This humorous novel by Anita Loos takes us on the hilarious adventures of a stereotypical ‘material girl’ called Lorelei.
The book is somewhat mind numbing to read as Lorelei’s cold, dispassionate thoughts are splattered onto the page presented in the form of a diary. It makes a bold comment on the shallow, gold digging, ‘High Brow’ society as well as the pathetic strive some people have to fit into the mould of the upper class.
We immediately dive directly into the thoughts of the character. It is very subjective as we receive only one point of view. It is written in a fast pace which alludes to the subconscious. These thoughts appear very automatic and choppy, which could be related to the popular style of automatic writing during this modernist period. Loos adapted modernist techniques for a more popular audience.
Lorelei is typically charming on her search for diamonds and material assets, although completely cold and detached from emotion. It is very important never to appear out of control of ones feelings. It fits in with the prominent theme of anti-sentimentality, with a mood of hostility and cruelty. There is no element of compassion or pity, which is what the literature of this period was characterised by. It is filled with cynical ideas, crying is always contrived and pity is represented as false, while these cheap sentiments are used for manipulation.
Not only does Lorelei lack compassion towards her victims, simultaneously, Loos is certainly not kind-hearted towards the idea of this ignorant character. There is no alternative to the atmosphere of self-interest and cynicism.
“If I go to Paris I will have to leave Gerry and both Gerry and I have made up our minds not to be separated from one another from now on”
These uniquely structured, long-winded sentences are full of contradictions and very colourful spelling. It is language that goes around in circles, to emphasise the one-dimensional aspect of the character being portrayed.
Throughout the novel, a major concern of Lorelei is the concept of time being wasted. She is constantly worried about wasting her time that almost nothing is worthy of her time, to the point where she becomes painfully bored and depressed. She seems to be in some sort of a rush in life, when she comes close to finding what she is looking for she becomes tired of the idea, which leads her to sadness.
“I was so depressed. So today I think I had better go over to Madame Frances and order some new evening gowns to cheer me up.”
Although the novel is a satire, it is filled with deeper aspects of great sorrow and unhappiness. It is not difficult to grasp the idea of the book. It is in fact quite an easy read in comparison to the many eccentric, abstract pieces of literature during the modernist period. Yet, there is an exploration of more advanced themes if the ambiguities are filled in, the things that Lorelei so famously would not even put in her diary. It is narrated in an inappropriately light way, and scrupulous about never mentioning sex. There is an ambiguity into how much we’re licensed to read into. There are things we don’t see as she censors her own story. Her situation becomes sad when you assume the exploitative sexual relationships she has or perhaps may be in denial about with these men. With no hint or possibility of romantic love, there is an emotional flatness and a lack of pity for her story. ‘Love’ is portrayed as merely a façade or a strategy to obtain an object, whether is be financial or sexual. Not only is the stereotype of a dumb blonde being ridiculed, but materialism, parochialism and largely the male attitude towards women. The obsession with moral purity and improving ones mind coexisting with lust and sexual desire. Mr. Eismann can be seen as a womaniser, desperately wanting Lorelei for her ‘brains’. We also see the district attorney Bartlett publicly take up the tone of moral condemnation, while privately happy to pursue Lorelei as an object of desire. It is the notion of hypocrisy and the reality of their own desires. It is savagely satirising the crusade against morality in society and the general male characters. It largely follows idea that these moral crusaders are not moral all the way down.
No comments:
Post a Comment