At first glance, Evelyn Nesbit’s relationship with the little girl seems sweet, almost motherly, but something about Doctorow's descriptions left me feeling uneasy. Evelyn sees a beautiful little girl, and then becomes so enamored with her that she has to go visit her every single day. Doctorow calls the little girl Evelyn’s “new love interest”, says she is “aroused” when dreaming about the girl, and makes other very creepy remarks of that nature (45-46). Not to mention the bathing scene, which could have definitely been excluded or edited, which ends with a kiss on the lips. I realize that some people kiss their parents on the lips, so this could be read as a motherly gesture, but adding that action to everything else Evelyn has thought and done, it feels a bit creepy. Yet Doctorow may have a point in writing about Evelyn’s infatuation.
In the scene after Goldman’s speech, she talks to Evelyn about society sexualizing women, and how Eveyln profits off of that. Goldman says “you’re nothing more than a clever prostitute. You accepted the conditions in which you found yourself and triumphed” (56). Doctorow could be making a point that a character like Evelyn, who has been victimized by the systems in society she has known her whole life, is doomed to continue the cycle. It’s an interesting point: even those made victim by a system may continue to perpetuate the same system. So Evelyn’s instinct to sexualize the little girl is derived from her own treatment in society. The fact that Evelyn chooses a family which is already victim to so many systems as immigrants and a wage worker/artist, may be an observation of the many levels of victimization and oppression that a poor family faces.
Her relationship with the little girl could also be read as motherly. After herself being sexualized her entire life, she may have felt a desire to take care of a girl she thought might suffer a similar fate. Although this scenario is possible, I personally don’t think that Evelyn would continue to sexualize the little girl if her intentions were motherly. Admittedly, sometimes it is difficult to determine who is speaking during the chapters with Evelyn and the little girl. There may be a distinction between what Evelyn is thinking and how the author describes the situation, like the bathing scene (in which case Doctorow is very creepy).
Maybe Doctorow is trying to make the reader feel uneasy about some American attitudes towards children, specifically little girls, by sexualizing the little girl. Or maybe this type of attitude was so common during the 1970s that he didn’t even think twice about writing about a little girl in this way. I’m not sure.
ah yes doctorow is just extremely creepy. The fact that he even thought about writing these scenes (along with several others that go unmentioned here due to irrelevancy to this particular topic) is just beyond unsettling. I very much agree with you here- the entire relation Evelyn has with this young girl is creepy and obsessive in a very negative manner- it's definetly not something to skip over. On top of that you have the whole bit about Evelyn wanting to kidnap her from her father...
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I really find your analysis of Evelyn's relationship with the little girl clarifying and I agree with your points. Evelyn's past trauma and the way she has been sexualized may lead her to have a more unhealthy obsession, rather than motherly affection, for the little girl, in whom she may see a hint of her young and innocent self in.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's very weird. I could let a lot of the individual weird parts slide, but add them together and something is definitely off. Especially when paired with Evelyn's thoughts about kidnapping the girl. She's "trying to help," but is also willing to act in ways that go against the girls' best interests to have her for herself.
ReplyDeleteThis is some great analysis! I agree that their relationship definitely does seem creepy, but I think it could partially be because Evelyn is a but narcissistic. She continually acts infatuated over The Little Girl even though Tateh is clearly uncomfortable. I think she has a bit of a savior complex in that she feels like she can better provide for the girl due to her wealth, but also what she thinks as her shared experiences with The Little Girl. She sees herself in the girl and uses that as an excuse to treat her however she thinks is right.
ReplyDeleteI like how you make a connection with Evelyn's interest in the little girl and how society has sexualized Evelyn and women alike in general. Evelyn being intrigued by Tateh's daughter could derive from how Evelyn herself is viewed, so she uses those same standards when observing others. I think that's why Evelyn made a distinction between Tateh's daughter and the other children when she first saw her in the street. Your blog brings up good dialogue and a reason for Evelyn's fascination with the little girl.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed this, I was genuinely concerned as I was reading. I definitely agree with your points, I personally interpreted it as her not really knowing any other way to treat her (because Evelyn has been treated like that her whole life), so I believe that she literally has no clue that this behavior is abnormal.
ReplyDeleteI was equally weirded out by Evelyn's relationship to the Little Girl, and I kept hoping to get some sort of clarification as we read but it never came. I think both of your interpretations are perfectly plausible but I couldn't tell you which one I see applying to the story more- they both more or less fit. I can't imagine what Doctorow was getting at here, what could possibly have been the point of all those chapters he devoted, when we didn't even get a clear lesson, or point he was trying to convey, or even clarity on what Evelyn's intentions were in the long run or the nature of her feelings. Extremely odd, and I appreciate your attempt at bringing some light to it. Judging from the comments, a lot of us were wondering the same things.
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