For Jake and Alfred, the male characters from Love in L. A. and M is for Moon Among Other Things, respectively, reality is far from their perception of the good life. Both men dream of living quite differently from the one they have been leading, yet neither deserve what they desire. Jake and Alfred are a true example of getting what one deserves. While the situations are very dissimilar, the dreams and desires are very common, stereotypical fantasies. Jake conjures up a perfect automobile in his mind, along with a sheik lifestyle to accompany it. Alfred shares secret, fictitious conversations with Marilyn Monroe in his head.
While wasting away in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Los Angeles, Jake seeps into his own little world, imagining all the joys of having the perfect car. Initially this is understandable as he needed something better than this 58 Buick he drove. (Gilb 628) But the fantasy goes beyond a newer, safer car with a better radio and heater. He also wanted to have crushed velvet interior with electric controls, which would require him to lead an entirely different lifestyle. (Gilb 628) What Jake wanted was to be wealthy, surrounded by loose women, and enjoy the freedom that money could buy.
Rather than sitting in traffic on a daily basis, only to toil long hours at a useless job. Instead of working as an underpaid peon, he could revel in exotic colognes, plush, dark nightclubs, maitais and daquiris, necklaced ladies in satin gowns, misty and sexy like in a tequila ad. (Gilb 628) Alfred suffers from his own delusions as well. Understandably, he is tired, bored, and perhaps annoyed at the monotony of sleeping next to the same woman for so many years, for working the same old job just about as long, and also toiling through a gruesome daily commute.
Just as Jake had formed his ultimate fantasy, so had Alfred is, a Smooth-as-Silk Beauty as Fast as they Come. (Stoppard 942) While the reference refers to an automobile advertisement, it can also be seen as his ideal dream of being close to Marilyn Monroe. Alfred is farther gone into his fictitious world than Jake, however. The middle aged man took his desire to a near-insane level, developing entire conversations with her. After hearing of the actress untimely demise, Alfred explains to her spirit that [she] shouldnt have trusted them, theyre all rotten.
He may be referencing the fans, the reporters, her employers, or her lovers, but whomever Alfred is speaking of is irrelevant. The point is that the man is so deluded that he imagines a famous actress, whom he has never met, cares for his opinion. Like Jake, he is trying to be a completely different person. Alfred takes his fantasy into the real world. Even in conversation with his wife, Constance, Alfred explains, its such a cold shallow world she was living in… no one understood her, she was friendless.
This may at first seem like a harmless statement about the life of the rich and famous. However, when paired with Alfreds thought later in the text, Marilyn… dont worry, Im glad you phoned, it can be seen for certain that Alfred was dreaming of more than just knowing Marilyn. (Stoppard 946) It is the male characters treatment of the women in their lives that would be what makes them so undeserving of anything more. Both these men had their serious fantasies, and fantasies are all they would remain because neither men lived a life deserving of their dreams.
For example, Jake explained his situation in his own words, referring to it as being pressed onto a stalled freeway, thinking about the freedom he so desperately desires but not working towards it. (Gilb 628) In his only chance to show the reader his potential for success, Jake only succeeds in looking like a complete loser. After hitting a young womans car with his own, Jake lies to her, hits on her, falsifies information, and admits to the reader that he had broken the law by using phony license plates.
Additionally, Jake considered giving a real phone number but went against that idea and made one up. (Gilb 630) Continuing with the falsities, Jake explains to the young woman that he is an actor. Therefore, while in the beginning of the story, there is a sense of desperation, and the possibility that the plot will lead the character to better things, by the end, it becomes apparent that this is not the case. The implication is that Jake would never reach his goals, though he would live them out in his mind.
Alfred may have been living the good life in his mind, but his reality was one of bottled up torment and dissatisfaction. This first becomes apparent early in M Is for Moon Among Other Things. Early in many marriages, there is a vitality, a constant rejuvenation of love, and then in many cases this feeling fades into mutual respect and platonic love. Alfred and his wife, Constance show no signs of mutual respect or love. It appears that passion was never part of their marriage. The evening represented by the text portrays an argument between the couple about an incident from the past.
Constance was simply trying to make small talk with her husband, using the encyclopedia set he had given her as a catalyst. Alfred uses the opportunity not to enjoy the moment with his wife, but to chastise her about an incident with his boss. Constance, not wanting to relive the moment pleaded, Oh Alfred, please – not now again, begging him to let it go. (Stoppard 945) But rather than being sympathetic, the man screams, Catholics! Catholics-dont-eat-meat-on-Fridays, causing Constance to cry. (Stoppard 945) Alfred, with a poor attitude like that, would never achieve his secret dream to have known Marilyn.
It is not so much about the actress herself, though, as it is about having the lifestyle to have been an acquaintance of hers. As with Jake in Love in L. A. , he wants something he can not have, and does not deserve. Alfred finds himself imagining that Marilyn will be happier in Heaven, soothing her with his words, dont cry, dont cry anymore… Ill make it all right. (Stoppard 947) He is not only soothing the dead actress with these words, he is trying to believe these words as they relate to his own life. Self-centered Jake and Alfred lead simple, boring lives, hurting the women they meet.
Both want more than they have, and both dreams are unrealistic and not accomplishable. The reason their wishes wont come true is that neither deserves anything more than what he has, but neither Jake nor Alfred will ever stop dreaming. A thought by Jake works to sum up what both he and Alfred feel. His sense of freedom swell[ed] as he drove into the now moving street traffic, though he couldnt stop the thought about that FM stereo radio and crushed velvet interior and the new car smell that would even make it better.
