I have to say, I am blown away by how my initial ideas about a script can evolve and even leap off their original track after one of these classes. I think if I were to stage The Trojan Women now I would probably be most interested in- and even sympathetic for- Talthybius.
I keep driving home to my section students “all you have is the words on the page in front of you” when I ask about particulars in a script. Given that- and how the murder of a child is horrendous, obscene, and in no way forgivable- I feel pulled towards the struggle that must be going on in Talthybius’ mind. The idea of “choice” in our discussions is always tainted with a very modern sense of the word. I’ll again say he had a choice but his two options were horrid: 1) sell his soul, do his duty, and watch an infant be crushed or 2) try to hide or in some other way defend the baby and be killed in some wonderfully painful way and the baby still dies and the Greeks still enslave the women.
What would I do? I’d like to say I’d die rather than be an accomplice to a baby being made the brunt of such bigotry and hatred…but I might be as much as a coward as Talthybius.
As for today’s class, I went into it ready to throw the Friar to the wolves. He did perform a secret marriage and when he had the chance and opportunity to let it be known he lied by omission (and commission as well!). His speech in the final scene fell pathetically short in my mind to excusing his complicity.
Then we start going backwards and my sense of vengeance get turned inside out! In allowing Juliet to be alone, not forcing her out of the tomb, the Friar truly- and finally- gave Juliet her chance to be “all grown up” – even for a minute. Its more consideration than she would have received from her own family. I submit he very well may have absolved himself by this act and later confessing the whole train of events, but we didn’t finish analyzing the entire play. Who knows…its probably all Peter’s fault. :-)
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2 comments:
I don't disagree with you in the outcome of the Friar and on how things can get turned upside down but, it's interesting to think of things in many different ways. You could interpret the Friar in these last couple of scenes in so many different ways. It's like our discussion in class yesterday when some thought that the Friar was accusing and some thought that he was taking all the blame. Think of it in the particular scene that you mentioned: Some would look at it just as you have, he left Juliet to "grow up" and make her own decisions. Or, some could also look at it as him being a coward and not knowing what else to do but to run whether she came or not. If you really think about it, this play that we've all scene/read over half a dozen times could be performed in so many different ways that it could be an entirely different meaning every time.
I think that the main point is a lesson in tragedy. Not only for the fact that these two commit suicide, but also because they had to sacrifice their life of love so that their families could live on in peace. Their families all along had the choice to make peace. Because of their pride they chose to continue the hate. The friar is easy to blame because he hatched the plan. But if he doesn't do that then they have nowhere to go from there. Shakespeare writes it so that they don't have a choice. It is obvious to them what the have to do. Taking their lives for one another is a no brainer.
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