Faces of Madness

1
Faces of Madness

• Romantic Love and Class An American Version in
  1950s

2
Plot

• Beginning William introduced his name, family,
  love of music and hatred of policeman (1-4)
• Middle A. Love and Consequences
• 1. Jean and William in love (4- 5) exclusivity
  and poetry writing
• 2. Pregnancy and Ws the parents responses
  (5-10)
• 3. Ws mothers intervention (9 - ) vs. the
  twos feeble attempts at communication
• 4. Aftermath Jean sent to her aunts and
  William back to school

3
Plot

• Middle B Revelation Search (16-)
• Harvey vs. Bill
• Found Coralee
• Ending the wedding and Jean

4
Questions

• What comes in the way of the two lovers? What
  role does class play in it?
• Who are mad in the story? And who are victims of
  their own romance?
• Can we do a psychoanalytic reading of this story?
  

5
William, Jean their Families

• W
• brought up with pets, a car and opera music
• -- rebellious and thought everything easy (6)
• Ws familys responses protective and
  hypocritical
• Jeans familys responses impressed by W (6)
  practical and moralistic
• The two families prejudices against each other
  
• ordinary people 4 p. 10

6
Williams Romance

• Believes in the love stories in the opera p. 2
• His relationship with Jean
• Elements of romance p. 4
• a means to transcend the banal environment
• music as a supplement p. 5
• Obedient to his parents ? unable to be a
  romantic hero under the window p. 12
• success and disengagement
• his final romance p. 25
• (in contrast to Harvey). pp. 22, 23

7
The Mothers Romance

• Precarious experience through the letters p. 11
• Her letters breaking all the rules of romance
• Class difference shown
• Antagonizing the youngsters by having them
  criticize each others parents
• the girl accusing W, with all the practical
  concerns of money and child birth
• Gender inequality shown
• William finding his true love.
• Jean complaining about being burdened with child
  birth.