An alcoholic enters the bar and selects the hardest liquor to relieve himself of sober consciousness. Each swig at the glass blurs his vision, making the lines of bottles beyond the countertop appear as if they are a collage of reflective brown hues. Each movement is delayed and followed by a deep, burdened breath. Suddenly, images flash across his mind reminiscent of his days before his attachment to alcohol. They remind him of his family and steady job. Suddenly, those memories disappear in a clouded haze as he takes another swig. “The Panther” , written by Rainer Maria Rilke in 1902, portrays a captive spirit. Rilke explored the themes of confinement and hopelessness by portraying a caged panther from the animal’s perspective. These themes are parallel to alcoholism. “The Panther” fully encompasses the themes of captivity and hopelessness to raise questions about meaning and purpose.
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As the panther habituates to living in a cage, his vision “. . . has grown so weary that it cannot hold / anything else” (Rilke). Literally, this signifies that the only sight he sees are endless rows of bars. However, at a deeper level, his vision is analogous to purpose. As his vision starts to deteriorate into a chasm of monotony, he loses purpose. In contrast to captivity, if the panther was in the wild hunting animals and living freely, he would be constantly stimulated. However since there is no catalyst or motivator, just like there is no change in his view, to the panther,“behind the bars, [there is] no world.” The principle of the panther’s existence is nonexistent. As the alcoholic drinks, along with his vision blurring, his ambitions are stifled. Just as the panther is confined by metal bars, the alcoholic is confined by the desire to drink. Eventually, congruent to the panther, the alcoholic’s life loses
As the panther habituates to living in a cage, his vision “. . . has grown so weary that it cannot hold / anything else” (Rilke). Literally, this signifies that the only sight he sees are endless rows of bars. However, at a deeper level, his vision is analogous to purpose. As his vision starts to deteriorate into a chasm of monotony, he loses purpose. In contrast to captivity, if the panther was in the wild hunting animals and living freely, he would be constantly stimulated. However since there is no catalyst or motivator, just like there is no change in his view, to the panther,“behind the bars, [there is] no world.” The principle of the panther’s existence is nonexistent. As the alcoholic drinks, along with his vision blurring, his ambitions are stifled. Just as the panther is confined by metal bars, the alcoholic is confined by the desire to drink. Eventually, congruent to the panther, the alcoholic’s life loses