Family; friends; relationships; we all have them, and we’ve all had them. Connected by blood, similarities, or love. But looking beyond your social circle, have you ever wondered if there’s more?
Alice Pieszecki from the [off air] TV show, The L Word, creates a chart of connections. In short, the show follows the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, straight and transgender people and their families, friends, and lovers in Los Angeles.
Alice Pieszecki from the [off air] TV show, The L Word, creates a chart of connections. In short, the show follows the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, straight and transgender people and their families, friends, and lovers in Los Angeles.
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The chart maps out the affairs among Alice’s friends and acquaintances. The nodes are labeled with people's names and the lines represent the affairs or hookups between them. Eventually the chart evolves into an internet social network, making it even bigger with connections from all around the world.
Her theory, simply, is that they’re all – whether lesbian, bisexual, or straight – connected through sex. It’s weird to think about, but in a way, it’s true. How many people has your (ex) boyfriend or girlfriend slept with? And them, how many people have they been with before them? The list can go on and on.
Much like in the book, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, everyone is connected – not in the same way, obviously, but it’s the same idea. All the characters seem to be connected by the loud strikes of Big Ben. When the clock was first introduced in the book, it immediately made me think of a quote from the movie The Switch.
“Look at us. Running around, always rushed, always late. I guess that's why they call it the human race. What we crave most in this world is connection. For some people it happens at first sight. It's when you know, you know. It's fate working its magic. […] For the rest of us it's a bit less romantic. It's complicated and it's messy. It's about horrible timing and fumbled opportunities” (Wally Mars, The Switch, 2010).
I especially like this quote because in Mrs. Dalloway it’s exactly the feeling I get – a race. Because there is so much going on at once and so many characters to keep track of, it almost feels as though you’re in the middle of all their chaos.
In an instant all of the characters went from obsessing over who was in the car to turning their attention to the plane making letters in the sky (beginning of the book). Everybody had their own things going on in their head, and this plane made them all stop and try to figure out what the letters were spelling out. Connected by curiosity, the car drove away into the palace entry.
Big Ben strikes again and everybody is in a scurry with new things to think about and new places to be. It’s a distant connection, but it’s an undeniable one. Woolf does a great job at intertwining all the characters and their actions, thoughts and past experiences to this lovely June Wednesday.
Are you convinced we’re all connected somehow? If not, why not?
Works Cited
Image 1:
The L Word Chart. n.d. Web. Google images <http://lesbicanarias.es/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/The-Chart-The-L-Word.jpeg>
I also feel that we are all connected in some fashion. It mind boggles me every time I meet someone new and through the striking of a conversation, come to realize their secret connection to me through other friends, family members, or acquaintances.
ReplyDeleteEven in situations where the connection may be tough to come by or find, they still exist or are nevertheless forged from there on out.
Although I was not familiar with the television program, the short Youtube clip only helped hammer home this idea that everyone is interconnected in the large confines of daily society.
In Mrs. Dalloway, this is also evident as in the short span of one day, many connections are found and created through the use of time.
Your excellent analysis and parallels helped me understand this phenomenon more clearly. Thanks
I believe everyone is connected in some way or another. We see so many people in a day, as they briefly touch our lives, and hear about strangers all the time. There is always someone on the news and that person that is causing so much trouble for a friend of yours. I think we should appreciate the people that surround and support us even more, and if you think about a little more, the people who challenge us, because they help us grow into a better person.
ReplyDeleteVirginia Woolf as you expressed shows us how so many people can be linked by a single sound. This unifying sound is something seen everyday. The memory that comes to mind for me, when thinking of universal sounds, is the bell at high school. It rings every period change and lunch break and every student in that school is listening to it with an attentive ear. Who knew simple sounds could connect us on such a different level?
I really appreciated your post, because it is a very valid point. We look at strangers everyday and couldn't imagine what goes on in their mind. I think that we forget too often that everyone is living their own lives and dealing with their own problems.
Thanks again for your post!
I agree with the two posters above; we are all connected. These connections vary and differ in meaning and importance to us, but nevertheless, they exist. It emphasizes the idea: ''what a small world.'' And it is really interesting to me how our views and opinions of someone can vary so much from someone else's opinion of the same person.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, Woolf was very good at threading one idea to the next, and taking us from one character or thought to another. At times, characters would be bonded by one event, such as the plane or the sound of Big Ben, and other times, they would be completely wrapped up in their own lives without giving much thought or attention to those around them. This shows how much we live in an individualist society in which its members, or rather we, are so consumed with our own thoughts and problems, we don't often pay attention to those passing us by in the street. It prevents us from being self-centered, and thinking that others probably have as many issues as we do and are going through as much as we are.
** I meant: it causes to be self-centered and prevents us from thinking that others have as many issues as we do and are going through as much as we are.
DeleteEVERYONE is connected!
ReplyDeleteIt's terrifying. I think a lot of authors use the theme of connection in their novels to try and make the world feel like "one". It's like it's a designed tactic to make us think before we speak and act, because that person over there in the corner of the bus who just saw you stick your gum in the window track, actually knows your father who he does construction work for, who knows you. I find myself in many situations - often coffee shops where there's fresh flows of people and ideas traveling through - where I meet someone, and they know MY someone too. It's like, instead of a common favorite ice cream flavor, it's common, and shared company. Which leads me to why it's so terrifying: there's some statistic like, "1 in every 6 people are related." That's an overwhelming thought, that probably, somehow - mystically even, someone in our Novel class in related to the other. But now, more than ever, I feel like everyone's related and it's dirty.
She slept with him and he slept with that chick, so that chick slept with the first she, and now we all know each other, you know?
I see what you mean Jess, by connection.
As for Mrs. Dalloway...
The connections between characters are represented through (as you mentioned) the clock. But it's not so much the sound of Big Ben that is supposed to draw meaning to the idea, or the word connection. I'm certain it's what the clock stands for: time.
Time is something not one person can avoid. You can stop showering, you can "cut back" on time, you can stop spending so much time on the computer - but time is forever ticking away. So it's not so much how you try to avoid "wasting" time, rather, it's how much time you spend trying to make your time here, on this earth, worthwhile!
Yeah— we are all connected. I always think it is most interesting to take the time to find where those connections are. What I mean is, it is us who is unaware of the connections they were always there. In many some ways that is what the books uses to move forward and allows it to jump from person to person. After all, we are alive and so long as we all experience life at the same time we are all bound to be connected somehow. And, if anything in the modern world we are more aware of it than ever. For example, have you ever added someone on Facebook and then been surprised how many friends in common. Yet, you had never met this person before. What is more, these connections keep happening and there will always be more people living and connecting so that you to meet them years down the road.
ReplyDeleteFinally, what I think would be most interesting is read the modern version of Mrs. Dalloway. Just imagine the different ways we have to connect and all the different avenues Woolf could have used to write the modern version of the book.