Motif

"Do not let this letter disturb you; do not answer tomorrow, or the next day, or even until you come, if it will give you pain. My uncle will send me news of your health, and if I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness." (pg. 179)

- Elizabeth Lavenza

This is just one example of how Shelley makes every woman look. The novel does not give women much credit at all. From this book, one perceives that women are there to make men happy and wait for their presence no matter what. There are no determined strong females in the book; every female seems to be passive. I believe that all of the women in the story suffer in some way, but Shelley doesn't emphasize this suffering. Caroline, Justine, and Elizabeth all suffer to a terrible degree and then are killed by different means, but the story always revolves around Victor's and the monster's suffering. This emphasis on men might be because of the time period that the book was written. Back then, women were not able to experience the rights that women in today's world are able to.

"Hurray for Wine!"

" I want a leather wine-bottle," Bill said.
"There's a place down the street," I said. "I'll go get a couple." (pg.159)


Usually I find it hard to find motifs in literary works, but I believe this alcohol aspect of the book jumps out at everyone. I feel like alomst everything has to do with drinking or being "tight." I was convinced for awhile that I shouldn't even believe half of the stuff in the book because Jake was probably drunk while narrating it. I am not sure why Ernest put such an emphasis on alcohol. I am guessing that he wanted to make this lost generation look even more arrogant or maybe Hemingway liked drinking all the time too.


One thing I did notice is that I feel like the characters drank all the time to erase their problems. If they were drunk, they wouldn't remember how they were practically bankrupt.