Lady Brett Ashley
For today’s blog post I’d like to write about Lady Brett
Ashley and how my perception of her has evolved thus far (if you’re in the same
class as me you know I had plenty to say about her recently). Towards the
beginning of the book, I couldn’t quite parse my feelings and thoughts on
Brett. I was definitely interested in her as a character, as she has
characteristics which are attractive. She is a good embodiment of the phrase
“I’m not like other girls”. She is strong and independent, especially for the time
this book takes place. Just as we are often attracted to people who exude
confidence, many of the men in The Sun Also Rises are attracted to
Brett. Not only does Brett have this pull on men, but she also seems like she
knows it.
Early in the book I found Brett more of an
"interesting" character than anything. However, as I read more of the
book, I have come to dislike Brett as a character. I think the level of
manipulation and control is at a level that cannot be forgiven as ignorance
(that is, the ignorance of Brett not knowing her effect on the men). Notably I
would like to highlight her relationship with Jake. We already know that Jake
and Brett have a history. We also know that Brett has made it clear that she
does not want to commit to a relationship with Jake. But why does she keep
leading him on? Specifically, I would like to point out the scene from pages 61
- 62. Here we see an example of Brett giving Jake hope of a relationship. She
gets very close to Jake, kisses him on the forehead, and strokes his hand. Not
a page later, she pushes off Jake's efforts to come with her to San Sebastian
and stay with her longer. One might argue that she just seems to be leading on
Jake because she has special feelings towards him and can’t get over them, but
she is not only leading Jake on, but almost every other named male character in
the book.
Looking at the issue from another perspective, Brett’s
refusal to commit to one man could be the ultimate show of her independence as
a woman. However, I still think that since she has other, more personal motives
for not staying with a particular man (e.g. sex), Brett’s behavior is not to be
admired in any way.
Reading your perspective is really interesting to me, since I actually went through the exact opposite evolution as you did. I initially didn't like her much, but gradually came to like her more and more (crucially though, I like her as a *character*, not necessarily as a person I'd want to meet and interact with). About the whole manipulation thing, I think you make some valid points, but I'm going to have to disagree with your argument about how Brett's leading Jake on. You're correct that her actions could be construed as leading him on - if not for the fact that Brett is constantly, blatantly clear that she and Jake will never have an exclusive relationship. Her stroking his head does not change that she is even saying they won't ever be exclusive together *as she does it*. The promise of an exclusive relationship and comforting/being close with someone are two different things. Still, your claim has some compelling arguments to it, and I do agree that Brett isn't exactly a great person and some of her actions shouldn't be admired or romanticized (but I can't help admiring her general attitude anyway).
ReplyDeleteI still don't see how Brett is "leading Jake on". She's told him over and over again exactly what to expect from her. She made it clear that she has feelings for him, just that she doesn't want a relationship with him. Just because she still wants to be around him and comforted him when he was upset doesn't mean she's gone back on that. The affection she shows is the result of her feelings, which she's been upfront about. She's never once implied that those gestures would go any further than that. As for the other men in her life, she's with them for fun and money, which everyone acknowledges. Brett is completely honest with those men and with Jake, so you really can't fault her. If Jake wants to keep inviting him into his apartment or over for lunch, that's his choice.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that Brett is "leading men on". I do think it is kind of problematic that she and Jake keep getting together and having these clearly romantic moments together since seeing one another seems to do more harm than good, but it seems like that is a problem that both of them have. Neither one can leave the other alone or stop thinking the other. As for Brett's sex life, she is very open about the fact that she has flings and never tells any of these men that she wants a committed relationship, so I don't think she is at all being manipulative or secretive about what she wants. And Brett clearly doesn't want to commit to one man, so why should she have to? I don't think that Brett's lack of monogamy is a negative reflection of her character at all.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some good points, even though I disagree pretty strongly with your analysis of Brett. First of all, I think we need to establish that there's nothing wrong with Brett wanting sex to be a part of her relationships. Now let's talk about Brett leading men on. You could argue that Brett does lead on Cohn by going on vacation with him, but she isn't leading Jake on. I define leading someone on as making someone think there are feelings in a situation where there are none. There are clearly mutual feelings here - Brett isn't making that up - there just isn't the potential for an exclusive relationship. Jake and Brett both know the status of their relationship, and I don't think it's fair to Brett to describe the scene you refer to as her "giving Jake hope of a relationship" because he knows there's no chance of one. Basically, I don't feel comfortable shaming Brett for her actions, and I definitely don't think that Jake is being victimized by her. Yes, she's far from perfect, but we're not in a position to judge her for her choices, especially since we don't really know that much about her personal life.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Brett is a pretty interesting character, however I don't really dislike her like you do. I definitely don't think she's leading Jake on - she keeps telling him she's doesn't want an actual relationship with him, and the fact that Jake chooses not to listen to that isn't really her fault. I guess she could distance herself from him to try and save his feelings, but at the same time I don't think that's her responsibility. She does keep showing affection towards him, which could be seen as kind of problematic, but still that's just what she wants from her and Jake's relationship, and as long as she communicates this with Jake (which she does) I don't think she's at fault for his feelings. Along with that, I don't think her simply being non-monogamous should reflect negatively on her. She doesn't lie about it to her partners, and so it doesn't seem like it's inherently wrong.
ReplyDeleteI also find Brett to be a very unusual and interesting character - a depicition of a personality probably pretty rare at the time (especially for a woman, I'd assume). I disagree with your last point saying that her refusal to commit to a man is a flaw, as I think there is nothing inherently wrong with having multiple partners or switching between them. In fact, I think there's nothing wrong with it /especially/ if it is for a personal motive - there is no reason to suffer in an unfulfilling relationship, and if Brett required sex from a relationship she would not do ant favours to herself or the men she was with by suppressing that preference and staying with them for the sake of staying with them while being unhappy.
ReplyDelete