The Waste Land

When, at the beginning of the semester, I learned that we would be studying “The Waste Land,” I was filled with dread. After reading it this past weekend, I felt only slightly better because, as I mentioned in class, I still didn’t understand how the various sections connected. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I thoroughly enjoyed Monday’s class! By focusing on each section individually, I could easily pick out the commonalities between them. I was really torn between my elation at finally “getting it” (at least somewhat) and the realization that the poem can be extremely depressing.

One of the things that stood out to me was Eliot’s view on male/female relations. Dr. Johnson mentioned Eliot’s negative attitude toward women, but I thought he seemed to really have negative views on both men and women in terms of their sexuality. In the second section, Eliot seems to be looking negatively on both Lil and Albert. Yes, he could be saying that Lil is casting aside her husband’s sexual needs, but look at Albert. He almost lost his wife when she had her last child but Albert still won’t “leave her alone.” Also, we can reference the typist and her “carbuncular young man.” I’m not sure if it is simply because Eliot used the word “assaults” (on line 239) but I basically looked at it as a sort of rape. Again, we can say that the typist just did not care about closeness or sexual relations, but I feel that both parties were equally to blame for the lack of relationship between them.