Essay 1 Thoughts
Love in a Maze- Can we love?
Working Thesis: Haywood is arguing that it is possible to find love, but is exposing the ridiculous way that we must go about it. Love is demonstrated at the end of the book when Beauplaisir shows love for the child. He sincerely comes back for it- but even this is called into question: is it because of his love, or is it because he is still in the maze? Fantomina is trying on the masks that she sees on the faces of women at the play, but the play is a mirror- Haywood is saying that there is no reality even in the novel, that we are trying to find love in the maze of words, but we can’t because the characters all wear masks. And do we as readers wear masks in the maze?
The characterization of Fantomina begins when we read the title. …show more content…
Haywood seems to be saying that it isn’t clear whether or not we are the mirror or the mirrored; either we are consciously acting in the face of society, or we are constantly performing on a stage; e.g. when Fantomina consciously is “acting” for Beauplaisir, or when she is performing
The title “Love in a Maze” seems to suggest that there is something real at the heart of it all, but with “Fantomina” before this title, Haywood is possibly suggesting that this true love is elusive, whilst we are all performing our love for one another.
Instead of walking through the maze we are changed by it, with new personas in embrio all the
Love in a Maze- Can we love?
Working Thesis: Haywood is arguing that it is possible to find love, but is exposing the ridiculous way that we must go about it. Love is demonstrated at the end of the book when Beauplaisir shows love for the child. He sincerely comes back for it- but even this is called into question: is it because of his love, or is it because he is still in the maze? Fantomina is trying on the masks that she sees on the faces of women at the play, but the play is a mirror- Haywood is saying that there is no reality even in the novel, that we are trying to find love in the maze of words, but we can’t because the characters all wear masks. And do we as readers wear masks in the maze?
The characterization of Fantomina begins when we read the title. …show more content…
Haywood seems to be saying that it isn’t clear whether or not we are the mirror or the mirrored; either we are consciously acting in the face of society, or we are constantly performing on a stage; e.g. when Fantomina consciously is “acting” for Beauplaisir, or when she is performing
The title “Love in a Maze” seems to suggest that there is something real at the heart of it all, but with “Fantomina” before this title, Haywood is possibly suggesting that this true love is elusive, whilst we are all performing our love for one another.
Instead of walking through the maze we are changed by it, with new personas in embrio all the