Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” describes men who have been held prisoner in a cave for their entire lives that are brought out if the cave for the first time, and represents men searching for knowledge. Through the allegory, Plato claims that anyone can access knowledge and the truth, so long as the seeker is willing to pursue them. However, in Kleist’s “The Marquise of O—," the characters’ individual attempts to access the truth all come up short. In the paragraph that begins on page 108, the Marquise progresses from partial ignorance to knowing the truth, but not because of her own endeavors. While at the beginning of the section the Marquise has more knowledge of the truth than her family, she has still not “exited the cave”. She knows
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Count F— had to appear at eleven o’clock on the third of the month wearing the same clothes he wore on the day he raped her. He did not need to say a word, but he did need to show up for the Marquise to finally realize that he was the one who raped her. The Marquise likely would have never discovered this information on her own; she had to be informed by the one person who sincerely knew the truth. Her own efforts fell short, signifying that no one can achieve enlightenment on their own; humans are dependent on each other to gain knowledge and understanding. She ignored the signs of her pregnancy, and needing both a doctor and a midwife to confirm what the Marquise should have known better than anyone else. She ignored Count F—‘s continued attempts to marry her and to reveal to her what he had done, such as through the dream of the swan. During the process of trying to uncover the truth, her mother deceived her, saying that it was Leonardo who raped her. The Marquise believed this story, showing that in relying on others to gain understanding, people can be intentionally led …show more content…
Her parents were in denial about the Marquise’s pregnancy more so than the Marquise herself, refusing to believe it until the midwife confirmed what the doctor and the Marquise said. On page 90, the Marquise tells her mother “the doctor tells me I am expecting a child. Send for a midwife; and as soon as she tells me that it is not true I shall regain my composure.” Her mother replies to this with, “She shall come at once; if that is what you want, she shall come and laugh her head off at you and tell you what a silly girl you are to imagine such things”. After coming to terms with this, the Marquise’s family refuses to believe that the Marquise does not know the cause of her pregnancy. Her father kicks her out of the house thinking that the Marquise consentingly conceived the child. It is only through deceiving the Marquise herself by pretending to believe her story that they finally believe her in reality. This situation, once again, required the parents to interact with a person outside of themselves to realize the truth of the situation. However, the reader never truly discovers if the Marquise is telling the truth, or if she deceived her parents, either knowingly or unknowingly. Her parents are dependent upon the Marquise’s story, which may or may not be the whole
Count F— had to appear at eleven o’clock on the third of the month wearing the same clothes he wore on the day he raped her. He did not need to say a word, but he did need to show up for the Marquise to finally realize that he was the one who raped her. The Marquise likely would have never discovered this information on her own; she had to be informed by the one person who sincerely knew the truth. Her own efforts fell short, signifying that no one can achieve enlightenment on their own; humans are dependent on each other to gain knowledge and understanding. She ignored the signs of her pregnancy, and needing both a doctor and a midwife to confirm what the Marquise should have known better than anyone else. She ignored Count F—‘s continued attempts to marry her and to reveal to her what he had done, such as through the dream of the swan. During the process of trying to uncover the truth, her mother deceived her, saying that it was Leonardo who raped her. The Marquise believed this story, showing that in relying on others to gain understanding, people can be intentionally led …show more content…
Her parents were in denial about the Marquise’s pregnancy more so than the Marquise herself, refusing to believe it until the midwife confirmed what the doctor and the Marquise said. On page 90, the Marquise tells her mother “the doctor tells me I am expecting a child. Send for a midwife; and as soon as she tells me that it is not true I shall regain my composure.” Her mother replies to this with, “She shall come at once; if that is what you want, she shall come and laugh her head off at you and tell you what a silly girl you are to imagine such things”. After coming to terms with this, the Marquise’s family refuses to believe that the Marquise does not know the cause of her pregnancy. Her father kicks her out of the house thinking that the Marquise consentingly conceived the child. It is only through deceiving the Marquise herself by pretending to believe her story that they finally believe her in reality. This situation, once again, required the parents to interact with a person outside of themselves to realize the truth of the situation. However, the reader never truly discovers if the Marquise is telling the truth, or if she deceived her parents, either knowingly or unknowingly. Her parents are dependent upon the Marquise’s story, which may or may not be the whole