In the article, \u201cThe Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids’: A dialogue about experience, understanding, and truth\u201d, Weyler focuses on the role of the narrator in conveying Melville\u2019s message. She explains that while the reader cannot reach an understanding of the purpose of story without reading the second part, \u201cThe Tartarus of Maids\u201d, the narrator also does not reach a higher understanding of his experiences until he leaves the paper mill. I agree with Weyler\u2019s claim here because it seems as though the narrator in this story is very similar to reader. He gains incite about the problems in his society as the story unfolds and comes to an ultimate realization at the end.<\/p>\n
Weyler explains that as the story progresses, it \u201cdramatizes [the narrator\u2019s] movement from passivity and observation to direct engagement with life\u201d (Weyler). While in The Paradise, the narrator merely describes the gluttonous way of the bachelors but does nothing about it. This attitude shifts when he is exposed to the women\u2019s suffering in The Tartarus, and actively attempts to make sense of the situation. The narrator describes the location of the bachelor\u2019s dinner, exclaiming, \u201cI know not how many strange stairs I climbed to get to it. But a good dinner, with famous company, should be well earned\u201d (Melville 1261). The narrator is clearly disapproving of the bachelors\u2019 attitudes, as he uses sarcasm to emphasize how conceited the bachelors are. However, despite his satirical comments, he never actively tries to come to a deeper understanding of the sitiuation. Conversely, when he becomes of aware of the horrible conditions and treatment of women at the paper mills, he declares, \u201cThis is the very counterpart of the Paradise of Bachelors, but snowed upon, and frost painted to a sepulchre\u201d (Melville 1269). Rather than merely complaining about the problems of the mill, the narrator is actually able to come to some sort of a realization. Additionally, he engages in conversation with the workers in the mill to try to learn more about the situation.<\/p>\n
The narrator acts only as an observer throughout the first part of the story because he has not yet been exposed to life at the paper mills. Just as the reader cannot analyze a text before finishing it, the narrator is unable to come to a deeper realization about his society until he has been exposed to both worlds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the article, \u201cThe Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids’: A dialogue about experience, understanding, and truth\u201d, Weyler focuses on the role of the narrator in conveying Melville\u2019s message. She explains that while the reader cannot reach an understanding of the purpose of story without reading the second part, \u201cThe Tartarus of Maids\u201d,<\/p>\n