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The Grass Harp, Including A Tree of Night and Other Stories
The Queer Theory - The Grass Harp
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When starting to read "The Grass Harp," I noticed that I was searching for for passages to argue that Queer Theory is applicable to the book, so I am glad that you decided to ask about this literary critique. The first character that stood out to me was Verena Talbo. The younger of the two, she took the leadership role in the Talbo household, the one in charge of the finances and for ensuring that there was a steady income. It was for this Verena was known as "the richest person in town" (10). The character of Verena is deconstructing the idea of gender roles by displaying that not only can women survive without a man to support her, but she can also take a strong role in her community. However, Verena's mannerisms and what was interpreted by me as dominance in the community did not pass by unnoticed. When first introduced to Verna, Capote shares that his father started the rumor that Verena was a hermaphrodite - one that has remained - and that "men were afraid of her, and she herself seemed to be afraid of women" (10,12). By taking a strong, forceful role in the community, she has received harsh judgement and ridicule.The reason I am excited to meet Bernard Cooper is because I enjoyed his work, and I think it is going to be a great pleasure to see if the way he intended something to be read or interpreted had that affect. To me, I always get that sense that authors are people living on this little island and no matter what happens they are somehow able to take a moment and make it art. Yes, I know that is utterly ridiculous, but sometimes my thoughts are strange. I think it will be interesting talk to him and ask what may have inspired him to begin writing and/or how he ever had the courage to write and then share his writing.
A character that jumped of the page as pertaining to queer theory was the character of Collin Fenwick. The very first description we get of him, in the very beginning of the novel, shows how Collin is viewed by others and how he views himself: "Except to remark that I was small for my age, a runt, no one had ever paid any attention to me.; but now people pointed me out, and said wasn't it sad? that poor little Collin Fenwick! I tried to look pitiful because I knew it pleased people" (11). This quote highlights Collin's peculiar character who seems very out of place and different from everyone around him.I'm extremely excited for Bernard Cooper to come tomorrow, partly because I didn't end up interviewing him for my project, so I am eager to ask him a few of the questions I had lined up for my interview! I absolutely love his writing and the emotions he captures on the page (as I'm sure everyone does!) and I can't wait to hear what he has to say to our class, as well as at the writer's series presentation!
One character that stands out is the narrator, Collin Fenwick. He possesses traits that match with the characteristic elements of the Queer Theory. For instance, When we are introduce to Collin, his mother passed away and sent by his father to live with cousins, Verena and Dolly Talbo. It seems throughout the novel that he is character that is an outcast in the household. Overwhelmed by the loss of his mother and the abandonment of his father, Collin becomes emotionally isolated when Verena a begins to control of his life. Collin writes, "She skittered at the sound of my footsteps or, if there was no avoiding me, folded like a rose petal of shy-lady fern" (11). He is intimidated by her character and how she portrayed herself in the first couple pages. Collin shows a sensitivity in the novella that is seen as "feminine" or "abnormal", not one that is considered to be fit as "masculine". The fact that Bernard Cooper going to be present at St. Lawrence tomorrow is exciting. Having read both "Map to Anywhere" and "The Bill from My Father", his use of language throughout his works are just absolutely amazing. Cooper has this unique ability to combine multiple elements together and transform these lines of metaphors that flow so nicely on the page. His use of imagery is out of this world. I look forward to have this opportunity to meet him in person, as I know everyone feels the same way too!
I personally found Judge Cool to be an interesting deconstruction of normality. He's a judge, yes, but deeply conflicted. He says, "I should never have been a Judge; as such, I was too often on the wrong side: the law doesn't admit differences" (41). He is directly contradicting what would be assumed to be the character of a judge because he doesn't fall into the binary of right and wrong. Capote also describes how he's never been the one person, to someone, "from whom nothing is held back" (41). This is a fairly passionate concept, an open one, and it contradicts the impartiality normally associated with a "Judge."Also, I'm really excited to talk to Bernard Cooper about how he constructs his stories. When I write fiction I jump all over the place in the story because that is, to me, how stories unfold in my mind. I'm curious as to if this is his process in recalling memories, if he has trouble structuring his narratives such that they're clear for the reader, or if he ever has to rearrange things he's written.
Just as "Other Rooms, Other Voices" can be considered a "Queering" of the sentimental novel, "The Grass Harp" also uses aspects of Queer theory to pull at the "readers tenderest emotions". In the first couple of chapters we are introduced to Collin, Dolly, and Catherine; although they do not conform to "normal" societal roles, the reader sympathizes with them and rejects the characters that try to restrain these protagonists. Capote gives the reader access to this exclusive group of people, who meet in the attic and treehouse, and understand each others secret languages exclusively, and are dependent on only each other. By giving the reader this insiders perspective, Capote inverts who is "normal" and who is "other".I can't wait to hear Bernard Cooper read his work. It's always interesting to see if I read something the way it was supposed to be read or if I didn't quite get the intended inflection and emotion. We got a sense of it in the reading we watched online, but let's be real: live performance is always better.
I am very interested in the relationship between the characters in "The Grass Harp," just as I was in "Other Voice, Other Rooms". Since our discussion on Queer Theory, I haven't been able to take it off my mind and found myself continuously deconstructing characters and events throughout the first three chapters. Dolly is a special character because she comes off as very easy-going, mother-like and lovable/loving: "I've been in love all my life," only not with a man but materialistic things (45). A crucial moment comes later when Dolly shares the story of Paul Jimson's wife: I wanted to say, if I could, that I was sorry and that I loved her--my hand grazed her face, she turned with the smallest shout and ran down the steps. Then on, she always tossed the paper from the street, and whenever I heard them hit the porch it sounded in my bones." (45) I feel like those two moments, that take place on the same page are drastically different from one another and illuminates the "normal" Dolly and the "other" Dolly (if I may steal Sally's way of putting it). There is tension here that doesn't sit right within one character, but if Dolly were to exist as the world would let her, she would have been able to love everything--including Mr. Jimson's wife (both in a friendly or sexualized way). I am going to have to agree with Alex, I need to know what Cooper's writing process is and how he chooses to construct his stories. Also, while researching Mark Doty, in one of his essay's he mentions the difference (or purpose) of writing for memory, not history and I'm wondering what Cooper's thoughts are on that, considering her writes the same stories over and over again--for memory or because the past is unclear?
I thought it was interesting that Truman Capote compared gender-associated objects to unattractive images. For example, when Collin, Dolly, and Catherine are bathing in the creek, Capote describes Dolly’s veil as “pestering her like a cloud of gnats,” and after Collin asks her why she is wearing it, Dolly questions, “But isn’t it proper for ladies to wear veils when they go traveling?” (45). Not only did this scene intrigue me based on the disheveled image of Dolly wearing an irritable veil, but also that Dolly did not state that women wear veils when traveling. Instead, she questioned the custom entirely. Although Capote doesn’t completely deconstruct the societal expectation that women wore veils while traveling, he certainly taints this standard via both the image of gnats and Dolly’s presumption.I look forward to experiencing Bernard Cooper's sense of humor. He certainly threads humor through "The Bill From My Father" and I hope to experience it in person, perhaps in a different way. Also, I'm really excited to listen to him discuss literary craft and answer the questions we all have to ask.
One of the first things I noticed when reading Truman Capote’s The Grass Harp was the description that Capote provided for the character Catherine Creek. I felt that Catherine was a clear example of the deconstruction of normal. Not only was Catherine referred to as “That One” (Capote 12), but she was also odd in the sense that “she claimed to be an Indian, which made most people wink, for she was dark as the angels of Africa” (Capote 12). I also thought it was interesting that it was difficult to understand Catherine when she spoke, because this inability to communicate properly would have further separated Catherine from others, but it does not separate Catherine and Dolly: “It was enough for Catherine that Dolly understood her: they were always together and everything they had to say they said to each other: bending my ear to the attic beam I could hear the tantalizing tremor of their voices flowing like sapsyrup through the old wood” (Capote 13). I am curious to ask Cooper what advice he would give to young writers trying to write about their own family members. I personally find it really difficult to write about people so close to you, and I want to know how he does it in such a compelling way.
I also look forward to hearing him read his work out loud. It is always nice to experience a live reading and then a discussion about the text!
As we all know Bernard Cooper is joining us tomorrow and I know I'm excited, but I want to hear why you all are excited. Wether this means why you loved his writing, or maybe it's sharing a question that you may ask him with us, I just want to hear why everyone is excited!
-Caroline