One thing that confused me in Invisible Man was why the narrator wants to return to Mary at the
end of Chapter 25. As he flees from the riot he “ran expecting death between
the shoulder blades or through the back of [his] head, and as [he] ran [he] was
trying to get to Mary’s” (560). He continues to think of Mary’s as his
destination until at the end of the chapter he realizes that “I couldn’t return
to Mary’s or to any part of my old life” (571).
The narrator is never specific about the logistics of
returning to Mary. On the one hand, he’s running in a panic so that makes some
sense. On the other hand, he just dropped out of Mary’s life months ago without
saying goodbye or contacting her at all since then. If she saw the narrator
again, Mary could very well be angry with him and at the very least she would
want some sort of an explanation, which the narrator would struggle to give,
given that he tells his story for the first time in the book.
So the narrator probably doesn’t actually want to return to
live with Mary but instead to something that Mary represents and I’m not sure
what that is.
On the one hand, to the narrator Mary represents being cared
for. When the narrator first meets her, she lets him sleep at her house and
feeds him simply because he needs help and without asking for anything in
return. When he lives with her, she continues to feed him, makes sure he’s
eating enough, and loans him money. As the narrator is feeling confused and
alone, it makes sense that he would want someone to take care of him and the
obvious connection is to the woman who took care of him that last time his
goals were annihilated.
But Mary also represents the pressure the narrator feels to
do something that’s in her words “a credit to the race” (255). When the narrator
lives with her, he notes that “Mary reminded me constantly that something was
expected of me, some act of leadership, some newsworthy achievement; and I was
torn between resenting her for it and loving her for the nebulous hope she kept
alive” (258).
Great post! I agree and was also very confused when the narrator wanted to return to Mary. I viewed Mary as a parental figure. Mary was the only protection the narrator got throughout the entire book. Yes, he got annoyed with her "nagging" but I viewed it as like a parental love kinda thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he realizes that he can't return to Mary's, but I'm not sure if it's as much because he needs to "drop out" of society. Maybe he just needs to find himself, like you said, aside from the pressures of society. Mary is like a parent figure who's also influencing him, and to figure out who he really is he can't return to her either.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I agree that the narrator wouldn't and doesn't make the conscious decision to go back to Mary's house. However, I think it is interesting that the idea even pooped into his mind and in my opinion it is because he saw her as a mother-like figure.
ReplyDelete