Reinvention in Ragtime
In Ragtime, historical and fictional characters alike exist within its plot, interacting and affecting each other through unique means. Often, the collection of characters seem so different from one another that the idea of them associating or being a part of the same book makes no feasible sense. However, one connecting thread between many of the character arcs is the idea of reinvention. Despite their differences, most of Ragtime’s cast tries or wishes to start a new life or remake themselves in some way, which makes the idea of reinvention a central theme in Ragtime.
One of the first examples of this theme is Evelyn Nesbit’s character. In the public eye, Evelyn is known as a sex icon, and as the central figure in the love triangle between her husband, Harry K. Thaw, and Stanford White, which results in the murder of White. While in court, Evelyn presents herself as a doting wife to Harry K. Thaw, in her interactions with Tateh and Emma Goldman, it becomes clear that her public persona does not match her internal thoughts and desires. In reality, she despises her abusive husband, and fixates on Tateh and his child to find something more meaningful in her life. Eventually, when she divorces from her husband, donates the divorce money to anarchist organizations, and runs off with a Ragtime pianist, she deviates from her public persona, and leaves the celebrity sphere altogether. She leaves her glamorous, on-display life behind and fades into obscurity, which is perhaps what she wanted all along. By the end of the book, Evelyn has reinvented herself.
Other characters that follow the same concept of reinvention are Tateh and Younger Brother. When they are first introduced, they are both suffering. Tateh struggles to take care of his daughter in the tenements, unable to give her the life she deserves. Younger Brother is lost, without an idea of his identity or purpose. Both of these men up and leave their old life behind, with Tateh and his daughter leaving New York and eventually finding their way to Massachuessets, where he becomes a successful filmmaker. Younger Brother leaves the hum drum and proper life of Mother and Father by first joining Coalhouse Walker’s group, and then finding his way to Mexico, where he fights in the Mexican Revolution. Both characters by the end of the story have reinvented themselves and found a new life that fulfills them. I think this trope extends past the three characters that I’ve mentioned as well, these are just the ones that stuck out to me the most.
I think this is an interesting theme considering this seems to be a book about Americans and their ideals at the time and during this era they believed in the "American success story." Houdini I think is also an interesting character in this book because he has already undergone his reinvention before the book even begins but he has moments where he looks back on where he came from.
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ReplyDeleteHi Clara! Great job on your blog post. The three characters you mentioned were all reflections of the changing times, which they used to their advantage to become successful. This is especially apparent in the case of Tateh, who uses the rise of the American movie industry to build himself up. Another character who was also successful in reinventing herself was Mother. In the beginning, she was a docile wife who stayed in an unhappy marriage which she had little control over. However, as the story progresses, she slowly becomes more independent and ends up as a more educated woman who is more satisfied with her life.
ReplyDeleteGeat point about the sort of internal discongruence with Evelyn! I think that this idea of reinvention is, for all of them, a reaction to the sort of material realities of the developing industrial society. Younger Brother is perhaps initially the "guilty liberal" Ben Reitman describes, and motivated primarily by a desire for Emma Goldmans attention, but with Goldmans words and as the story progresses he becomes radicalized and develops a keen fire for revolutionary politics. (There is only one struggle throughout the world, there is only the flame of freedom trying to light the hideous darkness of life on earth. The applause was deafening. Younger Brother had no money. He turned out his pockets, mortified to see all around him people who reeked of their poverty coming up with handfuls of change.) I think Tateh is disillusioned by the strength and fury of the capitalist class bourgeois state in striking down workers' strike or rebellion and is disillusioned and without hope more than it's really about financial status (The book references the Homestead strike earlier, and he has lived in poverty for most of his life.) And I think for Mother, as you said, its something she has been feeling for a long time and has finally found recognition in Goldman's works. She has seen it put into words and suddenly has the will to remove herself from the situation (much like Mother—extremely analogous lines)
ReplyDeleteNice job Clara! I think the idea of Evelyn's disappearance from the narrative as reflecting her disappearance from the public eye is really interesting! There is a lot of contrast throughout the first part of the book between her public and private life, and we definitely see how her notoriety interrupts the more genuine, "real" relationships she builds--for example, it causes Emma Goldman to "out" her to Tateh, and it sparks Younger Brother's stalker-ish obsession with her, which eventually ruins her intimate moment of healing with Goldman.
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