Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Exploring the Theme of Love in Duffyââ¬â¢s Havisham Essay
Duffy, writing from the twentieth century perspective, revisits the well known character from Great Expectations in a dramatic monologue, where she assumes the persona of Havisham to explore the innermost thoughts and feelings of a bitter woman destroyed by unrequited love and humiliation. Havisham appears to be written in the style of a Shakespearean sonnet, but does not end in a rhyming couplet, only continues in this style. This symbolises that there is no happy ending for Havisham and thoughts of her loverââ¬â¢s betrayal will haunt her throughout the rest of her life, her pain in ongoing and never ending. Duffy takes away Miss Havishamââ¬â¢s title; by doing this she strips her of her identity in society. Duffyââ¬â¢s use of an oxymoron and pejorative, ââ¬ËBeloved sweetheart bastardââ¬â¢, has an undercurrent of violence, and emphasises Havishamââ¬â¢s conflicting emotions about her ex lover. The use of dark, monosyllabic language like ââ¬Ëdeadââ¬â¢, coupled with the harsh ââ¬Ëdââ¬â¢ sound shows how detached Havisham has become from her emotions. The metaphor ââ¬Ëdark green pebbles for eyesââ¬â¢, reflects how her soul has been hardened to all feelings and emotions. The isolated noun ââ¬Ëspinsterââ¬â¢ reflects Havishamââ¬â¢s own isolation from society, through her embarrassment at being jilted at the altar. Havisham ââ¬Ëstink[s] and remember[s]ââ¬â¢, the olfactic image shows that Havisham is consumed by her past and that every part of her is tainted by it. Duffy employs an aural animalistic image, ââ¬Ëcawingââ¬â¢ that strips Havisham of her femininity and in her wardrobe Havishamââ¬â¢s dress is ââ¬Ëyellowingââ¬â¢, reflecting her own decay. Havisham is afraid to look in ââ¬Ëthe slewed mirrorââ¬â¢ because she fears herself and then she questions ââ¬Ëwho did this to [her]ââ¬â¢, whether she is responsible for what she has become. Duffy uses darkly erotic and sensual images as Havisham imagines emasculating her lover, and a violent plosive, ââ¬Ëbiteââ¬â¢, to emphasise her desire to emasculate him, just as her femininity was taken from her. The oxymoron ââ¬Ëloveââ¬â¢s hateââ¬â¢ reflects Havishamââ¬â¢s conflicted emotions, that her past has disturbed her present and future. Duffy employs a violent plosive, ââ¬Ëred balloon bursting in my faceââ¬â¢, with a denotation that emphasises her desire for revenge. There is a violent, isolated, onomatopoeic, aural image that represents her pain, her past and her suffering. Havisham longs for ââ¬Ëa male corpseââ¬â¢ which implies her desire to torture and gain revenge on her ex lover. Duffy shows us that it is not only Havishamââ¬â¢s heart that has broken, but her mind is broken too, she has been destroyed by her ex lover and this has distorted her view on her life and herself.
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