Isabella Valancy Crawford's narrative poem “Malcolm's Katie”, deals with wealth, the building of a nation and, most importantly, it deals with love as a conquering solution to address the major concerns of her country in the nineteenth century. Crawford’s cure for greed, nihilism, and the desirous exploitation of the “smooth-coated men” (II, 230) was love, which she deifies as capital L love. Personified love in the poem is embodied by Katie whose appearance, morals, and steadfastness is exemplary of the characteristics of love. Her “opponent” Alfred, the nihilist, doubts the existence of love, celebrates the sensual pleasures, and perhaps embodies the main concerns of late 19th century Canadians.
In the opening section of the poem, Katie is …show more content…
Love conquers, in this circumstance, by signaling a pardon. Max and Katie name their child Alfred, to absolve the late Alfred. Separately from the obvious fact that it is Katie (and her Love) that survives, and Alfred who perishes, it is poignant that Katie is given the opportunity to forgive Alfred. That is what immortal Love can and should do; that is how love manages to succeed in any given circumstance. The poem culminates by ruminating on, and finally rejecting Eden. Katie shares her belief that she would not “change these wild and rocking woods/…/for the smooth sward of selfish Eden” (VII, 35-29) This is poignant because, Crawford is claiming that Max and Katie’s home (i.e., assumed Canada) is a place where love and virtue can win and has won a moral …show more content…
“Malcolm’s Katie” deals with numerous concerns of an up-and-coming country, but most importantly it points out how Love (and in this work, Katie) can absolve those concerns. Katie is an unrelenting force throughout the work. She is capable of denouncing Alfred’s influential rhetoric. She does not fall victim to the traps of Alfred’s nihilistic beliefs, and so her love for Max is unwavering. The overarching message of “Malcolm’s Katie” is carried out by Katie and Alfred. When the cynical, loveless, greedy, nihilist arrives, he can be surmounted by Katie; he can be surmounted by
In the opening section of the poem, Katie is …show more content…
Love conquers, in this circumstance, by signaling a pardon. Max and Katie name their child Alfred, to absolve the late Alfred. Separately from the obvious fact that it is Katie (and her Love) that survives, and Alfred who perishes, it is poignant that Katie is given the opportunity to forgive Alfred. That is what immortal Love can and should do; that is how love manages to succeed in any given circumstance. The poem culminates by ruminating on, and finally rejecting Eden. Katie shares her belief that she would not “change these wild and rocking woods/…/for the smooth sward of selfish Eden” (VII, 35-29) This is poignant because, Crawford is claiming that Max and Katie’s home (i.e., assumed Canada) is a place where love and virtue can win and has won a moral …show more content…
“Malcolm’s Katie” deals with numerous concerns of an up-and-coming country, but most importantly it points out how Love (and in this work, Katie) can absolve those concerns. Katie is an unrelenting force throughout the work. She is capable of denouncing Alfred’s influential rhetoric. She does not fall victim to the traps of Alfred’s nihilistic beliefs, and so her love for Max is unwavering. The overarching message of “Malcolm’s Katie” is carried out by Katie and Alfred. When the cynical, loveless, greedy, nihilist arrives, he can be surmounted by Katie; he can be surmounted by