new art. While considered an escape by some critics, the Dada movement actually sought to "make visible the violence, chaos, and hypocrisies of contemporary life" (NGA).

In the mid 1920's Dada eventually dwindled, but left in its place the Surrealism movement. As opposed to Zurich, Surrealism found its epicenter in post war Paris. Now, can anyone find a connection between that fact and Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises? If you said that both were products of post war modernism then you would be correct. Another correct correlation would be that of the the expatriate writers like Hemingway living in France and Spain and the tabula rasa that Surrealism presented. Writers were given a new landscape from which to explore even the most nominal of life's experiences.

Considering just Hemingway's trademark writing style, where so much goes unwritten, I find it particularly easy to draws comparisons between his work (as well as the Modernist movement) and Surrealism. One line that sticks out to me comes from chapter two of The Sun Also Rises where Jake and Robert head to a cafe and go back and forth about what it means to live. "Listen, Robert, going to another country doesn't make any difference. I've tried all that. You can't get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There's nothing to that" (19). While Jake's words seem a little disgruntled, windy, and a bit general, the essence of what he is saying speaks volumes. It is almost as though Hemingway is using Jake to communicate to his fellow expatriates, or maybe its inclusion is a big middle finger to critics of the Modernist movement. The symbolism is undeniable, and the way in which Hemingway is able to pack so much detail into simple, direct sentences shows not just his ability as a writer, but as a figurative avant-garde of the Modernist movement in American literature.

One final example that I want to use to connect the Surrealist movement in Modernist art to the new face of American Literature in the 1920's is the character of Brett Ashley in The Sun Also Rises. "One must not be confused by the exotica of expatriation: bullfights, French whores, and thesdansants. Like the American East, Paris in Hemingway's book stands for the world of women and work, for "civilization" with all its moral complexity, and it is presided over quite properly by the bitch-goddess Brett Ashley" (355) She represents a lingering androgyny that lays dormant in a lot of Hemingway's other works. It is further testament to Hemingway's role as an experimental writer, a trait that Surrealism celebrated.

Works Cited

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 2006. Print.

Martin, Wendy. "Brett Ashley as New Woman." In New Essays On The Sun Also Rises. Ed. Linda Wagner- Martin. New York; Cambridge UP, 1987.

Information on Dada can be found at http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2006/dada/cities/index.shtm

Monumental Short Fiction

Setting a story in Rome is no easy task. A city so rooted in mythology, grandiosity, and other multi-syllabic words has a way of marginalizing its inhabitants. And so it is the task of Roman Fever to not let the bright lights of Rome outshine its dynamic characters. Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, two American women reunited in Rome as aging chaperones to flighty teenage daughters, represents such characters. The women, modestly described as "ripe but well cared for middle age" sit quietly on "a lofty terrace" at an unnamed Italian restaurant, overlooking historical Roman sites including the Palatine, the Forum, and the Coliseum.

"And this is where mommy was promiscuous"

While considering the metaphorical, stylistic reasoning for including these Roman monuments, it must first be considered that these monuments serve merely as background fillers. They help paint the picture and create depth to juxtapose with the static nature of the action. The artsy fartsy writer in me disagrees. I have read way too many Dan Brown novels (insert Dan Brown joke here) to not go all conspiracy theory on Roman Fever.

Rome finds its origins at the Palatine, where Romulus and Remus were found as infants. The significance of the site may be metaphorical, in that the two women's history, for the sake of the story, begin in Rome. This is where Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley found themselves. The Palatine overlooks the Forum, considered to be the center of ancient Rome. How fitting that these two women are overlooking the heart of the city while hashing out what has been the heart of their relationship. The most recognizable monument included by Wharton is the Roman Coliseum. Again, the nihilist in me believes that the inclusion of such landmarks is a business decision. Include sites readers are more likely to recognize and the story is more likely to be accepted commercially. Considering Wharton's popularity at the time of publication, I cannot put it past her to have simply injected Roman Fever with some arbitrary Italian spice.

Wharton was a game changer, though. Her fiction really opened the floodgates on characterization, probably Modernism's greatest contribution to literature. An understudy of Henry James, Wharton too focused on revealing situations as opposed to solving plots. Those monuments are as much tied into those characters as the words falling out of their mouths.

The Coliseum is encompassing. Gladiators were stuck inside with little hope of escaping. Similarly, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade seem incapable of escaping the past, forever battling until the end. As well as the Coliseum is maintained, it is dated and decaying. It is a mere shadow of what it used to be. The same can be said for the two women. These comparisons may be a stretch for some, but in understanding what the monuments and the women have in common, it becomes clearer as to what the women are supposed to represent.

I believe that Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley are monuments of Rome. We can observe them and take from them whatever it is we feel, but they are forever bound to that terrace, to the Coliseum, to Rome. In this sense, Edith Wharton's Roman Fever is a traveler's guide to characterization.

Colosseum Picture © 2006 by James Martin, Europe for Visitors