Recurring Literary Theme of Ascent

¶ … Recurring Literary Theme of Ascent and Descent

The old adage "what goes up must come down" is a common theme in literary works by Daniel Keyes, Dylan Thomas, John Berryman and Henrik Ibsen. Keyes masterfully integrates the theme of ascent and descent into his 1966 novel Flowers for Algernon. For both Dylan Thomas and John Berryman, images relating to ascent and descent are prevalent poetic themes. In Henrik Ibsen's play, "A Doll House" ascent and descent take the form of a woman's plight to transcend her station in life.

The theme of ascent, for all four authors, is used to symbolize rising above a lower level of existence, or at least a perceived lower level of existence, to reach a height that transcends their lowly station in life. The theme of descent, for each of these authors, represents a plummeting drop back to the harsh reality they have tried so hard to rise above. For Keyes, this journey is depicted in the rise and fall of intelligence, and all that it entails, for the novel's protagonist, Charlie. This type of journey is also portrayed in the Dylan Thomas poem "I Fellowed Sleep" and in the John Berryman poems titled "The Curse" and "The Traveller." For Ibsen's Nora, the quest to rise above the abusive treatment of her husband and father is one that mirrors the experiences of women even today.

Starting with Thomas' "I Fellowed Sleep," the theme of ascent followed by descent is clear in both metaphorical and literal terms. When read and interpreted literally, this is a poem about man who is asleep and is having a dream about climbing naked towards "the upward sky." Yet it seems clear that Thomas was expressing a far more abstract and metaphorical depiction of this man's journey than simply a meaningless dream. There is an allusion to a heavenly state above the clouds which seems to indicate a desire on the part of the speaker to find bliss somewhere other than on earth. Whether he is fantasizing about dying and going to heaven, or a drug-induced ecstasy, or simply a state of ignorant bliss is difficult to discern. However it is clear that the speaker longs for ascendance above his daily life and routine, to a lofty and ethereal destination.

The poem's third verse makes numerous references to the murkiness of the earth and its proliferation of fallen angels.

'My fathers' globe knocks on its nave and sings.'

'This that we tread was, too, your fathers' land.'

'but we tread bears the angelic gangs,

Sweet are their fathered faces in their wings.

'These are but dreaming men. Breathe, and they fade.'

The speaker seems quite aware that he is not the only one on earth who has this strong desire to transcend its bonds and float above with the angels. Yet he is not concerned with the trials of his fellow man; he is indulging in his own fantasy of ascendance, release and freedom. He refers to ghosts and to angels as if they are fantastical entities awaiting his company, which would seem to indicate that he is pining for death and the afterlife. However, in a metaphorical sense, the speaker may just be hoping to find his own little piece of heaven on earth; a place that will allow him to ascend his lowly station in life without actually having to leave life entirely behind. The fifth verse indicates that the latter is the case, as the speaker makes reference to the "living air" and to awakening from the dream here on earth.

Then all the matter of the living air

Raised up a voice, and, climbing on the words,

I spelt my vision with a hand and hair,

How light the sleeping on this soily star,

How deep the waking in the worlded clouds.

Like Dylan Thomas, John Berryman also shows a proclivity for images representing ascent and descent. In "The Curse" we see many of the same references used by Thomas in terms of the sky and the light representing transcendence from the darkness and the murky sin below. The speaker in this poem, much like the speaker in "I Fellowed Sleep" appears to be watching the earth's turmoil from an imagined safe haven up above it all.

When he reflects, "Nocturnal sabotage among/the outcast and the loose of tongue/the lax in walk, the murderers:/Our twilight universal curse" he is viewing the dark side of life as a hell from which the wise ones long to escape and with which "only the idiot and the dead" remain content. From this perspective, ignorant bliss is seen as both desirable and pathetic, and the speaker appears to be torn as to whether he would prefer to be enlightened or ignorant. Enlightenment entails ascending the sky in order to gain a broad perspective of the world while ignorance is bred by remaining too close to one's surroundings. Ascendance necessitates descent (i.e. what goes up must come down), meaning that a journey towards enlightenment will always end with a crash. Keeping one's feet firmly on earth results in ignorance, but the elimination of highs and lows that choice contains can make for an easier life. Thus the speaker must choose, as we all must choose, whether we prefer knowledge at the expense of contentment. This is the "curse" which we as humans are all forced to bear.

Berryman's "The Traveller" is also prone to these thematic images, which is particularly evident in its closing lines:

The effects of motion on the travellers,

I watched the couple I could see, the curse

And blessings of that couple, their destination,

The deception practised on them at the station,

Their courage. When the train stopped and they knew

The end of their journey, I descended too.

The couple that the speaker is watching that appears to be enjoying a form of ignorant bliss is being deceived about the misery of others, having no inkling that all of mankind is on the same journey and has been burdened with the same curse. Thus when they descend, so does the author and the rest of mankind; because once ignorance has been eclipsed by knowledge, all innocence is lost.

Daniel Keyes' literary illustration of Charlie's rise and fall is less abstract than these poetic works, which is logical considering that it is a narrative. The novel Flowers for Algernon centers around a mentally retarded man named Charlie Gordon. Both he and a lab mouse named Algernon receive experimental brain cell transplants and go through a remarkable series of changes in general intelligence. These changes are described in Charlie's diary entries, which are very cleverly written to reflect the ascendance of his intellect, in conjunction with this growing awareness about the cruelties of life. Initially, the text is ungrammatical, full of spelling errors, and shows that Charlie understands little of the world around him. While his co-workers laugh at him and play savage pranks, he remains oblivious to the malice underlying their torturous treatment of him.

As Charlie's intelligence continues to ascend, the entries in his diaries become more grammatically correct, demonstrating a higher level of understanding about more than just formulas and textbooks. It becomes gradually clearer that Charlie is beginning to realize that his co-workers are not the friends that he wants thought them to be, but instead are his tormenters. In addition, his self-awareness continues to rise. In one diary entry he writes, "Each day I learn more and more about myself, and the memories that began as ripples now wash over me in high-breaking waves" (p. 134)

As the novel proceeds, Charlie's powers of observation and reasoning grow until he reaches genius level. He becomes a speed reader; librarians gather round in awe to watch him. He speaks twenty languages, writes a piano concerto, tackles major scientific problems, and even figures out what ultimately will happen to him. But as Charlie gets brighter, he becomes more divorced from people, who are increasingly uncomfortable when he is around.. Charlie at this point has turned the abuse and neglect of life in retardation as a reason to keep other people at arm's length with his newfound intelligence. His mentor, Alice tells him this is "a symbolic repetition of experiences you had as a child being rejected by your parents...being sent away" (p. 101). However, despite her help and support, he begins to push her away as well. Thus although he has ascended to a lofty plane of intelligence and insight, he is also learning the lesson that with every climb up the ladder of success comes a weighty price.

But sadly, as Charlie figures out himself, the effects of the operation are short-lived. Algernon regresses first, falling from the lofty plane of intelligence he has ascended to into erratic, obtuse behavior and eventually death. At this point, Charlie is smart enough to know that his own descent is soon to follow. Charlie's diary entries become increasingly less literate and legible as his powers gradually decline. The leisurely falling away of intelligence is thematically similar to Thomas' and Berryman's poetic descents. The characters in all of the literary works discussed here experience the elation of rising above whatever ails them on earth, but then being forced to fall back down to the harsh reality that they can never seem to fully escape. Additionally, in each of the works discussed here, ignorant bliss is portrayed is preferable to stark clarity. The primary difference between the poems and Keyes' novel, however, is that for Charlie, both ignorance and acumen are mixed blessings. For the poets, ignorant bliss is the prize waiting at the peak of their ascendance. For Henrik Ibsen, an entirely different journey life's ups and downs prevails.

Since the beginning of time, we have lived in a society in which women have been judged through the eyes of men. Commonly referred to as "the weaker sex," women have been told that they are different from men yet have been held to the same standards as men in terms of the morality of their choices. Considering this, it is no wonder that the character of Nora in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll House" is "altogether bewildered" regarding the difference between right and wrong by the time she finally ascends her low station in life, and slams the door on her sheltered existence.

Granted, Nora has gained the strength to venture out on her own and leave her controlling husband Torvald Helmar. However it seems as if she believes in her heart that the she is making the right decision for herself, but not the right decision from a moral standpoint. This is what Ibsen is referring to when he considers her moral dilemma to be ongoing even after she has made her decision to leave. If she were not confused, she would have reconciled her decision with her sense of morality and the two would be congruent in her heart and mind, rather than divergent.

Throughout the play, Ibsen delves into the middle class lack of morality that plagued his continent by essentially portraying people as manipulative and unscrupulous beings. Although the play's feminist qualities have been notated as the author's central message, Ibsen's a Doll House is laden with negative stereotypes that disparage not only the female position in society, but the male one as well. For example, when Nora confesses her fraudulent activities, Torvald Helmer's only concern seems be how the forgery will be perceived. This makes both characters appear '"morally challenged' yet the character of Nora, in accordance with most female literary roles, is designed to evoke pity rather than disdain. Torvald relentlessly demeans and belittles Nora, making her feel as fragile as a doll in a dollhouse. When she does manage to assert herself, she gets backhanded with comments from her husband such as "And you actually have the nerve to drag that up again? (Ibsen, p. 77)."

Ultimately, being treated as insignificant by the two most important men in her life; her father and her husband, drives Nora to view herself as inherently delicate and frail until she becomes determined to rise above her appointed status in life. It is clear that Ibsen sought to portray Nora as a weak individual throughout most of the play and her husband's view of her is no different.