John Gardner’s passage touches upon the reasons we read and write, and what distinguishes true morality from that of prejudices elevated to ethics. I agree with the passage to an extent; his point on an artist needing to present a strong case, for people to judge for themselves, and not force their morals upon people is true. However, I disagree with his point of needing a strong character to be able to develop a message, and that the purpose of the plot is just that a placeholder for the characters. The Awakening and Ethan Frome can be related to this passage, both helping to support it and disenfranchise it.
Gardner starts the passage out by touching upon the idea that often we find in fiction, people not writing about true morality, but rather their own manners or bigotry, which they believe others should adopt. He says that often they write out of hate and spite rather than what they need to be writing with, that being love. He’s right in that, the lines of morality can often be blurred due to this, and that sometimes it can be hard to distinguish whether or not someone is genuine in their writing. Often authors attempt to tell us how we should live, cramming their ideologies down are throats, hoping we’ll comply.
The best riters however, present a strong case for others to judge which is noted later in the passage. We see in both Ethan Frome and The Awakening, a strong case presented to judge rather than forced upon us. We are not told how to live, but rather pick up on the subliminal messages that the characters and plots present to us. It is true morality in the sense that, it is put out there for the world, and if you agree then that’s great, and if you disagree then that’s fine. What matters to them is that you pick up on the message, and whether or not you agree is completely up to you.
It’s bad enough to see the two women sitting there but his face, when he looks round that bare place, just kills me. ” (Wharton). In this particular quote we see the dead stare that Ethan has nowadays. This is indirect characterization, which helps to support Wharton’s message without directly telling us why Ethan has come to this. Subliminal things like this are sprinkled throughout Ethan Frome, to help bring forth a message stressing the importance of being with who makes you happy, and not letting yourself be pressured into things.
Wharton would have had a much easier time writing the book if she up and said her message, forcing it upon us, however in eaving it for the reader to decipher she maintains her true morality. When things are left to be subliminal and picked up on, it helps to erase some doubt in the legitimacy of the intentions of the writer’s message. In the final paragraph of the passage, Gardner touches upon the idea that an artist should never force their reader into a way of thinking. “The artist never forces anyone to do anything.
He merely makes his case the strongest case possible”(Gardner). As I touched upon earlier, too often does it seem an author attempts to impose his will on us. People are much less likely to even consider a point if it is forced pon them. Rather, if you want to convince people of something, give them the facts, give them your case, and then they can make the choice for themselves. In The Awakening we are given just that, the facts. We are told of Edna’s mistakes, marrying someone she doesn’t truly love and not following her dreams and passions until it was too late.
Chopin doesn’t up and tell us that we’ll be unhappy if we make the same choices as Edna, but rather shows us Edna’s choices, how they turn out, and leaves it at that. She presents Edna’s case, and doesn’t force a thing upon the reader, it is up to them if they want to walk way with a message or change in thought. “She looked in the distance and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father’s voice and her sister Margaret’s. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree.
The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was a hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air”(Chopin). Just like that the book ends, case closed, take away what you want to take away. Chopin doesn’t reflect upon Edna’s mistakes, saying that she was unhappy because of blah blah blah, and would have been appier if she would have done blah blah blah. Rather she leaves it as it is, preserving the true morality of the book, allowing us to look at the case and find the morals and message ourselves.
That’s what a truly great author does, gets their message across without ever explicitly saying it. The ambiguity of it, is what makes it so perfectly moral. Other parts of Gardner’s passage however do not hold as much truth to them. ” The artist who has no strong feeling about his characters – the artist who can feel passionate only about his words or ideas – has no urgent reason to think hard about the characters roblems, the themes in his fiction”(Gardner). This is simply not true, characters are not always needed to develop your message and themes in a novel.
One only has to look to Ethan Frome to see this is inherently false. Ethan Frome is devoid of any bright, unique characters and mostly relies on the plot to move it along. Most of the characters could be replaced, and the novel would still retain its message. “Sickness and trouble: that’s what Ethan’s had his plate full up with, ever since the very first helping”(Wharton). The plot of sickness and trouble is what pushes forth Ethan’s character, and is the main driving point of he story. Characters however can also help to provide a message to the readers.
In The Awakening, we focus in on Edna, a very unique character in her own right. Replace her with anyone else and the story drastically changes. She moves the plot forward unlike in Ethan Frome. “Without even waiting for an answer from her husband regarding his opinions or wishes in the matter, Edna hastened her preparations for quitting her home on Esplanade Street and moving into the little house around the block”(Chopin). Here we see Edna driving the plot, not letting the situation control her but controlling the situation. What’s important to note is that it can be done both ways.
It’s not the end all, be all if you don’t have great characters. You can drive a message home to the reader with just the plot if you know what you’re doing, just like in Ethan Frome. All in all, Gardner’s passage is right in some places and wrong in others. He’s right in that writers should present a strong case rather than just force their message. He’s wrong in that strong characters are needed to develop a strong message. Both novels, The Awakening and Ethan Frome, help to provide insight into these arguments and show the merits and poorness of Gardner’s passage.
