Initial Personal Reaction:
Initially my reaction was love at first sight and joy for her. How likely do people meet and feel the awesome connection that she did to have married so soon. My thought was that they met; things clicked and passionate feelings overwhelmed the two. Typically, with everyone, there is the honeymoon stage and that—sometimes generates an overwhelming feeling; hence, love at first sight. Consequently, with some individuals, like her, it leads to marriage. When I continued with the reading, my feeling started to change. I thought wow, what have she got herself into. Suddenly I felt a sense of sympathy and uncertainty of the marriage.
Literary Element/Thematic Analysis:
The elements and thematic analysis would by the symbolic and visual imagery of the hand. The hand symbolizes the ugly truth. Ultimately, the truth of realizing how little she knew him was essentially hideous. The thought of the long-term outcome of this marriage is dreadful. Most compelling evidence is “the light, flowing out from under the edge of a parasol of bluish crystal, build up against the hand and made every contour of the skin apparent, exaggerating the powerful knuckles and the veins engorged by the pressure on the arm.” This indicates her wake up call, her expelling realization of the marriage, contingent rationalization towards the marriage, and the focus of this long journey in marriage has overwhelmed her and put this huge pressure on her. With this in mind, the hand will still be there, this marriage is still there, she will have to overlook and move forward by not turning back and that is why she kissed the hand.
Questions/Comments:
Do you think this conflict will eventually cause the marriage in a divorce?