As Egan mentioned in the video clip, time is a key element
in this novel that unites all of these
seemingly unrelated characters. Every chapter either takes place in the “relative”
past, or it discusses events that occurred in the past relative to the chapter
itself. All of the characters are discontent with their lives in their
respective present, and they are all looking into their pasts to look for
solution or relive those nostalgic days.
Sasha is a character strongly defined by her past. Coz the
psychiatrist ties her stealing habits with disappearance of her father (8). Her
apartment, her indirect personality, is described as follows: "the whole
apartment, which six years ago had seemed like a way station to some better
place, had ended up solidifying around Sasha…..she felt both mired in it and lucky
to have it – as if she not only couldn’t move on but didn’t want to.” (14) Her
table of stolen goods probably symbolizes that sentiment the best. She is
clinging to her past, and the regret that follows. In a way, I think she is
using it as a motivation to redeem herself from whatever she feels is wrong
with her life, although she is reluctant to admit it.
Bennie is a character who is searching for the nostalgic
feeling of the past to cope with and fix his broken present. For Bennie, it is
music. At the Stop/Go sisters’ house Bennie “heard the music get made…..experienced
a bump of anticipation” (29). We later learn that making music was Bennie
passion as Rhea says “I watch Bennie listen, eyes closed, his Mohawk like a
million antennas pricking up from his head” (45). His ED is momentarily cured when Bennie experiences joy from this nostalgia and feels like he is getting that second chance to improve his life.
Scotty too is not happy with his life, despite his
rationalization via his molecule theory. Deep inside, he knows he failed when
Bennie has succeeded. This is evident when he says “I didn’t have what Bennie
had. He was right” (103), and one of the reasons he visited Bennie was to relive
the one time he had an advantage or Bennie: when they were both in the band and
when Alice picked him. He thinks to himself “you [Bennie] were the one chasing.
But she picked me” (101).
Lastly, there is Lou. He is not a happy man in his death
bed, and he is relieved to see Rhea and Jocelyn. At the end, he says “nice
to be. With you girls” while “clutching their hands, as if they might flee”
(91). He seems to be desperately holding on to the memories of his heydays to distract himself from the current sorrows.
From Sasha to unforgivable Lou, every one of these
characters are constantly going back to their past, albeit for different reasons.
I think Egan is trying to say that we are all “writing a story of redemption,
of fresh beginnings and second chances” (8) through our past. It could be something
trivial or major, regardless of whether we are as successful as Bennie or a “failure”
like Scotty.
I completely agree with your assertion that time is the main linking factor throughout all of these “seemingly unrelated” stories. I think Egan actually tries to portray time as a weapon against the characters because they are too focused on the past. I think the clearest example is of Lou, who is very much killed by time. On his deathbed, all anyone can think of is what a man he used to be like. Egan spent so much time developing his youthful, energetic side in the previous stories, that the Lou on the deathbed is an almost unrecognizable character. But even in the Safari story, time is present, ““What’s so funny?” “Life,” Charlie says, leaning against him. “Life!” Lou snorts. “How old are you?” He hugs her to him. When Charlie was little he did this all the time, but as she grows older it happens less.” (75) Lou laughs at the idea of contemplating life, but fails to make the connection with how his relationship with his daughter is already changing. I also believe there is significance behind Chronos getting maimed by the lion in this story. The word “chronos” is a latin root that means time. The lion does all that it can to kill it/him, but as we discover even this powerful animal ultimately fails. So this incident symbolizes Time’s invincibility. I may be grasping at straws there, but Chronos being the name of a character must be significant somehow. So time is always present either as a word or a character and constantly gauges how willing the characters in the story are to live in sync with it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that your argument, that time is the primary linking factor, is completely right. This book's use of time is one of its most fascinating aspects. The way in which it switches time periods from chapter to chapter is an excellent device and really kept my interest, even though it's often jarring. When Egan talked about how she originally thought about writing the book backwards, I was interested, but I’m glad she went with the non-linear flow of time which she finally decided on. It’s far more interesting.
ReplyDeleteAs for how time affects the characters, I think that the character who is most affected by the passage of time is Bennie. This is clearly shown in the way he talks about the music industry of the present as compared to the music industry of the 1970s. Egan goes into Bennie's mind on this subject. “Bennie knew that what he was bringing into the world was shit. Too clear, too clean.… Film, photography, music: dead. An aesthetic holocaust!”
His unfavorable remarks on modern music and the industry, and his glorification of the “good old days” clearly show his wish for time to have stood still. It's sad to see people getting stuck in the past (Bennie's comments closely mirror several real-life rock stars' comments on modern music) and I believe it shows very clearly how much time has hurt Bennie.
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ReplyDeleteJust like you said each chapter is written relative to facts given before it, one could say that each character lives relative to the facts of his or her past. Though the course of time does not flow chronologically in this novel, we know what is happening and when thanks to the circumstances and clues about peoples' lives we've been given in previous chapters. I think this structure mirrors the way in which the characters live their present-day lives given the circumstances or instances of their past. I completely agree with you, for example, that Sasha was deeply affected by her father's disappearance. As we get farther into the book (and move farther back in the timeline of her life), we learn about her adolescent adventures in Asia and Europe. When her uncle finds her in Rome, she tells him a bit about her escapades, and about how when she first started traveling in different countries, she kept thinking she was seeing her father. "In China, Morocco. I'd look across a room -- bam -- I saw his hair. Or his legs, I still remember the exact shape of his legs (225)," Sasha said. She divulged that she thought he might be following her, but then became "scared" when she stopped seeing him. She clearly has abandonment issues from a young age, and I think you're right to say that she's a character who is strongly defined by her past. Knowing this fact about her makes her behavior in the first chapter seem a bit more understandable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the characters are all looking towards the past, and are doing so because they are unsatisfied with the way their lives have turned out. Every single character draws from memories in their respective chapters. Some characters you did not mention that do the same thing are Ted, Sasha’s uncle, who regrets not helping Sasha and her family through their marital problems and for losing the deep connection that the two shared. Rob is a particularly good example of someone completely unsatisfied with their life, preferring instead to dwell in the past. The main focus of his thoughts are Sasha and how he wishes he had expressed his romantic feelings towards her when they met, lamenting his current friend-zone issues. Rob’s past before Sasha was also undesirable, including a suicide attempt, so he tends to focus on Sasha as the bright part of his could have been life.
ReplyDeleteOverall Egan uses time in a fascinating way, unfolding character flaws and aspirations through flashbacks and memories. All of the characters wish that atleast one part of their life had turned out differently, whether it be children (Lou), bad habits (Sasha), career (Bennie), or a combination of all of it (Scottie). Failed marriages and strained relationships also seem to be common focus of memories, with Bennie and Scottie in particular wishing their marriages had lasted.