Post by Mikkay on Nov 8, 2012 12:32:18 GMT -8
I wrote the best introduction to a paper, which I will proudly share in the spoiler below. So even if the rest of my paper is crap and remains crap, I shall be pleased.
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel once said, “Mysteries are feminine; they like to veil themselves but still want to be seen and divined.” If mysteries are feminine, then so are secrets—they have an inconvenient habit of being revealed in the end. In Thomas Hardy’s “A Mere Interlude,” Baptista struggles to keep the secret of an impulsive marriage and the death of her first husband from the attention of her fiancé, afraid it will ruin her life and reputation. In Oscar Wilde’s “The Sphinx without a Secret,” Lady Alroy pretends to have a secret, but only for the sake of mystery and intrigue and her own personal pleasure. Finally, in George Moore’s “Albert Nobbs,” Albert hides her true sex from society in order to ensure a successful career as a waiter, until the revealing of her identity brings new potential and possibility that wears at her carefully constructed pretense. The portrayal of these three, fictional women through the short story form represents exactly what Susan Lohafer describes as a “window on marginalized identity”—the feminine identities of Baptista, Lady Alroy, and Albert are all defined or distorted by the secrets they keep. Their need for secrecy, their relation to or effect on those around them, and the ways in which their secrets disrupt, relegate, and even ruin their lives provides a commentary on the destructive nature of secrecy and deception, and the marginalization of the feminine identity.
And coming back on the bus this evening we saw the beginning of sunset and it was gorgeous. So many colours layered up... It was kind of just an inspiring day. 
