Undine & her son
I could not believe Undine was willing to withhold her son from Ralph until he gave her the money to get an annulment. I sympathized with Undine for the majority of the novel because I understood how she didn’t have any other choice to gain wealth and status in society. However, her complete disregard for her child makes me wonder what is it behind her desires to be a person of status and wealth that she is willing to sacrifice her own child. She has no significant, honest, real relationships in her life. Everything is transactional: she only uses people when she needs something, that goes from her father, her husband, lover, and her son. I think her capitalistic mindset stems from her feelings of lack on an emotional level. I think because she was spoiled by her father she idealized a life of extravagance and she thought that would make her happy, but she doesn’t see how empty she really is inside. She thinks if she gets what she wants it will fill the void, but paradoxically what she wants is for people to admire her. She wants to be the source of people’s admiration yet there is nothing for them to admire because she is always going outside of herself to seek fulfillment, leaving no real reason for anyone to go to her for the source of their happiness.
-Sabrina Rodriguez
2 responses so far
I agree with you when you say Undine’s motivations purely serve herself. In her quest to fulfill the gap that you mention, she uses and abuses her relationships with others to maximize her own gain. Undine craves to be the center of the universe and I also agree with you when you say she looks outwards to find her power, but she seems to be wandering around aimlessly. Undine constantly changes her mind regarding what she needs and wants from others. Besides her clinging to her capitalist roots, I personally find it incredibly difficult to sympathize with Undine because nothing about her seems to be genuine.
In regards of your point of view of Undine I couldn’t agree more with the fact that she is rooted in her capitalistic ways. I feel when we look closer to the meaning of capitalism we can actually see a true representation of how she acts and what she strives for. Capitalism is an inherently expansionistic type of economy. It thrives best under long-distance trade by large capitalists with political connections and economic reserves (Thomas McCormick 2-3). The inherent tendency rooted in expansionism is seen in Undines character, for once she achieves what she desired for that time, she very quickly moves unto wanting more. Furthermore, in this book her constant quests for new suitors to fulfill her economic needs demonstrate the functions under which capitalism thrives.
Although it is hard to sympathize with this type of character, I truly do not think that it is her fault. I feel that she is simply a product of her society. This can even be seen in moments that were described, where all sympathy for the character is lost. That is when she withholds her son from her father for the goal of her own personal economic growth. As a women in this time, she must solely depend on support of a male figure, and as many women of this time, she is granted the sole custody of the child. Given that on her own she is unable to obtain any economic wealth, she is almost predetermined to use the advantage of her child to receive monetary support from a male figure.
Therefore, I do agree on the points made about the character’s self-serving and narcissistic nature. I also agree that her capitalistic tendencies of expansionism constantly prevail her to search of unattainable and ever growing desire of power and admiration. However, I don’t possess the same lack of sympathy toward this character for I believe that she is merely a product of the society which she is in, and goes through life attempting to adapt herself to the world around her.
“Chapter 1 .” America’s Half-Century: Unites States Foreign Policy in the Cold War and After, by Thomas J. McCormick, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995, pp. 2–3.