Manhattan Transfer Ellen Thatcher Quotes

Even though the novel Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos is fragmented, the character Ellen Thatcher is the center of the story line. Dos Passos purposefully leaves out information forcing the reader to connect the dots between plot lines. This novel weaves through characters interchangeably, shifting the perspective from one character to the next, thus, painting an incomplete picture of what is actually happening. However, the characters have one thing in common which is that all of their stories revolve around money. There are no true emotional relationships between the characters, they are all built in the pursuit of money and societal gain. Specifically regarding Ellen Thatcher’s many marriages and affairs their seems to be no real love …show more content…
She begins to use men as a means to gain success and glide into show business. Her first marriage was her first big break on stage. Just as Ellen acts on stage, she fakes her love and puts on a show in order to further her career. She even changes her name to Elaine as if assuming a different role in life that was not her true self. After marrying John Oglethorpe, she thinks to herself, “Oh I want to die. I want to die…. When she had vomited she felt better. Then she climbed into bed again careful not to touch John. If she touched him she would die” (98). Here is where Elaine’s true feelings are exposed when she has no audience. It is evident in her wishes of death that her new husband disgusts her. She cannot even bring herself to touch him or else she will die. Thus, Dos Passos reveals that Elaine did not marry this man because she loves him. In fact, John Oglethorpe is presumed to be a closeted gay man. Jimmy Herf refers to him as “that” instead of he, implying that he is no ordinary man. And when Herf asks Ruth why Elaine married John she says, “Ogle’s done everything in the world for her. If it hadn’t been for him she’d still be in the chorus” (113). In this passage, Elaine’s motives for marriage are revealed. She used him to get her career going because she could not do it herself. This also explores how she uses men to get what she wants because she is incapable of doing it herself. She …show more content…
The men in this novel also use marriage as a tool to advance their careers. For instance, George Baldwin, an up and coming lawyer, is constantly seen cheating on his wife Cecily. And before she leaves him she reveals the superficiality of their marriage by stating, “’You married me for my social position, you know it … I was fool enough to fall in love with you. All right, it’s over’” (155). Here George uses marriage as a tool to advance his position in society by marrying a woman of high status. The city fuels George’s need for success and he takes advantage of every opportunity he is given to make his name known. He is extremely careful not to shame himself and he runs after Cecily not for love but to protect his name. He states, “A divorce would be very harmful to my situation downtown just at the moment, but if you really don’t want to go on living with me I’ll see what I can arrange…. You don’t want a scandal and headlines in the paper, do you?” (156). In this passage, the utter selfishness of George is exposed. Even when his wife leaves him, he still continues to only care about his personal image in society. Ironically, his wife has all the power in the situation. She granted him access into high society and she could take it away by exposing him as a cheat in the newspapers. However, even she would not do that to her own name. In this novel, the characters only look out for themselves and