Are there any particular dramatic techniques/origins for…
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Are there any particular dramatic techniques/origins for this vignette from East Of Eden?
There's this bit of backstory in East Of Eden about the protagonist's mother, Alice, that moved me to tears and has stuck with me so strongly. It feels very classical and even ancient, almost like it follows the technique of some ancient form of drama/tragedy, and I'm curious what that might be.
I won't replicate Steinbeck's writing, I'll just describe it in my own, ugly way:
Alice Trask is described as a woman with a very specific and intense relationship with God. A punishing God. While her husband, Cyrus, goes off to war, Alice feels very lonely and eventually has sexual dreams about another man. She feels tremendous guilt about this. Meanwhile, Cyrus cheats on Alice with a prostitute while away and contracts an STD. He comes home and passes the STD to Alice, and instead of suspecting Cyrus, she believes the STD is a punishment from God for having those sinful dreams. She decides the only way to redeem herself is by drowning herself in a pond, however the pond is shallow. Steinbeck describes with a seemingly sincere admiration and tenderness the willpower Alice exhibits by holding her own head under the water and drowning herself.
I felt like a frozen bystander reading this vignette, like I wanted to break through the page and stop Alice from doing this to herself. Like I was forced to just sit there and watch this tragedy unfold in front of me. I even vocally said "no!!!" While choking on tears while reading it.
#entertainment
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There's this bit of backstory in East Of Eden about the protagonist's mother, Alice, that moved me to tears and has stuck with me so strongly. It feels very classical and even ancient, almost like it follows the technique of some ancient form of drama/tragedy, and I'm curious what that might be.
I won't replicate Steinbeck's writing, I'll just describe it in my own, ugly way:
Alice Trask is described as a woman with a very specific and intense relationship with God. A punishing God. While her husband, Cyrus, goes off to war, Alice feels very lonely and eventually has sexual dreams about another man. She feels tremendous guilt about this. Meanwhile, Cyrus cheats on Alice with a prostitute while away and contracts an STD. He comes home and passes the STD to Alice, and instead of suspecting Cyrus, she believes the STD is a punishment from God for having those sinful dreams. She decides the only way to redeem herself is by drowning herself in a pond, however the pond is shallow. Steinbeck describes with a seemingly sincere admiration and tenderness the willpower Alice exhibits by holding her own head under the water and drowning herself.
I felt like a frozen bystander reading this vignette, like I wanted to break through the page and stop Alice from doing this to herself. Like I was forced to just sit there and watch this tragedy unfold in front of me. I even vocally said "no!!!" While choking on tears while reading it.
#entertainment
source
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