When we think of danger, we often think of hurricanes, icy roads and broken glass. We do not think of character traits as dangerous. Provincialism is a foreign word to most, but something we have in all of us. The best way to interpret provincialism is as narrow mindedness; this could be in culturally, intellectually or simply due to ignorance. Ezra Pound, an American poet that pioneered the modernist movement, declared provincialism “the enemy.” He penned specifically regarding provincialism in grade school, “The student has become accustomed first to receiving his main ideas without question; then to being indifferent to them.” Students are used to just blindly accepting the ideas given to them by professors and teachers, and failing to question
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He is immediately enraptured by Emma, the daughter of a wealthy farmer who is completely and utterly bored with the farm life and eventually tires of her husband. Charles’ is a simple man; if he has a full belly, warm fire, and his wife by his side, he is perfectly content. He is a good man; in no way is Charles wicked or cruel. He is completely passive and will do absolutely anything for his wife, all while believing that she is equally in love with him. Soon after he and Emma are married, he lies beside her and stares into her eyes. “...he saw himself in a miniature down to his shoulders, with a silk scarf around his head and his nightshirt open” (p.32). This quote illustrates that despite Charles’ adoration of Emma, he is provincial in that he really does not see Emma. She is just his pretty wife, an object, not a person. He cannot comprehend the depth of Emma’s ideas and is often bewildered by things she says. Emma, realizing that her husband is a fool, quickly begins to hate Charles and begins a string of illicit affairs right under his nose. Charles is too ignorant to note Emma’s severe ups and downs, perhaps not caring enough to even attempt to understand why she cycles from maniacally happy to depressively upset. Emma’s eventual suicide is due to a myriad of reasons, but Charles most certainly plays a role in her death. He was blind to her problems, financial and otherwise, and even if he was aware of the financial ruin she had put them in, he would not have known how to resolve the issue. Charles’ provincialism can additionally be interpreted as selfishness. After Emma’s death, Charles attempts to become Emma’s ideal partner. “To please her, as though she were still alive, he adopted her tastes and ideas” (p.337). He purchases new boots, uses perfumed moustache wax, and generally lives recklessly. He continues to squander away the little funds he has
He is immediately enraptured by Emma, the daughter of a wealthy farmer who is completely and utterly bored with the farm life and eventually tires of her husband. Charles’ is a simple man; if he has a full belly, warm fire, and his wife by his side, he is perfectly content. He is a good man; in no way is Charles wicked or cruel. He is completely passive and will do absolutely anything for his wife, all while believing that she is equally in love with him. Soon after he and Emma are married, he lies beside her and stares into her eyes. “...he saw himself in a miniature down to his shoulders, with a silk scarf around his head and his nightshirt open” (p.32). This quote illustrates that despite Charles’ adoration of Emma, he is provincial in that he really does not see Emma. She is just his pretty wife, an object, not a person. He cannot comprehend the depth of Emma’s ideas and is often bewildered by things she says. Emma, realizing that her husband is a fool, quickly begins to hate Charles and begins a string of illicit affairs right under his nose. Charles is too ignorant to note Emma’s severe ups and downs, perhaps not caring enough to even attempt to understand why she cycles from maniacally happy to depressively upset. Emma’s eventual suicide is due to a myriad of reasons, but Charles most certainly plays a role in her death. He was blind to her problems, financial and otherwise, and even if he was aware of the financial ruin she had put them in, he would not have known how to resolve the issue. Charles’ provincialism can additionally be interpreted as selfishness. After Emma’s death, Charles attempts to become Emma’s ideal partner. “To please her, as though she were still alive, he adopted her tastes and ideas” (p.337). He purchases new boots, uses perfumed moustache wax, and generally lives recklessly. He continues to squander away the little funds he has