On a side note, I could not help but drawing huge parallels between Laura and the woman in "Theft." Like the woman in "Theft," Laura is denying herself intimate, personal connections with people, everyone around her "remain strangers to her" (97). Both women seem to be sabotaging themselves. I wonder if this view of a woman is what Porter may have had in mind or if the connections just seem so apparent only because "Theft" is so fresh in the mind, only having read it last week. Did anyone else get a sense of these women being similar in how they view life?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Re: The Tree of Betrayal
My initial reactions after reading this story seem very much like Jessica. I immediately was drawn to all the Christian symbols and themes. I agree that betrayal is an important theme here, but I am wondering if it was as simple as Laura betraying Eugenio. I think that Porter may also be hinting that Laura is betraying herself on a different level. For whatever reason, Laura has adopted a strong sense of stoicism. She senses that "violence, mutilation, a shocking death, wait for her with lessening patience" (93). Even at the end, in her dream, Eugenio is taking her to her death, and she does not protest or fight to live. It sounds as though she will accept the invitation as long as she can hold his hand (102). Why has Laura seemingly given up on life? I think that this is another betrayal: giving up on herself and her right to live and just continually existing in a detached state of stoicism.
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6 comments:
I definitely got that from both stories. The only difference is that Laura seems to understand her condition a bit more than the woman in Theft (at least of what we know). Also, the woman in Theft isn't even given a name, but perhaps she is a precursor to Laura.
As for Laura's premonitions on a horrible death: I cannot help myself thinking of Jesus' death. But then, at least in my mind, everything else contradicts with that thought.
Ah! I hadn't thought of that, but I think that actually could be supported. She did seem to accept her fate as Jesus did, and she is helping out the prisoners, as he would hang out with prisoners and prostitutes.
So in some ways, she is like Jesus... in other ways, she is like Judas. Looks like what Dr. Cook mentioned about taking the Biblical stories and turning them on their heads.
Wow, now I'm really confused. Jesus AND Judas? Is she a Judas to herself?
That's the interpretation I am drawing... sort of like Judas to herself and to Eugenio, but in a different way, Jesus to the prisoners too. It is very confusing.
Yeah... now I'm seeing a lot of things differently. Especially Eugenio. Perhaps he is real, but you know how you dream about people you don't really know? He could just represent all prisoners, and in her dream, manifested into one prisoner (maybe one that had a bigger emotional impact on her). Since we don't really know why she's in Mexico, I question even more her motives in her involvement with the revolution. Maybe it isn't love. Maybe she's more of a Judas than we know. OR... maybe she's more of a Jesus than know!
I've confused myself more. The surrealist dream scene has thrown me off.
After today’s class discussion I believe that Laura, along with betraying Eugenio, she also betrays herself. As Brad says, in the end Laura is willingly being led to her death. She does not fight Eugenio, instead she simply asks him to take her hand and she will follow him. You would think that anyone would be afraid to die but Laura is not, which makes me feel as if she knows she has done something wrong and is ready to accept her punishment. Perhaps she feels that everyday life has been some kind of betrayal of who she really is; this job of relaying information and visiting prisoners has taken her true identity away from her. She no longer knows who she is and therefore, she has betrayed herself and possibly her old morals. And this is why she willingly approached her death.
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