The Presentation of the Theme of Isolation in the Characters of The Hour of the Star and The Bone People by the use of symbolic imagery

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Rahul

English A1 SL

Comparative Essay – The Presentation of the Theme of Isolation in the Characters of ‘The Hour of the Star’ and ‘The Bone People’ by the use of symbolic imagery

Every human has, at one point in his/her life, been through a period of isolation, wherein he is either rejected by or rejects society. This theme of isolation is now and then explored in the world of fiction and has always been a topic that has been looked upon with interest. Isolation of a person means seclusion or solitude, which is, lack of contact with other people. There are two types of isolation, it being deliberate or unintentional. People may seek physical seclusion to remove distractions and make it easier to concentrate, reflect, or meditate. On the other hand, some people are unaware of the isolation they are in, as in; it is enforced upon them by society. The authors Clarice Lispector and Keri Hulme portray an unusual amount of isolation, both deliberate and unintentional, in the characters of their books The Hour of the Star and The Bone People. In The Bone People, Kerewin chooses to be in isolation while on the other hand, in The Hour of the Star, Macabea plunges into seclusion because of societal constraint. Both the authors use various means to present this issue, such as the use of symbols such as mirrors and imagery of vampires.

Mirrors are used as symbols in both books to portray the seclusion of the characters. They are a reflection of one self, and therefore give rise to self-awareness. In The Hour of the Star, Macabea is constantly confronted by society, and her refute to this is a form of isolation in the company of a mirror. When she receives a warning from her boss: “…the girl [Macabea] went to the lavatory where she could be alone, for she felt quite shaken.” she examines herself in the mirror and reflects upon herself – “so young and yet so tarnished” (Lispector, 24). The mirror symbolises how the external world would view her – “tarnished” and “insignificant”. This perception of the external world translates into reality, and she shuns herself from the outside world. Rodrigo, the creator of Macabea, symbolises the external world, and he imposes this ‘dark’ and ‘tarnished’ image of her on her. Another interpretation is that, the mirror, being dark and tarnished, represents society, and thus society is dark and tarnished. The purity within Macabea might not be able to withstand the impurity in the external world, and so she naturally requires to place herself in solitude. Another instance is when she does not turn up for work under the pretext of having a tooth extracted. The next day, when her roommates leave for work – “she [Macabea] could enjoy at long last the greatest privilege of all: solitude” (Lispector, 41). This is the one time in the book when she really expresses herself, as she waltzes around the room with ‘reckless abandon’ (Lispector, 41). She then resorts to the mirror to ‘confront’ herself. Normally disgusted by her own image, she feels elation now on confronting herself in front of the mirror, something she has never felt before. “To confront herself was a pleasure that she had never before experienced… Even looking at herself in the mirror was no longer quite so alarming…” (Lispector, 41). Thus, it is inferred from this that her happiness or depression in a state of solitude is subjective to the context, as in, the events that precede this state of isolation. It is these events that force her into seclusion in the first place.

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Similarly, in The Bone People too, the portrayal of solitude is exemplified by the usage of mirrors as symbolic of self-awareness. Kerewin has a strong desire to be isolated, and this is shown through various means. “She [Kerewin] opens a bottle of champagne, and sets the mirror by the candle. She can see her face in it, a candlelit ovoid, with gouges for eyes, shadowmouthed” (Hulme, 275). It is the perfect setting for discovering oneself, and she seems to love it. She keeps talking to herself reminiscing over past events and actions. At one point, she says, “I used to get afraid that I’d look up into the mirror and see nothing there” (Hulme, 275). This is very similar to Macabea, as in she too feels that she casts no reflection in the mirror, and that her existence has vanished. Kerewin has an akin attitude to life, and indulges in exploring herself “…to use image and living light as pointers to the self beyond self” (Hulme, 275). She cannot do this in the presence of other human life. She resorts to isolation in her reclusive tower to achieve this. Her isolation has probably caused her fears of people taking from her what she does not want to give – love, attention, and maybe her time too.

Imagery of ‘Vampires’ is also used in both books to portray isolation. Vampires are or creatures believed to be the reanimated of human beings who on human or animal . They cannot stand daylight and live in isolation in their coffins throughout the day, and only emerge at night to feed on animal or human blood. In The Hour of the Star, Macabea is compared to being a vampire – “…the vampire casts no reflection in the mirror. She [Macabea] reckoned that it might not be such a bad thing being a vampire…” (Lispector, 25). As previously said, the “dark and tarnished mirror scarcely reflected any image” (Lispector, 24). This made her consider losing her existence, and therefore being a vampire. The daylight represents society; night time, solitude. Macabea finds it difficult or maybe even impossible to converge with the society, but then she finds personal satisfaction being on her own: alone. Thus, this image of vampirism signifies isolation forced upon Macabea due to external factors.

In The Bone People too, there is the repetitive use of vampire imagery. But it different to The Hour of the Star as in, it does not compare the protagonist Kerewin, but Simon and Joe to be vampires. Kerewin says, “Sucking me [Kerewin] dry, it feels like. Emotional vampires, slurping all the juice from my home, that’s what” (Hulme, 278). She relates Joe and Simon to be as such because they were intruding into her ordered privacy. The word ‘emotional vampires’ is used to convey her powerlessness against them, as they can not only ‘harm’ her physically, but also emotionally. ‘Harm’ is interpreted as ‘taking some belonging away from one’. In that sense, her personal satisfaction in being isolated from society is being ‘harmed’, and her life is becoming meaningless or being sucked dry. She is attacked by vampires, in the sense, that they are sucking her ‘desire’ for isolation away from her.

The two novels are very similar in terms of the portrayal of isolation in the main characters. While deliberate isolation is evident in Kerewin’s character throughout the story, it is quite the opposite for Macabea. She resorts to solitude because of societal pressures. And this is well portrayed by Lispector and Hulme by the use of the mirror symbol and vampire imagery. The mirror is a reflection of oneself, and self-evaluation takes place when confronted by it, both in The Hour of the Star and The Bone People. It is a means of getting away from the external world and spending time with oneself; rediscovering oneself. The imagery of vampires is also used to great effect. While in The Hour of the Star, it is used in the context of the protagonist considering herself to be a recluse from society, in The Bone People, Kerewin feels attacked by the vampires, Joe and Simon, and they present themselves as an obstacle to her drive to isolation. Therefore, symbolic imagery is used widely to depict isolation as a characteristic of the respective main characters in The Hour of the Star and The Bone People as well as bringing out the characters’ gradual attainment of awareness with respect to the isolation and ephemeral sense of their individual existences.