From what we've seen of Frances, she seems like a pretty off-putting character. Even before we get her name, we're introduced to the fact that how she took up with Robert Cohn simply to "rise with" his magazine, and how when it didn't, "she became a little disgusted with Cohn and decided that she might as well get what there was to get while there was still something available". From this, we can presume that Frances isn't with Robert because she loves or really cares about him, but because she wants things from him (at least from Jake's point of view). An example would be the dinner scene that followed these bits of description, and how Frances seems incredibly jealous and possessive. From what we can gather, it seems like Frances disapproves of Robert’s interactions with any girl. How come? I'd say it's because she doesn't want to lose him, as she thinks he's all she can get. And how does this affect Robert? I'd say that it makes him feel anxious and resentful. When we introduce Brett to the picture, and how Robert becomes infatuated so easily, it makes sense that he’d want to break things off with Frances. Brett seems to be confident and free, while Frances seems insecure and controlling. Brett is refreshing, while Frances is suffocating.
The way Frances talks to Robert in chapter 6 is a bit disturbing. Jake tells us how she’s wearing a “terribly bright smile” while saying extremely manipulative and hurtful things, and how “it was very satisfactory to her to have an audience for this”. If I were to practice a bit of armchair psychology (to use that term colloquially -- maybe it’s not really psychology but just being a bit presumptuous), I’d say that Frances is very insecure and hurt and this is how she deals with those feelings. One thing that she says that I think is suggestive of a warped mindset is when she complains about her “rotten luck”.
“And I don’t know now if any man will ever want to marry me. Two years ago I could have married anybody I wanted, down at Cannes. All the old ones that wanted to marry somebody chic and settle down were crazy about me. Now I don’t think I could get anybody.”
There are a couple problems with this. One, it’s just another example of how she doesn’t actually love Robert (and, let’s be clear here, he doesn’t seem to love her either -- but that’s for another time) and has been staying with him just to be provided for. Maybe she also enjoyed a sense of security and control, I don’t know. Another -- she seems to be placing too much of an emphasis on her appearance. I think Jake also touched upon this subject in an earlier chapter; now that she’s older, she’s less confident in how she looks and her ability to start a new relationship based off of those looks. Obviously this is concerning because it’s not only a shitty personal issue (placing your self-worth in how you look and not much else), but because it’s indicative of the societal expectations of women at that time. And third, and similarly, she seems to be focused not on her love for someone else, but on if someone else (who could provide her a lot of things) would be willing to marry her.
Frances sure does make quite the impression in this incredibly awkward scene with Robert. (And, despite Jake's noncommittal silence throughout, it's worth remembering that Robert is basically taking *his* advice, to "tell her to go to hell.") At first, it's hard to tell how much of what we think of Frances is shaped by Jake, who obviously resents her and sees her as a bad influence on Robert. But in the scene where she does all of the talking, she does have a pretty good reason to be bitter--she's snarky and ironic when talking about how badly Robert is treating her (more of the irony-as-defense dynamic), but it's easy to see this more sympathetically, as a way to save face after being humiliated by him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess you're right. When I was reading that scene, all I really thought was that Frances was being rude and hurtful. But when we consider what she's gone through (even if she didn't stay with Robert for the "right" reasons, it *was* almost three years), her hurt and anger is justified, and the way she's talking to Robert is understandable. I mean, being dismissed to England just like that is a really sad way to end things. I guess a part of why I was more biased (than I'd like to be) in my post is because Robert seems so passive, and so there doesn't really seem to be anything to pin to him. But if we go back to, say, chapter 2, where Jake comments that "then several women had put themselves out to be nice to him, and his horizons had all shifted", he really sounds... A bit detestable? It sucks if someone goes into a relationship not *really* knowing what they're feeling or the level of commitment they'd be able to offer. Robert must have never been fully invested in the relationship (while perhaps Frances banked on things going well too much?), given how easily he seems to be able to end things, after experiencing women just being *nice* to him.
Delete