Finance and Creativity

In our most recent class, we discussed the impact financial situation has on creativity. Whilst discussing the subject in class, Sam and I agreed that having little financial means can negatively impact a creative person's work. This happens to people in the position where they must direct all their focus on the bare essentials unable to focus on the beauty and art of everyday life. This subject is further exmplified in Virginia Woolf's writing entitled, "Memories of a Working Women's Guild."She depicts working women as constant worriers. She says, "their eyes looked as if they were always set on something actual - on saucepans that were boiling over, on children who were getting into mischief." She continues, "Their lips never expressed the lighter and more detached emotions that come into play when the mind is perfectly at ease about the present." She expresses great respect for the women, while at the same time portraying them as "rooted to one spot.(pg. 156)" It is apparent that an artist must endure hardships and pain to be able to produce great art but their creativity can be impeded when they must focus solely on surviving.

Dr. Aziz and the Metaphorical Caves

Upon reading ‘The Caves’ portion of the novel, A Passage to India, I realized my favorite aspect is the metaphorical imagery used. It is interesting to see how the physical description of the caves so closely reflects the emotional mindset of Dr. Aziz. This is why it is so Ironic, Dr. Aziz doesn’t take much interest in the caves, as it says on page 156, “…Aziz noticed nothing.” Dr. Aziz appears his old self showing the ladies around whilst initially behaving as the ultimate gentleman, paying for everything and even attempting to be somewhat of a tour guide even though it becomes apparent he knows nothing about the caves. As it says on page 156, “His ignorance became evident, and was really rather a drawback.” E.M. Forster describes the sky as being dominant as usual meanwhile describing its essence as being “unhealthy.” Dr. Aziz puts on a front for Adele but it is made obvious he has his own agenda the whole time. His sinister inner self is revealed upon sexually assaulting Adele. He is also oblivious to the day as he perceives everything is going excellently regardless of the fact that he is a terrible tour guide and Mrs. Moore and Adele express little to no interest in the caves. For example on page 156, Mrs. Moore refers to it as “A horrid, stuffy place really.”

The Genuine Peter Walsh

One of Virginia Woolf’s key points in ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ is the concept of genuineness and freedom of spirit, which is primarily projected by the character, Peter Walsh. Peter Walsh is still in love with Clarissa and the thing that tortures him most is her loss of genuineness. Never is this more apparent than on page 49 when he expresses frustration at the way Clarissa introduces her daughter to him. She says, “Here is my Elizabeth” instead of simply, “Here is Elizabeth.” He claims, “It was insincere.” Walsh believes she has become conventional where she once was timid. Peter Walsh appears to be the personification of sincerity, which may account for his interest in young adults. “For he understood young people; he liked them (pg. 49).” It is Ironic that Elizabeth is referred to as “His Clarissa,” on page 118. However it can also be said, Peter’s criticisms of Clarissa are merely a defense mechanism to prevent getting hurt by her. As written on page 48, “Only one person in the world could be as he was, in love.”

MacCarthy’s Criticism of Impressionism

Having been the Secretary of the Post-Impressionist Exhibition of 1910-11 (pg. 97), It is no surprise that Desmond MacCarthy would convey a negative outlook on impressionist art. According to MacCarthy, Post-Impressionists consider the Impressionists, “Too Naturalistic (pg. 98).” I suppose this revelation is consistently present in art. For example, cinema is always undergoing changes in how scenes should be filmed. First, it was the goal of the director to set up a shot to be clear as a bell with every character and object vividly depicted. Now, it is common to see choppy editing, blurred characters and shaky cameras for the sake of conveying the raw emotion on screen. I also realize that realism is a factor that applies to this as well. This can be observed in movies like The Bourne Supremacy, which contain fight scenes where the audience is still not overtly aware of what is happening between the characters. The FX original show, The Shield was also a great influence in this style of cinematography.
Desmond MacCarthy claims that the Post-Impressionists attitude towards nature was “far more independent (98).” He felt this style was too constrictive and focused on the wrong sort of details. I suppose MacCarthy viewed impressionists more as engineers or scientists than as artists. Is it not the true purpose of art to inspire emotion? Post-Impressionists believe the focus should be more on sending a message than depicting one. Perhaps MacCarthy is right.

The Humility of Leonard Woolf

Leonard Woolf was a great writer for many reasons but the one attribute that makes him particularly engaging is his humility. Woolf is a very highly respected writer but one wouldn’t get this from what he has written in his memoir entitled, “Coming to London.” In this piece, Woolf portrays himself quite humbly to say the least. He illustrates himself as an embarrassment at Rose Macauly’s dinner party, having mistaken the hem of a woman’s petticoat for her handkerchief. In the memoir, he tries to help the woman by picking up her “handkerchief” and handing it to her. This act alone would have been considered most taboo and untactful at a function such as this or any other for that matter. Woolf then claims he and wife “…slunk off home, feeling that we had both disgraced ourselves in literary London.” It must have been refreshing to read the works of a man with this type of attitude in the self-aggrandizing society of Victorian England.
I found Mr. Woolf’s depiction of his younger self surprising to say the least. The Bloomsbury group was very prestigious and consisted of the most elite writers of the Victorian literary world. Membership alone was highly regarded. Leonard Woolf was also a very highly educated man, studying at prominent universities like, St Paul’s School and Trinity College, Cambridge. However, it is understandable that he be humble considering the fact that he always had to work to support himself unlike some of the other members.

Relating to People

If there is one thing I pride myself in, it is relating to people. I am good at relating to people which drives both my passions and aspirations. I like dealing with people as well as portraying them on stage. I'm an actor at my core and I find myself integrating these skills into virtually every aspect of my life. Every individual has a different story and a different reason for getting out of bed every morning. The key is to being personable is recognizing this. However, being an actor and relating to people has more to it than this simple revelation. What I have is a fascination; a fascination with people. Literature fits into the equation as well. What better way to understand people than through their communication and literature is the written form of that.