Title: “The Readjustment of Personal Relations”: Marriage, Modernism, and the Alienated Self
Abstract: In literature, the prospect of marriage frequently offers the illusion that the individual can become complete in that he or she will be part of a unified whole. This illusion is especially pervasive for female characters, as men usually have other opportunities for fulfillment through their jobs and other social contact. Feminist critics have aptly demonstrated that marriage tends to be offered to women as the ultimate goal of life and selfhood.1 The myth of unity is easily shattered as individual desires rise to the surface. In Save Me the Waltz, Zelda Fitzgerald's 1932 novel, for example, husband and wife find themselves at odds over their personal goals, among other things, and "the weight of their individual reasons separated them like a barrage" (153). The marital unit contains two distinct personalities, each with his or her own perceptions, experiences, and desires, and these differences can create discord that belies unity.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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