The Archduke Franz Ferdinand is a very forgettable character given that he is only briefly shown twice in Ragtime. To be honest, by the time I finished reading I had completely forgotten that he existed. His main purpose in the book is to interact with Houdini, then die a gruesome death at the end of the book. But it turns out that the Archduke is a real historical figure who actually was murdered by a Serbian nationalist, although it is very unlikely that he would have ever encountered Houdini.
Recall the first time the Archduke is introduced, when he mistakenly congratulates Houdini on inventing the plane. The moment served as a bit of irony, when the the Archduke with “stupid heavy-lidded eyes” and his wife who “yawned delicately” after Houdini’s plane ride, seemed to be completely bored by the spectacular performance (105). My impression was that the Archduke and his wife had nothing better to do with their time, and were being aimlessly led around as figureheads. It’s an example of Doctorow’s skepticism towards hierarchy and authority.
If I knew nothing about the Archduke but what I read in Ragtime, I would think he was pretty unimportant. The last chapter even says this about his death: “few Americans could have had any particular feeling of sympathy for [him]” (313). In reality, his and his wife’s murder would have had a very large impact on Americans, being one of the causes of WWI which launched an entirely different era for America and the world at large. Houdini was impressed that “someone embodying the power and panoply of an entire empire could be so easily brought down”, and didn’t have adequate time to reflect on the Archduke’s death as he had a performance to focus on (313).
Although Houdini wasn’t able to reflect on the Archduke’s death, readers are certainly meant to. The last chapter is Doctorow’s attempt at wrapping up the era of Ragtime, and introducing the start of WWI is the perfect way to do so. Doctorow is able to mention WWI without really mentioning it, which would be too textbook for him, while also reminding readers how quickly systems of power break down (just like with JP Morgan).
Franz Ferdinand appears so infrequently in this novel, I would call him more of a "historical cameo" than a fully fledged character in his own right--a bit of "historical background" to render the period more fully. But there's a sense in which his minor role in the novel mirrors his minor but hugely consequential role in history: by all accounts, Archduke Ferdinand was not a very impressive figure, and he was not likely to play a significant role in world events *until he was assassinated* (in a second attempt, after the first failed) and this shooting set off World War I. The Archduke himself, as Doctorow depicts him (with historical justification, as far as I know), Ferdinand barely knows what's going on (earlier he doesn't know who Houdini is, and assumes he's invented the airplane), but his assassination is symbolic, and as a symbol he ends up having an enormous consequence on world events.
ReplyDeleteinteresting! I like your point of "It’s an example of Doctorow’s skepticism towards hierarchy and authority"- i think it's the only real reason the Archduke is in this book. I had completely forgotten this dude existed- I saw the title from the main blog and was legitimately questioning who on earth this Archduke person is. It would be interesting to see how all this correlates to the lovely "end of ragtime, end of book" bit at the end- how its characters seem to only remain in the ragtime period (thus explaining how the american public has no reactions to this dudes death) and WW has absolutely no significance in this book.
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