Sunday, September 16, 2018
Bell Johnson- Aloma's (Temporary) Escape
When Bell is first introduced in the novel as Aloma goes to the church to look for a job, he is presented as a friendly figure. Bell's mother is distrusting of her while Bell seeks to at least give her a chance (64). He eventually offers her the job and becomes a source of happiness for Aloma. He not only gives her the financial support she needs by paying her, but gives her joy when he listens in on her piano playing. When she plays for him, he gives her a new kind of pleasure (105). In this way, I think Bell's initial role in the story is to serve as an escape for Aloma--an escape from Orren, the house, and her duties. Whenever she is with Orren, it is to perform her duty as the "wife" of a farm laborer. She forces herself to learn how to cook, clean, and it does not help that Orren is so focused on the success of the farm that he ignores Aloma. So given the troubles associated with Orren, the house, and her wifely duties, she finds happiness in escaping to the church to play piano. She beings to associate Bell with playing the piano, one of her only true passions.
Although readers might think that Bell is a more suitable partner than Orren, the novel is trying to make it clear that Bell would not be as suitable as one might think. One of the reasons is that Aloma does not act like herself around him--she puts on a fake persona of being more passive around him, evidenced by the fact that she "was struck with the feeling she was around him, that she could not find her normal speaking voice...she was shied by him" (88). Because of this, she is more compliant and unwilling to speak up for herself, whereas with Orren there are numerous instances when she speaks her mind. Another reason they are imcompatible is that Bell is happy with his life in isolated Hansonville. Bell brings Aloma to the mountain wall and points at the distant farms, saying "it's the prettiest thing I ever saw in my life."Aloma thinks to herself that she could not hardly stand that beauty (140). Earlier in the novel, we see that she hates mountains because they are a symbol of her entrapment in this life. Bell says to her that she "can't decide if she wants to run off or get took in." (141). It is true that the internal struggle Aloma faces is whether or not to use her piano-playing skills to find a job elsewhere and leave for a different life or to stay fully invested in Orren in the farm. The fact that she is even having this struggle is completely different from Bell, who is content with staying in this life. So I believe that Bell was meant to serve as a temporary escape from Orren, but not as a permanent solution to her problems.
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Personally, I was on team Bell for most of the novel, but I agree that he, much like Orren, would not fulfill Aloma's needs for long. I think that at first when Aloma goes to play at the church, she associates Bell with the freedom and joy that playing the piano brings her. She idealizes him because he appreciates her in a way that Orren, who "had not once seen her play piano" and "didn't know what she was capable of" does not (99). However, I think she comes to realize that Bell would be no more of an escape for her than would Orren, because he wants to stay where he is and where his family is from. He has the same job as his father before him, just like Orren does.
ReplyDeleteEven if Bell was an option for Aloma at some point in the novel, we see that he is not by the end. He essentially cuts off all ties with Aloma, because she "deliberately misled" him by "playing married" when she is not (171). He is obviously hurt, most likely because he had feelings for Aloma and found out that she is committed. It is probably good that Aloma did not have the chance to pursue him any further, though, because she would have just ended up trapped on another farm, and at least she can speak her mind around Orren.
I agree with your comment regarding the theory that Bell serves as nothing more than a temporary escape for Aloma. When Aloma's flirtatious behavior begins, it occurs during a time period when the concept of marriage and relationship escalates in the novel. Aloma gets invited to the singles meeting by Bell, and when she returns home, she sees "the letters E + C chipped" into a tree on the farm's property (93). As she gazes at the carvings, she is filled with feelings of hatred and despise of the concept of marriage as "she wish[es] suddenly that not a single one of them had ever been born...to make vain...markings" (94). She is consequently surprised at her own thoughts, and this leads to her flirtatious behavior with Bell over the next few weeks at the church.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the situation with the wet feed shows that Aloma is truly loyal to Orren and the farm. After Aloma kills seven of the hens by serving them feed that got wet from the rain, she uses the money she earned from playing piano to replace the hens. The money that was initially saved for her escape then gets invested into the farm, and consequently, her future with Orren.
While I originally preferred Bell and Aloma together, after finishing the novel, I agree with your opinion of Bell being a temporary escape for Aloma. At first, he smiled, he gave Aloma the keys to access the piano whenever she wanted, he listens to her, he seems to have hope– all of which Orren didn’t do or have. However, I begun to recognize Bell with Aloma’s piano playing: as an opportunity to be away from the farm and the house. Similar to what Jason said about Aloma’s thoughts, I didn’t recognize Bell as a separate entity, just as a way to play the piano.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, to expand on your point that Aloma is passive around Bell, when Bell is shaming Aloma for her supposed deceit, “Aloma did not think then to defend herself, she had no defense” (172). Earlier in the novel Aloma’s character had been described as opposite of defenseless. For example, when she speaks to Orren, she challenges him many times. When Orren and Aloma are arguing about the and Orren asks her what she wants, Aloma blatantly says “I want a piano right now, and I want you to kill that rooster right now! If you loved me, you could just do one simple thing” (58). She doesn’t hold back when speaking to Orren. This is a testament to her character and how she is not her true self with Bell. Therefore, I do agree with Jason’s opinion that Bell is only a temporary thought and escape.
I agree that Bell is merely a temporary solution. In addition to the arguments presented, I believe the temporary nature of their relationship is also due to an unmentioned disconnect between how Bell and Aloma view each other. Aloma appears to truly want Bell and the life he could offer her, while Bell looks down on Aloma's choices and feels he is superior to her. I do feel that Aloma may have truly wanted Bell, outside of merely a connection to her time playing piano, exemplified in her dream of the two of them making love where she feels worried Orren would notice her desire directly after. (167/168) Yet, what Aloma is ignoring is the concept that Bell would not love her based on what he has seen of her. This is first suggested when Bell analyzes Aloma; commenting on how she cannot pick a path in life and that it must be hard living so alone. (141) This creates a tone of both pity and superiority, a dynamic that would clearly not form a healthy long-term relationship. This is exemplified further when he discovers she is living unmarried with Orren, “It’s deceit to play married when you’re not. Quit fooling yourself. And quit trying to fool me.” (171) His remarks here are fueled in large part by his emotions regarding Aloma lying to him, but that only bolsters this idea that Bell feels Aloma is acting like a child, in a way he cannot comprehend.
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