Consider any aspect of the questions below, and respond:
1. May Sarton, a friend of Bowen's, said of Death of
the Heart that "It left me with a feeling of distilled horror, like the ash
from a fire, a taste I can't get out of my mouth." What is the "horror" in the novel?
2. Matchett, the observing servant in the novel, is described by the narrator as "the
person who really sees what happens." What does she see?
And yet to Thomas and Anna, she is the person who came "with the furniture" of
the house. Why?
What is the meaning of her "phosphorescent apron" (95)? Discuss any aspect of her
character and role in the house and Portia's life.
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Matchett is the one who sees what happens since she worked for Thomas' parents before working for Thomas and Anna. She experiences how Portia affected the Quaynes, as she was with Mrs. Quayne when Portia was born, and she also gets acquainted with Portia working for Thomas and Anna. Matchett remained with Mrs. Quayne after Mrs. Quayne "sent away" (97) Mr. Quayne and never forgave her for sending her husband away. Matchett pitied the newly born Portia for breaking up the household she worked in, but since she "came with the furniture" to Thomas and Anna's, she gets to see things from a different angle, from Portia's point-of-view. She is the one character who truly experiences how Portia has affected the Quaynes.
ReplyDeleteSuklima's remarks are perceptive: Matchett connects the past (Mr. and Mrs. Quayne) and the present, Thomas and Anna.She brings the past to Portia, and assists her in understanding her place in the family. The parentless Portia struggles to "belong."
ReplyDeleteHorror is a great word for it!
ReplyDeleteWho can Portia turn to?
Though Matchett might be quick to defend Portia's need for privacy, she has a lot at stake in Portia's development. The sexual good-night scene between the two was particularly disturbing to me.
Also, I just saw CITIZEN KANE for the first time, and the female protagonist's infatuation for puzzles impacted my reading of Portia's hobby. Even something as simple as a pastime as finishing a puzzle is loaded with possible horror in this novel. ~Rachel Jennings
The horror that May Sarton describes when reading “The Death of the Heart” is not merely the loss of adolescent innocence but also the death of the will and spirit of a young girl struggling to be accepted in a society that diametrically opposes what she holds dear. Portia’s existence in London is the quintessential struggle of class, whereupon high society will employ whatever agents it can (in this case Anna, Thomas, Eddy, and St. Quentin) to destroy a very dangerous entity. Indeed, St. Quentin remarks on page 328 “you are a most dangerous girl.”
ReplyDeleteThe battle ground is that of Portia’s diary, something that links herself to her past and keeps her sane in the midst of perceived societal chaos. She is awkward in London, not knowing how to act or respond to others. This can be seen in the incident involving Portia bringing a letter to her private lessons and hiding it in her stocking only to be reprimanded by her instructor. Her diary is her innocence, her heart, her spirit. Because of this, she faces an onslaught of criticism from the others (although she only realizes it in the end).
The tragedy could be left at this, but Bowen continues the downward spiral into horror when Portia is in a sense defeated by these forces and gives in to them, asking Major Brutte to marry her. Portia finally concedes to high society, becoming like those she fought against. She is mean to Major Brutte, cruel and malicious for the sake of preserving herself and her dignity. Innocence is lost here, and she accepts her fate and gives up on her dreams and potential. The horror is the death of Portia’s individuality.
In her 1938 novel The Death of the Heart, Bowen carefully captures a subtle yet intense sense of horror in an unlikely setting. Portia, a recently orphaned teenage girl, is sent to live with her older half-brother Thomas and his wife Anna in an ordinary upper-middle-class household in London. Through Portia’s keen observations in her diary, Bowen exposes the frivolity and hypocrisy of the lifestyle that Anna and Thomas lead as well as the deep unhappiness and anxiety that exists just below the calm surface that Anna has tried to cultivate. Portia’s presence threatens this illusion, though she is entirely unaware that by writing in her diary or by merely looking around the house, she makes all of the other characters aware of their faults and problems. The narrator describes her gaze as “[seeming] to be welcome nowhere…always turning away or being humbly lowered,” which causes Anna to feel “bound up with her fear, with her secret, by that enwrapping look…” (Bowen 58). Portia’s nature is naïve and innocent, but her unknowing exposure of upper-class deceit results in a dangerous conflict for her. Tension between Portia and Anna and between Portia and Eddie permeates the text as Anna and Eddie both read Portia’s diary. Bowen provides excerpts of the diary, in which Portia details mundane events of her life along with unintended but devastating truths like her description of a meal with Thomas and Anna. “Tonight Thomas and Anna stayed home for dinner…Then we sat in the drawingroom, and they wished I was not there,” (Bowen 145). The reader is aware that these secrets have been exposed, which creates an uncomfortable sense of fear and anticipation of retaliation.
ReplyDeleteThis tension reaches its climax when St. Quentin tells Portia that they have been reading her diary and when Anna reveals that she and Eddie have been carrying on some kind of affair. In these pivotal scenes, the horror of the novel has achieved its full potential and Portia is completely disillusioned. She realizes, she says, that Anna and Eddie have been “laughing at” her and “telling each other” about her diary (Bowen 353). She flees to Major Brutt’s hotel in desperation, telling him, “I can’t go back there now I know,” (Bowen 384). Portia’s situation is bleak, as she does not have financial independence or other family or close friends to rely on for help. The novel’s open ending only serves to reinforce the horror Portia has experienced. Will she marry Major Brutt out of a pragmatic need for stability and security? Will she be forced to return to Anna and Thomas? The reader does not know what might happen to Portia, and the novel closes with only more uncertainty and fear.
Matchett plays many roles in Elizabeth Bowen’s Death of The Heart but the one function that stuck out the most is her is a matronly person she plays too all those that are close to her. Coming from the first Mrs. Quayne's house after her death ,Matchett is a servant in Thomas and Anna's house. Matchett is extremely devoted to Portia's late father and this solidifies her relationship with his children and to the employment by Anna, who she finds unappealing. Matchett is extremely thorough and runs the house with an iron fist.
ReplyDeleteThere are only few people in London who treat Portia with love and affection. One of those people are Matchett, the housemaid, who gives the orphan the care and attention her brother and sister-in-law who do not. She is also highly sensitive to Portia's difficult situation. At night time when Thomas and Anna are out, Matchett goes up to Portia's room and like a mother figure tucks her in for the night as she shares stories about Portia's father when he once lived with his first wife Mrs. Quayne. She reminisces to Portia about the time when Portia was born, and sets things straight as she talks about Mrs. Quayne wanting to "to do right" as when she kicked Mr. Quayne out of their house and made him marry Irene.
Another example of her being a motherly figure is when one night, Matchett finds one of Eddie's letters addressed to Portia under Portia's pillow. While respecting her privacy by choosing not to see the letter, she makes it exceedingly clear to Portia that she disapproves of Eddie and expresses that he is nothing but trouble for a girl as naive as Portia. Matchett warns Portia that Eddie is up to no good. Matchett although cares about Portia, acts standoffish toward Portia because of her relationship with Eddie.
This inflexible system of loyalties displayed in the book forms part of the claustrophobic atmosphere and emphasizes Portia's ineptness; she was raised in a world where her world changes daily, and long-term loyalties and their associated conservatism are unsure. This lends an interesting view on Machette's meaning of her " phosphorescent apron". According to the dictionary
1.phos•pho•res•cence (fŏs'fə-rěs'əns) Persistent emission of light following exposure to and removal of incident radiation. 2.Emission of light without burning or by very slow burning without appreciable heat, as from the slow oxidation of phosphorous: And I think that Matchett was the only source of light or tenderness in their household. The apron is a fitting representation of my first point, that Matchett has a matronly role in the household. The radiation or the unpleasant feelings and vibes in the home were both from Thomas and Anna are two non responsive souls who could not connect to Portia on a human level. The phosphorescent apron reminds me about a moth and a candle. Portia was that innocent fluttering being that gravitated to Machetts light. Matchett was the true foundation in the household. Its even interesting that in the end
she was the one that was sent to take Portia from Major Brutt after she had run away.
The book's final pages are incredibly, stunning.From beginning to end Bowen carefully and steadily crafts the novel as she has brought the reader to the characters. Ultimately her major point in the novel is betrayal, and her last words on it are absolute: "One's sentiments -- call them that -- one's fidelities are so instinctive that one hardly knows they exist: only when they are betrayed or, worse still, when one betrays them does one realize their power." And this is the Horror that is referred to with the first qusestion. The horror of Portia's innocence lost.Her only hope is to move forward, but unfortunately at the novel's last page we will never know how, or if, she will do so. Instead we are left to wonder.
Ramona A.