15 Treating People Like Things
We’re against it.
Really super against it.
I read Raymond Carver’s short story “So much water so close to home” and Agatha Christie’s novel The Hollow. And boy are they both about this exact thing.
Carver’s story deals with some guys who go fishing and find a naked dead woman’s body in the river and LEAVE IT THERE tied to a tree so they don’t lose their fishing weekend. Like they just hang out and fish and cook and wash dishes nearby. The story is really about the wife of one guy. She loses it when she finds out. How she copes with it and comes around to dealing with him again is the core of the story.
I sure hate that story, but never quite got why until I analyzed it here.
Like…a naked body means sexual assault. Who do you think raped and killed that woman? You know he’s still out there, right? Did you leave your families home alone? You fucking idiots. I hate you, deliberately unsympathetic selfish bastard fictional characters who treat people like things.
I thought about the Firefly episode “Objects in Space” a lot this week. I might have to discuss it next. If you’ve seen it, you’ll recognize the image.
Christie’s novel turned out to be about the same thing. I just happened to read it over the weekend as part of my I’m Sick Give Me All the Agatha Christie sitting very still extravaganza.
Christie tells the story of a deeply selfish and unsympathetic man who bullies his submissive and self-loathing wife, has a mistress, and then in front of all their assembled relatives leaves a party with his famous and successful first girlfriend, then doesn’t come home until 3. a.m. The wife (spoilers) shoots him the next day. But she’s been playing dumb for years, literally acting stupid, and for various other reasons she’s not a suspect. He picked out someone to marry who he could treat like an object, but guess what, everyone’s still a person and always will be.
I’m interested in unsympathetic characters for this episode. I’m working on writing one (still) (hey, books take a while) and I want to know why we find the mistress, Henrietta, profoundly sympathetic, when the bullied wife is not. There are reasons! Listen and discover them.
What else? I’ve been super sick as mentioned, systems crashing left and right. And it’s VERY NOISY here, though I think the construction noise is not too intrusive on the recording. It sure was distracting for me! You can recreate it by having someone use a staplegun next to your ear all day long. Nail guns! LOUD. Also giant backhoes resurfacing the ditches. I try to block it out but fail.
Reading all this Agatha Christie is so peaceful and enjoyable, it’s like a massive dose of mellowing agent. She’s so good at what she does. I love excellent structure. I love Poirot, when he’s not bullying Hastings. I love all of it.
Don’t treat people like things!
Sacred cheese of life!
