Helping Others to Stand in The Community

                Life is unexpected.  As we go about our daily routines issues arise which need to be addressed.  We often must stop, take an inventory of what is happening around us and then take care of the hiccups that get in our way from time to time.  However, for some individuals life is full of more than just hiccups.  Some have experiences that will knock them off their feet and make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to stand on their own.  It requires others to step in and help lift them to their feet and then provide continued support until they are able to stand again; on their own. (The image of the Twelve Stones of Pentre Ifan comes into mind here).   It is for these individuals that my emphases focused on. 

                I am working on an Integrated Studies degree with an emphasis in Accounting and Community Health.  There are several ways that these emphases can resemble standing.  In accounting you must take a stand for what is ethical as opposed to what is desired.  You provide reports and financial statements that stand for the financial status of the company.  You can even assist in making financial decisions that help a company to continue standing and remain stable.  Community Health can help people in their ability to stand on their own literally, as issues of health are resolved and individuals are able to overcome illness and health issues that had them down in bed.  People are also assisted in their education of health risks and needs through community education programs that teach us how to care for our bodies and become healthier.  There are health centers which provide vaccinations to avoid disease and testing for possible infection.  The community also has programs that help people to stand on their own through food stamps, WIC, CHIP, and other programs that provide nourishment, health assistance, insurance, and basic necessities for individuals who have fallen on hard times.

                In 2010 Deseret Media Companies (DMC) started an initiative to help individuals in the community to be able to stand on their own financially, focusing mainly on women, to gain financial independence and the ability to manage and control their finances better.  DMC started the “Imagine A Happier You” campaign with the following:

“Weighted down by debt or worried that your retirement planning has fallen flat?  We’d like to help.  The Deseret Media Companies – Deseret News, Deseret Book and KSL-TV and Radio – are looking for three Wasatch Front women who’d like a financial makeover.  You open your books and show us your struggles and we’ll connect you to expert mentors who, for a year, will help you figure out how to get back on track and brighten your future.  You’ll blog as you learn and we’ll also feature your story periodically as you tackle your money dilemmas.  It’s a chance to straighten out your finances and also help other women worldwide figure out what to do.” (Collins, 2010)

DMC partnered with AAA Fair Credit, Merrill Lynch, and Zions Bank to help in the process of educating these women.  Each of the 3 partners provided one representative who spent a year with the woman assigned to them, in helping get them back on their feet financially and in providing a stable financial foundation in which to move forward.  Each of the women came from different backgrounds and circumstances but all of them were similar in the fact that they felt they were falling financially and needed help getting back on their feet and being able to stand financially independently.  Part of the campaign was in an effort to help women learn financial planning in an effort to help better educate children on how to become financially stable in the future.  Jennifer Rohn of AAA Fair Credit explained, “Rohn’s hope for the project is simply that people will think more deply about their own financial situation and learn new skills and habits that will help them walk a path that their children can see and emulate themselves – and then pass on to their own children.”  It is an initiative to help build financial understanding for generations.  As the three women who participated in the campaign spoke of their experiences and the things they learned, the metaphor of standing kept coming up.  They spoke of “stress level drops”, “paying down debt”, using emergency funds and then rebuilding them, and being able to “knock down” debt. (Collins, Regaining control - 'Imagine a Happier You' campaign helps 3 women, 2011)  As these women were taught how to become more financially stable, others were able to watch their stories and learn from them as well.  This enabled many to be able to stand more financially independent.  In response to the viewed success of the initiative Mark Willes, President and CEO of Deseret Media Companies stated, “We are proud of the work they have done in creating a program which educated, elevated, and connected women throughout the year.” (Collins, Regaining control - 'Imagine a Happier You' campaign helps 3 women, 2011)

In a different but similar way The Center For Women & Children In Crisis (CWCIC) is also helping to get people standing on their own.  When women and/or children find themselves in an abusive or unsafe situation the CWCIC can help provide safe shelter, therapy and support, and material needs such as food and clothing.  The CWCIC also provides educational programs for the community which can help teach people about the harms, signs, and options for domestic abuse, rape, and other violent situations.  (The Center for Women & Children in Crisis)  The CWIC is taking individuals who have been knocked off their feet, pushed down, and who are unable to stand on their own, both physically and metaphorically at times, and helping to stand them back up.  They are giving individuals a safe place to get back on their feet, the means to survive for a short period of time, the education to rise above their situation and make a better life for themselves and those who are with them, and the confidence to stand on their own and know that they are capable and able to do so.

This semester we have looked at what it means to stand and how the process of standing makes a difference in who we are, what we do, and how we do it.  As we have discussed the idea of standing I couldn’t help but take the metaphor and internalize it according to my experiences and thoughts personally.  I have gained a new appreciation for the metaphor of standing and what it means to me.  I stand because it is my way of existence.  I don’t mean standing physically, but rather mentally, emotionally, and verbally.  If I desist from standing then I have given up and no longer have value and purpose in my life.  Through personal experiences I have known what it was like to be knocked down verbally and emotionally.  I have lost the ability to stand on my own and be who I was.  I was made to believe that I was not good enough to stand and was therefore pushed down time and time again in an effort to keep me down for good.  However, after having been removed from that situation I have fought to be able to stand on my own again and the only reason I can determine, from talking about the metaphor this semester, that I am fighting so hard to stand is because I know that if I can’t stand on my own emotionally and mentally, then I have no purpose anymore, I have lost the ability to truly live and exist, and that thought terrifies me.  Therefore, every day I make efforts to gain back my ability to stand on my own, stick up for myself, be my own person, and be able to believe in myself and believe that who I am is good enough despite being knocked down so many times before. 

I feel that both of these programs I mentioned above, “Imagine a Happier You” and the Center for Women & Children in Crisis are wonderful examples of how my emphases are utilizing the standing metaphor in helping individuals be able to stand tall, erect, and proud of who they are and the life they are building.  There is not better gift than the gift to STAND.

Works Cited

(n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2012, from The Center for Women & Children in Crisis: http://www.cwcic.org/cwcic_about.php

Collins, L. M. (2010, June 20). Debt Free: Let DMC, experts help you manage your money. Retrieved April 22, 2012, from Desert News: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/700041851/Debt-free-Let-DMC-experts-help-you-manage-your-money

Collins, L. M. (2011, September 25). Regaining control - 'Imagine a Happier You' campaign helps 3 women. Retrieved April 22, 2012, from Deseret News: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/700182402/Regaining-control-2-Imagine-a-Happier-you-campaign-helps-3-women.html

Standing Up to Avoid Defeat

                As humans, we can’t help but build.  We are in a constant process of standing things up.  Whether it be objects, words, or ourselves, we seem to have the innate need to create, build, form, and erect.   We build monuments as a representation of ourselves.  Our creations are erected throughout our lives as a reflection of who we are, what we represent, and our ideals.  However, no matter how much effort, material, or work we put in to our creations, there is a time when they will eventually fall unable to withstand the elements and time.  Yet despite knowing things will inevitably fall, we continue to build, erect, and stand things up because it gives us a sense of purpose.

                I liked Wendell Berry’s poetry, “The Farmer, Speaking of Monuments” because it takes something that seems commonplace and shows the magnitude of the process.  Most don’t think of crops as something to praise unless we are in the process of enjoying their flavor and freshness.  However, a farmer knows that his harvest is a reflection of his hard work and sacrifice.  As Berry states, “he remains in what he serves by vanishing in it, becoming what he never was.”  To me, he becomes an artist, a builder, a sculptor.  He creates a monument to himself.  Every spring he buries his seeds which will mature throughout the summer, “standing for him” in the fall for only a short time before he must cause them to collapse in order to harvest and sell his monument in pieces to others. 

                Three things struck me with Berry’s poem.  First, I find it ironic that in order to stand up his monument, the farmer must first bury his seeds.  Typically the process of burial relates to the permanent falling of something so I have to wonder if the farmer is symbolically falling himself, putting aside his carefree days of winter in order to immerse himself in his erection of crops until they will fall.  It is interesting to see that this is a process that beings with a fall and ends with a fall.  Second is the realization that at the height of his accomplishment, when the crops have reached their full potential and are ready to be harvested, no one sees his fully erected monument but himself, the farmer.  Third, although no one sees the monument at its pinnacle many will benefit from it even to the extent that it could be considered critical for those who are fed by the farmer.  A monument that seems so temporary and must be rebuilt at the beginning of every season is seen in a much more magnificent light and I begin to realize that “in autumn, all his monuments fall” but the work of a farmer is always standing.  His fields remain as a representation of who he is.

                Maria Melendez also discusses the monuments that we build to represent ourselves in her piece of work "A Chicana Writes to Rilke".  However, her monument seems more personal.  She does not want a monument that is tall and erect.  She says, “might, in me, is not erected, but absorbed.”  I feel she is building a monument that is not for the world to see, but rather for her.  A representation of who she is for self reflection.  Her creation is built of elements which have made her who she is, such as masa.  Her statue is much more internal and personal.  I also believe it is like the farmer’s because it changes just as her life and experiences change who she is.  She talks of “an interior grinding stone to scrape the realm of concept completely” which suggests that the process of building is an evolving one that is always chipping away to shape us.  In the end, the monument is very personal, not some large erection that represents her but rather is “cobbled within.”

                In the "Twelve Stones of Pentre Ifan" Leslie Norris writes about a monument created by another that has seen time and the elements take its toll on the ability of the twelve stones of “Pentre Ifan” to stand.  However, his poem seems to bring life to the stones and actually make them stand taller.  He talks of a “nameless” people whose survival was a struggle.  Yet despite the difficulty of their existence they were able to rise above it and build a monument “taller than any man who will ever stand where I stand, lifting their hope.”  The monument represents the ability in each of us to stand throughout our lives, to build our existence, and to fulfill our purpose.  It is also a reminder that there will be times when we will have difficulty standing on our own yet there are those around us we can lean on who can provide the stability we need until we are able to stand on our own, “as a man, leaning in, supporting.”  Norris reinforces to me that the monuments we build throughout our lives are built with the support of others and that we are not alone although our creations we build are our own.

                Of course, we know that all things must eventually fall, we as humans will fall when we die.  Likewise, monuments also have their duration.  There is a time when, despite the process of building and creating, those statues that have been erected will crumble to the ground.  The elements of the earth and time both play a role against our monuments.   Percy Bysshe Shelley discusses this corrosion of our erections in "Ozymandias".  Shelley tells of a monument that, at one time, depicted a great king.  However, the statue which was erected in honor of this king has now fallen and is covered with sand in the desert.  All that can really be seen anymore are the “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone” signifying that although the legs are still there they no longer hold up the rest of the sculpture, nothing else is left standing.  I can’t help but compare the “wrinkled lip, and sneer cold command” from the half buried face of Ozymandias to the political statues of Stalin and Lenin and the prideful way in which a monument was erected to establish power and control which eventually fell, as did the power of the men themselves.  This process of falling is different because it is not the physical falling of an individual but rather the fall of an ideal for a greedy purpose. 

                I have to wonder why we try so hard to build, erect, and create if we know that it is not lasting and will someday crumble to the earth.  I conclude that the process is a representation of who we are.  We stand as a way of showing strength, power, and life.  Therefore, we spend our lives building around us, standing things up to help reiterate the fact that we too are here, and standing.  It is innate in us.  We cannot tear down without rebuilding because to tear down and leave alone would signify defeat.  As humans we cannot bear the thought of defeat.  Therefore, we begin the process of building in order to ensure that we are still standing in the monuments we erect.  All monuments eventually fall, but what they represent can continue to stand long after they are gone.

The Erection of Life

                To me, a poet’s work is about building or erecting an artist’s representation of something.  That representation is very similar to a metaphor.  Poetry allows us to see things in a different light with a new understanding.  I believe it was Dr. Scott Abbot who said that poets can take words that mean one thing and use them in a way which creates a whole new meaning.  I suppose this can be partly why poetry is difficult to understand sometimes, because we want to use the literal meaning for words yet it doesn’t fit with the context because the poet has changed the meaning to create something new and different with it.

                Rainer Maria Rilke is a great example of creating his own language with words.  There is such power and beauty in the metaphors used to build an explanation of our human existence.  Rilke's “Duino Elegies” , as with other poetry, are created structurally just as monuments, statues, and buildings are erected.  There is a foundation, a basic message, that must be expressed in a way that the purpose or idea can be told.  Rilke splits that structure into 10 Elegies that each build upon the last one and take the next step towards the ultimate message or purpose of the poetry, which to me is life and the purpose of life for us.  It is the process of beginning life, building who we are, what we will become, dying, and leaving a monument of ourselves erected for those we leave behind.  Rilke builds this life throughout the elegies and takes us through the process.  In The First Elegy there is talk of springtime which is the season of birth; it is the beginning of the life cycle.  This is the elegy that also mentions enduring “as the arrow endures the bowstrings tension, so that gathered in the snap of release it can be more than itself.”  To me, the beginning is the moment when we have the most potential, when everything is possible, just like the moment of suspension for an arrow.  The fact that this comes at the beginning of the “Duino Elegies”, in the first elegy, is no coincidence because the rest of the elegies that follow will show that potential and fulfill the possibilities.

                We continue on from the birth in The Second Elegy which talks about “early successes”.  This is beginning to form the accomplishment of possibilities and build from the first elegy.  It talks of creation and also finding our place in life, where we belong.  It is the process of becoming and establishing our existence.

                In The Third Elegy our purpose is seen and begins to push forth, unable to be held back any longer, and drives us to stand.  As is stated, “Ah, where are the years when you shielded him just by placing your slender form between him and the surging abyss?” we are beginning to lose our protection from the world and are starting to become exposed to the cruelty of life.

                As we progress into The Fourth Elegy we are taken further into the loss of protection as we start to feel conflict with our purpose and ask the question, “Am I not right?”  We recognize the innocence of our childhood, the days when we couldn’t wait to be older, to be able to drive, to be independent and in control of our own lives, and we start to long for those days again as we begin the process of moving from the unconscious state of childhood to the conscious state of adulthood. 

                We continue to build our lives as we enter The Fifth Elegy.  Duration is introduced to us, the ability to stand despite the world around us and all the times we will inevitably fall with the pains of life.  We move past stella, as Dr. Abbott referred to it -  the place in between, as we become fully conscious and aware of our being.

                As life continues on we move into The Sixth Elegy which talks of the fig tree which drops its blossoms and produces fruit.  “We enter the overdue interior of our final fruit” longing for youth and childhood and the innocence that accompanies them.

                In the Seventh Elegy we begin to see what we have been building throughout our lives and as we move into the Eighth Elegy we are able to reflect more upon our life and what has been done.  “Who has twisted us around like this, so that no matter what we do, we are in the posture of someone going away?  Just as, upon the farthest hill, which shows him his whole valley one last time, he turns, stops, lingers -, so we live here, forever taking leave.”  We begin to summarize our lives, to see what we have built, what has fallen, and what has been re-built.

                In The Ninth Elegy Rilke talks, again, about endurance.  It seems to be the last chance to make an effort to achieve our purpose.  “And so we keep pressing on, trying to achieve it, trying to hold it firmly in our simple hands, on our overcrowded gaze, in our speechless heart.  Trying to become it. – Whom can we give it to?”  This not only shows the idea of trying to desperately complete the process, but also the recognition that when our life is over, it is over.  We cannot take with us what we have built, so who will be left with our legacy that we leave behind and what will that legacy be? 

                The Tenth Elegy is the final phase of our life.  It is the completion of our purpose. “Alone, he climbs on, up the mountains of primal grief.  And not once do his footsteps echo from the soundless path.”  We move on from this life leaving behind all of the monuments that we built throughout our existence for those who will stay behind.  This is the point when, after a lifetime of trying to stand, we finally fall.

                John Ashbery talks about the moment in “the middle of the journey, before the sands are reversed” as the “place of ideal quiet.” (Three Poems)   I see this place as the moments in life where we have built something and it has yet to fall.  It is the peak of a relationship, when admiration, trust, loyalty, and love are at the highest point before life creates moments of mistrust and doubt that creep in.  It is the moment of achievement after we have worked so hard but before our minds begin to question.  It is the moment of ecstasy before reality comes back.  Ashbery also talks about photographs and capturing that moment in stillness.  He talks about life and that point when you decide for yourself what you want your life to be.  That moment is another one of his moments when the sands are still and have yet begun to reverse where everything stops and stands still.

                T. S. Eliot also discusses theses moments when he talks about “the still point of the turning world…Where past and future are gathered.  Neither movement from nor towards, neither ascent nor decline.  Except for the point, the still point.”(Four Quartets)  This is the moment when time comes together and no longer seems to exist. 

                Rilke, Ashbery, and Eliot all seem to not only talk about that moment when everything is still, but all of them also write about life from different perspectives.  They seem to all present the idea that there is a purpose, something that we are striving for and building as we live.  And perhaps for each of them, their poetry became their purpose.   Poetry is like life, a building up of ideas in order to create something that can remain once the poet is gone…their own monument to the world in words, rather than stone or marble, but with a foundation that will remain.

Rising to the Potential Within Us

                Although times have changed and ideas are evolving, in the past there has been a sense of familial structure that was acceptable to society. The father was generally seen as the one that led the family, making the decisions, and ensuring order and success.  The mother was the caregiver of the children, the nurturer, and the one who maintained the daily running of the household.  It became a bit fuzzier with the children because there hasn’t been a set structure for children aside from the fact that they were to be obedient to their parents and help pull their weight within the household.  However, what weight they were expected to pull was usually left to interpretation within each familial structure.  There have been times, way more often than we would hope and more than anyone wants to admit, when the accepted cultural structure of a family has not conformed or has become disrupted for whatever reason.  We saw three very good examples of this disruption in our readings this semester.  I would like to break down the components of the family and focus on each individual and how they were represented in each reading.

FATHERS

                The fathers showed up in some very different ways.  The Commandant in “The Marquise of O-” written by Heinrich Von Kleist, appears to be a very strict father with high expectations for his family, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor is it a surprise when you consider the position he held in society.  He had a reputation to uphold when it came to his family and their place in higher society.  When the socially acceptable order of his household was disrupted by a pregnancy out of wedlock by his daughter he becomes furious.  Knowing how this will affect the whole family, he banishes his daughter and disowns her because he does not believe in her claimed innocence.  As he is trying to protect the reputation of his family and maintain the structure that has been established, he is very strong and stands erect trying to maintain what he has fought so hard to build within his family and in community.  He will not sit by and let an act by his daughter ruin their standing in society. 

                In contrast to this familial structure where the father takes such a leading role we have the father in “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka.  In this family, the father starts out as someone who does not take his role as father at all.  He does not work, and in fact, it seems that he rarely even stands erect.  He sits around eating and reading the newspapers all day in his robe and requires his son to take his role as patriarch and support the family.   He provides no support to the family financially or in any other way.  However, after his son’s metamorphism, making him unable to provide, the father picks up his role and begins to work and assume the natural structure of the family as a provider.  He begins to stand up for his family and in fact, at one point Gregor, the son, realizes that roles have changed when he sees his father in his uniform he wears for work and has to look up, tilting his head back, in order to look at his father.  He describes his confusion at seeing this man who used to always be either sitting or lying down and “being quite incapable of standing up” but now “stood quite steady” while in turn, he, Gregor, is now the one creeping around close to the floor, unable to stand erect.

                Mark Jarman's story of “Iris” lacks the typical familial structure.  Although there are men who play the role of husband and father, they come and go and there is not a stable figure.   There is one reference that I believe created a great deal of influence on Iris, and that was the man that she was married to for 4 years who beat her.  I also believe that Iris’s childhood was filled with different husbands and boyfriends of her mother’s, and this would have played a large role in her feeling that life had always been “attained through horizontal movement.  Flight was escape, and rescue and escape were Iris’s religion.”, even though the men weren’t around long.  Without the stability of a father figure or male role, I can imagine the feeling of insecurity and lack of safety that Iris might have felt her whole life, always running to get away from them.  I also feel like that might be why she became so entrenched in Robinson Jeffers and living vicariously through his poetry.  He became a male figure she could relate to and go to when she needed guidance.  Everyone needs to feel safety and security and without a male figure in her life, she sought it out in her readings and felt that connection with Jeffers.

MOTHERS 

                The mothers of these stories also had unique roles.  In “The Marquise of O-” the mother is one who seems to stand up to her daughter and can be very aggressive and demanding of her, however, she is down on her knees a lot when she is around her husband and begging for the sake of the daughter.  She is very nurturing and wants to do what she can to allow her daughter to return back into the family structure after she has been banished, however, she is also conniving in trying to trick the daughter into admitting her secret.  I see the mother as bouncing back and forth between her allegiance to her daughter and to her husband.

                In “The Metamorphosis” the mother seems to be slightly nurturing when Gregor is thought to be sick in the beginning but once she discovers he has changed she loses the ability to look at him, see him, or interact with him.  Her concern seems to be more about the structure and order of the family and what will happen now that he is no longer providing.  However, similar to the father, the mother rises to the occasion and takes her place in the family structure when it is required.  They let the maid go and the mother assumes the responsibility of cooking and also begins sewing to help bring in financial support as well. 

                In “Iris” the role of mother is the most important role both with Iris’s mother and also with Iris as a mother.  Iris follows the example of her mother and just allows herself to latch on to whatever man is willing to help provide despite the dysfunctional relationship or dynamics of the family structure.  She is proud of the fact that her relationships at least lasted longer than her mother’s did.   As a mother Iris is very protective of her daughter and tries to provide for her.  I like the line “She had herself lifted her daughter up away from death, but as a mother cat mouths a kitten in its fangs and picks it off the floor.”  She knew that she had helped her daughter to rise above the difficulties of their life and had protected her enough to give her a better life.  I don’t believe there is a better depiction of a mother than one who can help her children rise above life’s trials. 

CHILDREN

                The role of children in these stories is interesting.  While Gregor is required to assume the role of the provider for his family in “The Metamorphosis” he is never really appreciated for what he does, and in fact, seems to be even looked at as holding the family back in some ways.  I was frustrated at the end of the story when it is discussed that now they can find a place to live that is not only cheaper in rent, since they can downsize now that Gregor is dead, but also has a better location and is more practical than their current living conditions, which Gregor had selected.  This implied, to me, that Gregor’s family viewed him as a hindrance that had not allowed them to be happy.  Yet, Gregor was the one that provided food on the table, shelter, and some sense of family order.  There were so many poignant moments in this story for Gregor.  Initially, when he goes through the transition of metamorphosis, it is so difficult for him to get up.  He struggles so much to get out of bed and it takes him a long time.  To me this was representative of his struggle to find a place and position in his family.  He had to work hard to become a traveling salesman and also to pay off his father’s debt and provide for his family.  He also had to work to establish a position within his own family which still seemed to be a struggle for him.    I felt the symbolism when he finally took the proper posture for a vermin and “flopped down upon his many tiny legs.  The instant this happened, he felt a physical ease and comfort for the first time that morning.”  I saw this as relief that he no longer had to stand and represent his family.  He was free of his responsibilities and it felt good and comfortable, which it should since he was not the father and should not have had the responsibility in the first place.  It felt comfortable because he was being allowed to assume the role of a son rather than the father and provider (despite the fact that he was now not even the son, but a pest instead).   It was sad that after all Gregor had done for his family the only time they noticed his sacrifice was when he had died and was no longer standing, even on his little legs.  Once he had been drawn completely down to the floor with no ability to stand in any form, then they noticed him and what he had gone through.

                The thing that struck me most with the Marquise in “The Marquise of O-” was how her stances changed depending on what role she was playing.  It seemed that as a daughter or sister she was always on her knees, or some other low position but whenever it came time for her to represent her own family, herself and her children, she would rise up, stand up for them, and let her stature show her position and role as a mother and widow.  For instance, when the father banished her from his house, “she had just thrown herself at his feet and tremblingly clasped his knees.” And then rose up to run from the room when the pistol went off.  However, just moments later as she is gathering her children and getting them ready to leave her brother appears and tells her that her father has demanded that the children stay with him in his home.  She comes to her feet and uses her erect stature to stand up for herself and her children and refuses to leave them there but instead insists that they will be with her, that her father cannot take them from her.  There is also the newspaper advert that the Marquise places in order to ascertain who the father of her child is.  She is willing to lose her social standing and be looked down on in order to protect her child and provide the proper family structure for that child when he/she is born.  This is a moment when I view her as standing erect and strong in defense of the unborn within her.

                I found the fact that once Gregors family had given up on him, he gave up as well and died shortly after. However, in contrast, when the Marquise’s family believed her innocence and came to her side, she was strong enough to establish a life for herself and stand up for herself and her children.  Likewise, with Iris, the fact that she believed in her daughter and tried to provide structure and stability for her enabled her as well.  I liked the idea that Ruth, her daughter, gets married in a hot air balloon, giving perfect meaning to the metaphor of rising above…she is rising above it all to build her own familial structure, thanks to the support of her own mother.  To me, all three of these stories emphasize the role that members of a family play, not only to the structure of a family as a whole, but also in the ability of individuals within that structure to be able to stand on their own within the family and  society.

Rilke's Duino Elegies

As I read these elegies I determined that Rilke is talking to the angels.  Although he is terrified of them, he is willing to address them because I believe his fear is one of ignorance.  He does not understand the angels, they are a mystery to him, and so he is afraid of the unknown.  However, he also wants to understand the angels and wants them to understand him.  I see the Duino Elegies as his attempt to explain to the angels who we, as humans are and communicate with them.

Rilke seems to keep coming back to the question of what our purpose as humans is in our state of existence.  It seems like throughout all ten elegies, Rilke asks the question or addresses the concept of purpose in many different ways both directly and indirectly.  As he talks about the innocence of a child before he is introduced to the level of consciousness, he is addressing the mother who protects the child from the inevitable fate of adulthood and asks the question “he seemed protected…But inside: who could ward off, who could divert, the floods of origin inside him?”  This sends the clear message that our purpose as humans cannot be held back and avoided.  We have a task to fulfill as we progress through our existence. 

In reading Rilke’s words, I felt like the purpose for us was the building up of our own existence and our own lives.  We are here to create our own world.  We are born in innocence.  As we are exposed to the realities of the world around us, we are compelled to erect a resemblance of who we are, for others to see and understand.  We are constantly building, creating, and perfecting who we are, what we represent, and what we want our lives to be.  The sense of being, and the environment that encompasses our being, becomes vital to our existence.  Therefore, our lives are a monument, a statue in a sense, of who we are and the life we have lived.  As Rilke so profoundly stated in the Eighth Elegy, “It fills us.  We arrange it.  It breaks down.  We rearrange it, then break down ourselves.”  This is what life is all about for us as humans.  We are continually building our lives and who we are, our very existence.  We see the things we have worked so hard for, crumble in front of us.  We love and then lose that love.  We dream and watch our dreams fall.  We strive to succeed only to fail.  Yet every day we get up.  We rise out of bed.  We stand up and start over again.  Still daring to love, dream, and strive to succeed.  We do this, despite the falling that we have experienced, because that is our way of survival and being.  We do this, because we are built to stand erect, not to lie down and surrender.   However, in the end, after we spent our lives standing up and trying again, we will ultimately fall as we die and in the end, after all the building, we will “break down ourselves”.

Throughout our lives, we leave our mark and influence others around us.  As the Second Elegy asks, “Does the infinite space we dissolve into, taste of us then?”  I say yes, because everywhere we go, and everything we do, leaves a reminder that we have lived and stood as an individual in our existence.  Even after we leave this world, others will know we were here and stood where we stood.

Rilke seems to address life with the metaphor of seasons.  When we enter existence, “the springtime needed you” [First Elegy] and when we leave our existence, “when does your winter come? We are not in harmony, our blood does not forewarn us like migratory birds’.  Late, overtaken, we force ourselves abruptly onto the wind and fall to earth as some iced-over lake.” [Fourth Elegy].   I felt his line in the Tenth Elegy, “Alone, he climbs on, up the mountain of primal grief.  And not once do his footsteps echo from the soundless path” was very profound and summed it up for me quite well.  We are on our journey through life and are here to fulfill our purpose of creating and building our own existence, and it is a journey that we must ultimately make alone.  Although we will have help along the way, what we build is ours and ours alone.  My life is my life, and I have to take responsibility for the monument that I erect in representation of myself, that will last after I leave my existence.

I am still trying to wrap my head around these Duino Elegies because I feel like there is so much more to them that I am missing.  There are emotions such as love, loss, death, joy, and so many other experiences that Rilke touches on in here.  There is so much more to be learned and understood.

Mid-term

             We have often heard the phrase “stand for something or you’ll fall for anything”.  However, we all know that we don’t literally “stand” for something in order to avoid a physical “fall”.  We use this phrase as a metaphor to imply that “standing” becomes a representation.  Throughout history women have been, and continue to be, thought of and represented in many different ways.  Some of these representations are positive and uplifting, yet some are negative and degrading.  I chose to do my paper on 4 pieces of art that depict women in 4 different ways, and share with you my interpretation of those ways.

Gaston Lachaise's woman standing

Women are Independent

Gaston Lachaise’s Woman Standing depicts a very strong, serious, independent, and almost intimidating woman.   I get the sense that she is poised and ready for something.  Her stance is interesting to me.  Her feet are planted flat on the ground showing how steady she is, however, her right foot is pointing forward which gives a further sense of being solid and planted while her left foot is turned out to the side with the toes pointing down slightly giving the feel of a dancing position.  To me this gives a feeling of openness and is one of the only feminine traits of her stance.  She is planted and independent, yet open and willing to be influenced by others as well.  Her hands are on her hips but are not placed evenly.  The right hand is high on the hip bone and faces forward while the left hand is on the lower hip and upper thigh and is facing down.  The unevenness of her hand placement gives a sense of being off balance which contradicts the position of her feet.   Her lower legs, arms, and shoulders have definition in their muscular build, as well as a slight definition in her abdomen.  This signifies strength and toughness.  Her facial expression is one of seriousness.  She looks almost stern and seems to be looking down which gives a sense of superiority over something or someone.  Yet despite all the details that make her seem almost masculine it is impossible to ignore the feminine full figure.  Her wide hips and round abdomen give a sense of childbearing and her erect nipples on full breasts give a reminder that she is still a woman. 

Henry Moore's reclining figure

Women are Sex Symbols

Henry Moore’s sculpture exhibited in Kew Gardens started out one way for me and then took a totally different turn.  She was the first piece of art from the selection of artwork that caught my attention.  At first glance it looks as though she is leaning on something and splitting all her weight between the ground and the middle piece of the sculpture.  I saw the chunk missing from her head as a symbol of mindlessness, ignorance, or unintelligence.   However, as I researched this piece of art and found other angles of this same sculpture I discovered that it is all one piece and is actually a reclining figure.  This changed the whole context for me.  I went from seeing something that was weak and having to rely on other things to maintain an up position, to seeing something that is strong in a different sense.  Although she is not standing, this structure still implies an erection.  This sculpture, in its reclining position, becomes sexual to me as I imagine that perhaps she is lying down and sprawled out as an invitation for a sexual encounter to come and meet her in the park and satisfy her.  Her breasts are full and perky and very visible to the eye, drawing attention.   The chunk missing from her head is symbolic of the act about to take place.  It is a moment when she can put all her worries and cares aside and forget them for a moment of pure pleasure.  I see the middle section of the sculpture as her hips and pelvic area with the leg protruding out from beyond the hips.    The leg is off to one side exposing the hips and pelvic area giving the sense of opening up, an invitation, if you will.  The triangular opening on the left side of her hip suggests a point of entry that is open and ready for a sexual encounter, for an erection.  The fact that the sculpture is outdoors in nature sends a message to me that the sexual encounter she is awaiting is a natural occurrence that takes place and that procreation is a natural purpose for women. 

sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle

Women are Whimsical

           The sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle depicts a woman having fun.  She seems playful and whimsical which gives a sense of youth.  Her head is small and gets lost among everything else, which signifies that intellect and thinking either aren’t her strong points or aren’t her focus, again bringing more focus to her playfulness.  Her left leg is cocked up and back as if she is dancing and her hips imply a motion of swaying.  She is holding a rope of some kind and that also seems to give a feel of movement and dancing.  The sense of movement is almost unsettling to me, as if she is unstable and unsure so she is flighty and unpredictable.  To me it feels fun but ridiculous all at the same time.   She is a full figured woman with large hips, but for some reason it doesn’t play into the child bearing depiction for me with this one and I guess that is because there is nothing about this statue that seems to be serious so motherhood doesn’t fit.  Therefore, it becomes full-figured without a purpose.  Her left breast is painted to look like a target which gives a somewhat playful reminder of her gender orientation and sexual purpose. 

The interesting feature of this statue, to me, were the wings.  The first thing I noticed is that they are metallic, which is a different medium than the rest of the bright colors.  The metallic gave a sense of value to the wings that I don’t see in the rest of her,  as if her wings were the most valuable and important part of her, in her mind.  Initially that thought led me to believe that it was because the wings gave her a sense of taking flight which to me says that she will not be pinned down and required to take life seriously.  Instead, she will just soar into the sky and fly away because life is too short to be held down in one place.  However, upon closer reflection of the wings I began to notice all the holes and gaps.  These gaps will contradict wind resistance which will not allow her to take flight.  So then I wondered if the value of the wings to her was that they actually kept her grounded and somewhat stable.  Because the wings could not give her flight, they actually provided a sense of stability she wouldn’t otherwise have.  

Picasso's Family of Saltimbanques

Women are Submissive

                  As I researched the painting of Picasso's Family of Saltimbanques to try to better understand the situation and what was happening, I realized that my initial interpretation of the painting was actually quite different.  The painting is of a circus family who, in their time, would have been looked down upon by society, in a sense, as not being socially accepted. (Selections) Knowing this, I looked at the painting and the woman, who I don’t believe is the mother of the family, and saw her as an aristocrat who deemed herself superior to the circus performers and was distancing herself from them. The fact that she is sitting sends a message of snobbery, that she is not willing to stand with them because they are not worthy of that.  In that sense she takes on the superior one in the painting as if she is looking down on them as a message of status, wealth, and superiority. 
            However, my initial interpretation of the painting was quite different, prior to having researched what the painting was about.  When I looked at this painting without any knowledge of its background I saw a family all standing erect, except the woman, which suggests submissiveness and perhaps a slight condescension or lower rank.  I also feel as though the woman is sending a message of defeat by distancing herself from the rest of the group and placing herself in a more submissive non-erect stance.  I found it interesting that 3 of the 5 other characters in the picture seem to be looking in her direction which gives back a sense of importance that almost equalizes her again.  All of those who are standing seem to have their feet poised in different dance positions.  I thought it was interesting that 3 of the 5 ballet foot positions are represented.   The boy holding the barrel is standing in the first position, the dad and the girl are standing in the second position, and the boy in blue is standing in the third position.  This gives a graceful flow to the painting and also adds a sense of athleticism to it as well.  There are 6 individuals in the painting however, only 2 (the father and the daughter) are touching and only 2 (the father and the older gentleman in red) appear to be conversing.  The rest of the people are at least close to each other despite the lack of connection, except the woman, who is off on her own. To me, the woman doesn't seem to fit in in this painting.  There is no place for her here and it is like she has just been stuck in the corner because she doesn't really belong.  Even her attire doesn't fit with the others in the painting.  The father, who would typically be seen as the dominant figure in a family, is standing tall but has his head turned to the side and his left arm behind his back, which takes away some authority and seems to me as though he is trying to hide the fact that he is reaching for the support of the woman from behind.  These gestures also imply a laid back feeling that takes away some of the power from standing erect that he might otherwise hold. The older gentleman is wearing red, which signifies power.  Because he is the oldest one in the painting, I felt that he had a sense of dominance represented from his age.  Somehow, although the mother is sitting while all the others are standing, she still seems to grab my attention in this painting.  I think the eye lines that follow from the dad and the 2 boys force you to look away from those standing and send you back to the mother.    I found it interesting that without knowing the story behind the painting, I somehow still felt a sense that her presence in the painting had some dominance, she does not exert power herself, but I am still drawn to notice her despite her position of sitting.
  
               As I look at these four pieces of artwork I see a contrast in the way that women are looked upon and portrayed in the initial analysis.  However, upon closer reflection I find that they all seem to come back to the idea that women are not viewed any differently than men.  What is seen is in the eye of the beholder.  Men can be viewed as dominant, playful, sexual, and sensitive or gentle just like women are.  Each individual, regardless of gender, portrays their own sense of being in relation to the world around them and just like women have been looked upon and portrayed in a variety of ways, depending on the era of history.  As individuals we take on different roles in our lives depending on the situation and circumstances we find ourselves in. 

                In respect to the metaphor of standing, I see two different aspects represented.  The first is the physical standing of the women in these pieces of artwork.  In 2 of the 4, the women are literally standing erect giving a sense of individualism, strength, and self-identity.  The other 2 art pieces have the women either sitting or lying down which takes away some of the strength and authority that can be otherwise viewed.  However, there still seemed to be individuality and independence in a different sense.  The women still portray their purpose and give a sense of how they were feeling in a direct manner. 

The other method of standing that I saw was a sense of what women “stand” for.  The different portrayals of women caused me to reflect not only on what they stood for as I saw them in the artwork, but also made me wonder what I do on a daily basis to reflect what I stand for as a woman.  As I looked at and studied the pieces of art, I found myself likening the different images to myself, situations in my life, and using those situations to give meaning to the art.  As we learn in Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, that is what metaphors are all about:  experientialism.  I would see the woman painted by Picasso, who appears to me, at first, to be submissive, and relate how it would feel to be her, cast to the side, and looked down upon, according to my own experiences when I have been in similar situations.  I would see the playful sculpture of Niki De Saint Phalle, and imagine times when I have felt that nothing could hold me down, when I felt I was on top of the world and free to live life to the fullest.  I saw myself in the sculpture of Henry Moore, as a woman in control of my body, knowing that I had the ability to use my sexual characteristics to rise up and literally pique the interest of my husband.  I saw the times when I felt the confidence that was portrayed in the woman sculpted by Gaston Lachaise, when I felt I was in control of my life and nothing could bring me down.   I think that is what makes art so powerful, the ability to use metaphors to liken it to our own experiences and suddenly understand what we are looking at on a personal level.  Yet, in all of these situations I would also be reminded that there was the moment when those feelings would go away and I was brought back to everyday reality, when I was no longer “standing” tall, strong, or in control.  It reminded me that although we walk erect, stand erect, and have an upright posture, there are times when we fall and are just as insignificant as other creatures that cannot stand as we do.  However, there are also times when we may not be able to stand, but can still exhibit power, strength, and confidence in a position devoid of erection.  We have our ups and downs in life that are all part of standing.  It is just like a structure or sculpture; everything and everyone has a limit to how long it can stand.  One day I will no longer be erect, but there are still so many things that I can continue to stand for even when that day comes.  

Works Cited

Selections from the Modern and Contemporary Collections.         www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/20centpa/20centpa-46665.html.

pictures of political statues



Saddam Hussein
atwar.blogs.nytimes.com
 

Vladimir Lenin
Wikipedia (Bronks)

Fall of Lenin
Segue.atlas.uiuc.edu

head of Hussein

washingtonpost.com (Oleg Nikishin) 

        head of Lenin

                  Onefootinberlin.com

Political Statues

The Rise and Fall of Political Statues

“Monumental statues of socialist martyrs and the ideological fathers of communism marked many GDR [German Democratic Republic] cityscapes as unequivocally socialist.  Such monuments were carefully designed to occupy symbolic and ritual space at the heart of urban centres, and were intended to serve as the location of political demonstrations and ceremonies – yet in reality became little more than empty ritual symbols.  …they adopted a new symbolic potency, standing not only as historic documents, but also as potent sites of memory.”  (brackets added) (Saunders)

Throughout history, statues have been designed and erected as a means of stating many different things such as self-promotion, a shrine in memory of others, a symbol of ideology or religion, and even idolatry.  As we read in Metaphors We Live By, there is great power in the words we use.  The erection of a statue implies the orientation of “up”.  Some of the metaphors that were used in the book in relation to “up” can also infer meaning to statues.  “I have control over her”, “I am at the top of the situation”, “He’s in the high command”, “His power rose”, “He ranks above me in strength”, “He’s at the height of his power”.  (Lakoff 15)  The symbol of erecting also denotes superiority, control, power, and dominance.   While not all statues were constructed for that purpose, I feel that it exemplifies political statues.  In an effort for self-promotion the subject or political figure represented wants people to remember the power and strength he/she possesses because that gives reason to maintain leadership and control.  Likewise, others can erect statues of their leaders as a means of expressing their recognition of the strength, command, and leadership that is held.

We have seen, in our own lifetime, the fall of a dictator.  Saddam Hussein, who had statues erected in his behalf throughout Iraq, as a reminder to the people of his leadership and power, lost control of his regime in the recent past.  As part of his fall, in 2003 we were all able to watch the toppling of a statue he had erected of himself.(Fahmy)  As the American soldiers helped a group of Iraqis pull down the statue the message was sent to the world that Saddam Hussein was no longer recognized as a leader and that his power had fallen in the eyes of the Iraqi people who were there that day.

I found the story of Vladimir Ilich Lenin to be particularly interesting because from 1917, when he began his leadership, up to and even perhaps beyond 1970 at the commemoration of his centenary of birth, statues were continuing to be erected.  When Lenin died in January of 1924, the people of  Russia demonstrated devastation and great loss.  They revered their leader, loved him, admired him, and even idolized him as a god-like man.  Because they could not bear to let him go and face the end of his leadership, they had his body preserved so that it could be on display for the people to see.  Suddenly, images of Lenin were everywhere.  Murals of him were painted on building walls, busts of his head were placed throughout the country, and statues were erected to honor this great man. (Smith)  In short, he was immortalized, larger than life, like the statues themselves.  The statues and monuments of Lenin became gathering places for the people of Russia where they could come to celebrate and also mourn a man so beloved in their eyes.  “As Rudy Koshar remarks, ‘Objectively considered, such historical sites are mere constructions of stone, wood, brick, concrete, and steel.  Their meanings derive from public action.’  Monuments in the GDR thus became the locus of ritual acts, such as the laying of wreaths, annual processions and commemorative ceremonies.” (Saunders)  The statues themselves didn’t have as much of an impact in comparison to the people who would actually gather at these sites to worship and honor. 

For over 60 years after his death Lenin was held in high regard by the people of Russia and surrounding countries who also “benefited” from his rule.  However, in 1989 documents written by Lenin were discovered and began to make their way to the press.  These writings of Lenin exposed a man very different from the man the people had always perceived and believed him to be.    They were shocked at “documents showing that Lenin’s goodness was a myth…and convinced many that Lenin, in fact, was ‘the true father of the Bolshevik concentration camps, the executions, the mass terror, and the ‘organ’ which stood above the state.’ “(Smith)  At this discovery, the people regarded their leader not as “a deified cult leader” but instead as an “antichrist”.  Smith continues, “his shrines became unwelcome reminders of the Soviet people’s misplaced devotion.  Accordingly, monuments and memorials of Lenin began to fall like dominoes.”  The greatness, power, leadership, and love that the people had felt for Lenin fell as the true nature of this man was revealed – from hero to villain. As the book Metaphors We Live By so appropriately states in metaphor, “He fell from power”.  (Lakoff  15) 

As time went on and the realization of Lenin’s leadership began to settle over the people of Russia, “Lenin’s public monuments began to disappear.  In August 1991 the gigantic statue of Lenin in Kiev’s Central Square came down, and in June 1992 the ten-story high bronze statue of Lenin in  Tashkent was toppled during the night.”  (Smith)  The most interesting to me was the statue of Lenin that stood in the courtyard of the Kremlin.  In October of 1994, at the claim that the statue was going to be under repair for a time, a large wooden fence was built around the statue.  With no sign that renovation or work had been done on the statue, the fence remained in place after three months had passed.  “After much prodding, and a sizable donation to a Kremlin guard, [Smith] learned that the statue had been taken to Lenin’s former estate at Leninskii-Gorki…  The fence, the guard explained, was simply a device to ease the transition and to prevent public outcry.  It would remain until it became a familiar fixture.  When it eventually came down people would care that the eyesore fence, not the statue, was gone.”  (Smith)  The fall of the statues of Lenin reflected the fall of Lenin and his leadership.  “Formerly the god of the entire communist world, by the 1990s Lenin had become merely a ‘historical figure’ in his nation’s saga.”  (Smith)  The fencing of the Kremlin statue seems symbolic to me.  After Lenin’s death, the people of Russia had, in stages, continued to become more enamored by him.  They had used him as a means to compare other leadership styles and methods.  They progressively continued to idealize Lenin.  Likewise, in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s as he reached the peak and began to decline in the minds of the people, Lenin began to be replaced by other ideology, in stages.  People began to look at how evil he might have been and gradually began to embrace that their hero had become a villain. 

Lenin, like many other political figures who we have seen fall, went from being immortalized in the eyes of those he ruled, with statues and monuments erected as a symbol of the large and powerful man that he was, to being destroyed and falling in the minds of those who had once revered him .   

In conclusion, it is not just the falling of stones, rocks, bricks, marble, and other natural elements which symbolize a political leader as no longer being above others; it is the falling of the man himself.  When their power has fallen and is no longer considered to be reverenced or admired, that is when they are no longer worthy to be a leader.  Lenin and Hussein were just men, like everyone else, unworthy of being set up high above the rest to look down upon us.  After their fall they were equal -if even that.

Works Cited

Fahmy, Shahira. “They Took It Down”: Exploring Determinants of Visual Reporting in the Toppling of the

Saddam Statue in National and International Newspapers.  Mass Communication & Society

(2007): 143-170.

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,

1980.

Saunders, Anna. “The Ghosts of Lenin, Thalmann and Marx in the post-socialist cityscape.” German Life

and Letters 63:4 (2010): 441-57.

Smith, Trevor J. “The Collapse of the Lenin Personality Cult in Soviet Russia”. Historian; Winter 98 Vol 60

Issue 2. (1998): 325-45.