{"id":2263,"date":"2023-09-17T00:10:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T04:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/?p=2263"},"modified":"2023-09-17T00:11:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T04:11:47","slug":"morality-and-vulnerability-winterson-has-got-me-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/2023\/09\/17\/morality-and-vulnerability-winterson-has-got-me-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Morality and Vulnerability — Winterson has got me thinking…"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been pretty clear how much of a chokehold Louise has had on our narrator per say. One of the themes that this novel dives into is the idea of morality and the way that extra-marital relationships can affect lives Winterson writes, \u201cWe were patient enough to count the hairs on each other’s heads, too impatient to get undressed\u201d (162). The use of the words \u201cpatient\u201d and \u201cimpatient\u201d bring the tone of carefulness and un-carefulness that juxtapose Louise and Elgin\u2019s relationship versus Louise and the narrator. Careful enough to not get caught around Elgin, but willing to risk it all when Louise and the narrator are together. \u201cUndressed\u201d also undoubtedly has the connotation of eloping. It is also emphasized to a certain extent the extra initiatives in place to tread lightly by the use of the metaphor of tediously counting hairs.\u00a0 Another huge theme throughout the novel is vulnerability. We catch glimpses of these moments which allow myself as a reader to peer into who this narrator really is. Winterson follows by writing, \u201cNeither of us had the upper hand, we wore matching wounds\u201d (163). The narrator expresses this feeling of remorse, and shares the ultimate lose-lose situation because they know that what they are pursuing is something that can ultimately cause pain on both ends. Whether or not the narrator ends up with Louise, someone has to get hurt and that acknowledgement can also fuel that desire and passion of being \u201cimpatient to get undressed\u201d. It is also important to note the references to body parts; \u201chairs\u201d, \u201chands\u201d, and \u201cwounds\u201d \u2013 the recurring theme of limbs and body parts reveal the way that bodies hold and an important variable to connecting with others in the perspective of the narrative. Written on the Body, as a title also queues us to believe there is something to be discovered or learned from the body. These few lines alone \u2013 show us how our bodies can carry so much of what we know without words. The narrator goes on to describe, \u201cSkin is waterproof but my skin was not waterproof against Louise. She flooded me\u201d (163). By stating almost an achilles heel for Louise, the narrator shapes our perception of her to be this epitome of \u201clove\u201d on a pedestal. While the narrator’s use of poetic form insinuate a deep feeling for Louise, it also brings in a factor of \u201cdistorted\u201d pain. What I am trying to say is that the feeling that also triggers connection and vulnerability with Louise, also ties with feelings of instability and worry.\u00a0 To be flooded with emotions can have both a positive and negative connotation. I think a big reason for this is the societal norm founded through monogamous christianity. While this relationship exists outside of this circle it causes the internal questioning but also the questioning of the relationship itself. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been pretty clear how much of a chokehold Louise has had on our narrator per say. One of the themes that this novel dives into is the idea of morality and the way that extra-marital relationships can affect lives Winterson writes, \u201cWe were patient enough to count the hairs on each other’s heads, … Continue reading Morality and Vulnerability — Winterson has got me thinking…<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5318,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[346798],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2023-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/everythinginbetween\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}