I Like to Be in a Pattern
"I like to be related; to have to be what I am.
Just to
be
is so intransitive, so lonely" (142).
Elizabeth Bowen's The Last September (1929)
Points
for Reflection
The Last September (1929), Part Two / pp.101-203
- do the songs sung at Mrs. Fogarty’s lighten or deepen the mood of those present at the luncheon?
- is the social dynamic between Mrs. Fogarty and the British subalterns mutually beneficial?
- which characterizes Francie better, “delicate hardness” (114) or “selfless woman” (182)?
- does Lois’s desire to be part of a “pattern” (142) eclipse her desire to “not need anyone” (109)?
- was the headmistress correct that “personal relations make a perfect havoc of [Lois]” (140)?
- does Lois thrive on fear?
- what competing impulses war within Lois when it comes to Gerald’s devotion to her?
- does Bowen implicitly validate or interrogate Gerald’s affection for Lois? What is he seeking?
- does the romantic impulse in males appear just as determined and aggressive as military action?
- does Miss Marda Norton prove throughout Part Two to be as unaware of self, and as indifferent, as others consider her to be (114)?
- given Marda’s disposition and approach to life, how does one make sense of her engagement?
- is Marda as intrigued with Hugo as she is with him?
- what is Lady Naylor implying when she speaks about Hugo to Mrs. Carey (166), and does his behavior validate or disprove her suggestions?
- do Irish women regulate themselves when it comes to romantic behavior?
- do male characters appear uniformly machoistic in this tale?
- who seems more aggressive, Gerald or Laurence?
- is Lady Naylor’s conclusion about today’s youth (174-75) equally applicable to Lois, Laurence & Livvy?
- does David Armstrong live up to Livvy’s conception of manliness?
- what do Laurence’s reconceptualizations of the past, and his construction of what Laura (Lois’s mother) must have been like, reveal about himself (153-54)?
- what qualities does Laurence so appreciate in Marda?
- is Laurence a confident young man?
- is Lois an unrealized artist?
- what does Marda appreciate about Lois’s drawings, and why does she suggest writing or acting?
- is Laurence a more likely artist than Lois?
- why might Bowen spend so much time--the second half of Part Two--on the three days immediately preceding Marda’s departure?
- is the Irish Civil War merely a distant backdrop for the main characters’ high-class lives, or does it affect them directly and vitally?
- how does Gerald view the British military presence in Ireland?
Painting (1938)
Mainie Jellett
Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu
