Masafuera and isolation

By Shireen SENADHIRA

Masafuera is an island in the South Pacific Ocean far off the shores of Chile. It is a vertical and volcanic mountain populated by thousands of birds and fur seals. It is an island devoid of people except for a few summer lobster catchers. It is officially known as Selkirk Island named after a Scottish adventurer who lived alone in this island for a while.

Perhaps, this was the basis of Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe. The Chileans, however, still use its original name Masafuera which means farther away. I like the original name too as it rolls on the tongue with mystery. Perhaps the Chileans felt like many of us do at times needing to be farther away in isolation and solitude.

W H Davies’s poem, The Kingfisher, which ends: “Nay lovely bird thou art not vain thou has not ambitious mind I also like a quiet place that’s green away from all mankind, a lonely tree pool and let a tree sigh with its bosom over me,”

Crowded society

Set me thinking that among the crowded society we live in the East, like the Kingfisher, we do wish many times to be alone. It’s the same feeling when you climb a mountain peak with friends, there, after surveying the splendid scenario, you espy yet another peak and your spirit wants to conquer that too.

So, you leave the friends behind and climb again. It’s that feeling of wanting to be somewhere alone. But, strangely enough, the moment you acquiesce the other peak, you will definitely look down the trail hoping to see someone soon. Nevertheless, the feeling of solitude is also part of human nature although humans generally, tend to cluster together.

The feeling of solitude is difficult to achieve in densely populated East. More so, because the culture of the East is such that the bonhomie and grouping is the greater part of valour. Anyhow, solitude is a necessity to unwind oneself, take time for thought and time for creativity.

Friday

Even Robinson Crusoe after surviving being alone in a South Pacific Island was glad to find the savage, Friday. He relished in teaching and training the savage and his company while awaiting rescue.

However, solitude and isolation are very different to each other. Apart from solitude, the themes of loneliness and isolation are portrayed in many novels. However much solitude is sought after, no one is akin to loneliness and isolation. But it so happens that in life many people are subjected to such.

Major themes

The theme isolation is vividly portrayed in the two novels, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847) and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966). These two novels are well known throughout the world.

They are classics. The characters, Jane, Rochester and Antoinette of these two novels are written so as to utilise the theme of isolation to provide a particular aspect of their identities.

All three characters have experienced loneliness since early childhood. This brings forth a result of isolation from society and inner isolation to the three. The reality in which these people lived is so harsh they isolate themselves from the rest of the world.

Although, Jean Rhys portrays a similar idea of isolation of Bronte’s narration of Jane Eyre, she has a different interpretation of this issue. Contrary to Bronte, Rhys considers madness of a woman is not innate but, rather, a consequence of the injured self that is formed in a person because of isolation and oppression.

Identity

In this way, though isolation serves as a certain rescue that saves them temporarily in their situations, it really deprives them acquiring their complete identity. That is because the identity of a person is created through certain social and cultural interaction with people.

Jane Eyre and Antoinette Cosway, the principal characters of Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea are entirely isolated personalities, who, despite the different backgrounds and different living conditions experience similar loneliness and despair. Jane, an orphan treated cruelly by her relations is sent to Lowood Institution to live and school.

Antoinette’s isolation starts at home in Dominica and continues in the nunnery where she is sent to school and stay. There, she finds herself more isolated and she loses her sanity little by little.

This is in contrast to Jane, who makes friends with another pupil and a teacher and excels at her studies. Jane, then thaws out and starts to feel warmth, love and sympathy which, gradually destroys her negative feelings. Poor Antoinette has no chance like this. Thus, her isolation and loneliness brings her to a tragic end. Rhys reveals Rochester as a loner and a severe person who is forced to marry a person chosen by his family and has to live in a place alien to him.

As a result of this, Rochester’s attitude to Antoinette becomes indifferent and this gradually increases her instability. Rochester, meanwhile is fully ignored by his family. Thus all three principal characters are isolated in one way or another, either from society or from reality.

Liberal

Anna Karenina (1873) is the title and the name of the main character of the well known and well read novel by Leo Tolstoy, the Russian author. In the book, he depicts Petersburg society of the 1870s. Though the Petersburg society at that time was relatively liberal, they would not let a woman get away, especially one, living with a man who was not her husband.

When Anna is eventually ostracised from her social circle, her friend, Betsy Tverskoy also abandons her and her son too is denied to her, she has no one except her lover, Vronsky. Therefore, when he too dies, she is cornered with nowhere to turn to and she comes to tragic end. The themes, isolation and loneliness is displayed well in the novel as well as how society can be harsh.

Jay Gatsby alienated himself in the book, The Great Gatsby (1925), a classic American novel, by waiting endlessly for his one time companion, Daisy, who had left him long ago.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther …And then one fine morning __ So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

In a quotation by the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald describes Jay Gatsby well. This novel shows the society of America in the 1920s, the Jazz Age. It was a time America was booming after the First World War and before the great Depression. America was providing food for the smaller countries affected by the war and amassing a good fortune.

Gatsby, however, has had much disillusionment in his life. Daisy, left Gatsby not once but twice as the story unfolds But Gatsby never learned his lesson. Jay Gatsby was hurt at the beginning of the story by Daisy when she uttered “Rich girls don’t marry poor boys.” Maybe this is what spurted Gatsby to become rich and later, when he came in all his splendour to show Daisy, she did reject him again. But, of course nothing stopped Gatsby’s obsession and this made him lonely and isolated.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1599) is a play where Hamlet is an isolated person. One’s isolation is often caused by a tragic event. A disagreement between known parties too can lead to isolation. Hamlet is isolated and lonely when he is alienated by Polonius (Ophelia’s father and his father in law to be), Gertrude, his mother and Claudius his uncle.

This is a play where a young prince of Denmark’s emotion are stirred to boiling point by the people close to him because they were plotting against him and his father too had died. It was not a propitious time for the young prince. The famous phrase of “to be or not to be,” shows Hamlet’s confusion as he contemplated suicide. As is expected the play ends in tragedy.

The poetry of Alfreda De Silva, (1920-2001) , shows how she has the ability to recreate the experience of the child and how it is subsequently realized in the adult. In her poem “Detail from Childhood,” she describes the devastation she felt when her parents had not even said goodbye when they left the child at her Grandmother’s place and went away. It would have been traumatic for a child of four or five. The poem begins: “I’m falling, falling into a bottomless well I’m wheeling in darkness leaving childhood behind” and ends; “Outside there’s a dark sweet smell of garden leaves Forever to be the smell of loneliness.”

A scene from Hamlet

This scene of loneliness shadows her into adult life as can be seen in the last lines her poem The End of Something: “I drift like the aimless leaves on the inscrutable side walk I don’t want to go anywhere Except into myself”

The preference for solitude even in childhood is shown in the poem The Changeling, where it ends; “Till one day I stare in the darkening glass and see myself not as a child but a haunted gnome with resentful cinders glowing where the eyes should have been “

Alfreda carried the aura of loneliness and her preference for solitude till the end of her days.

Kela Handa (1933) was a novel of W A Silva, another prolific Sri Lankan writer. This book was turned into a good film that stayed in the viewer’s memory for a very long time. Some people refer to it even at present. At the time Silva wrote the novel he depicted the inevitable class struggle. Well born, bred and wealthy John Jayapala had the folly of falling in love with a beautiful but poor village girl. The village people were rubber tree owners and were well off during the First World War and after with the rubber prices booming but had receded to poverty again.

Though a poor village, the children were not deprived of their basics like schooling and religion. A very young John Jayapala, an idealist, pursued, wooed and married Malini, the heroine in the story. His mother never forgave the heir to the Jayapala inheritance. She never let go her ambitions for her son who was well educated both locally and abroad. At this time there was much nationalism displayed in the country hitherto governed by the British and the rumbles of independence were forming. The country was poised for a great future and the proud matriarch had great political ambitions for her son. In the furor that followed, Malini found herself, in a mansion very lonely with only Mrs Daniel who was her English lessons and music tutor and her young husband abroad.

Though the sadness and isolation were unbearable for Malini who had given up the life she knew, she did overcome the situation well, later, for quite a while but the result, as expected, was a tragic end.

Theme

A major theme of loneliness, unhappiness and despair is depicted really well in Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s short story, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ ( 1892). It is an outstanding piece of 19th century fiction that is discussed time and again in the post graduate classes. There was always a tussle between the reality of John Curbs the husband and the creativity of Jane, the wife. The conflict of the story is the struggle of Jane against her husband and then later her struggle against the wallpaper itself. Though there are not many characters in the story, the few that are there play a vital role in giving the reader an insight into the mind of the writer and a deeper understanding of the meaning of the story.

It is a brilliant piece of writing and the unique way it is presented makes it an exciting story that keeps the reader’s attention fixed.

The vast amount of loneliness and unhappiness in the life of a young couple portrays issues that were relevant at that time as well as the society of the time. The loneliness felt and isolation were the main threads of the story.

Why is it so?

Despair

There are more similar novels and poems, too many to enumerate here. These stories show the recurrent theme of loneliness, isolation and despair. No matter the time, the theme is the same and it has come down through different centuries. It shows what a powerful theme it is and the conditions that assail us humans. Why is it so? Maybe it is because we, most times, work at a terrific speed or with great zeal and then when the goal is lost, it is no wonder that forlornness, and despair follows. It is only a strong will and assiduity that can overcome a catastrophe in one’s life. The great skill of the authors of the above mentioned books and poems, is seen, as it is their way of writing that makes the reader feel the pain of every character.

The reader always sympathises with the victim. But, do take a moment and relate the story or a similar story to yourself in your own time and circumstances.

How would you react? Most people would act the same way as the oppressors do because it is their story and their action. Now don’t get your heckles up but isn’t it food for thought?