We were asked to discuss different aspects of The Sandman in class in small groups. My group had not spoken yet so I thought that I would present my question here.
My question is Olympia suppose to represent the perfect women?
There is so much time and effort put into the creation of Olympia and there is so much time and effort put in to discussing how she has "heavenly eyes" and is a great listener. Nathanael even falls in love with her because she does not challenge, that being the whole point. Olympia unlike Klara does not challenge Nathanael's thoughts and ideas, she is simple. Thus portraying the perfect woman to be simple and not intellectually challenging. Just a thought.
We were discussing this in my group a week or so ago. I thought it was interesting how Nathanael was so infatuated with Olympia on a purely superficial level. She didn't challenge him and was perfect in every way, in beauty and in talent. I think that Olympia represents the "ideal" woman that every man wants which is one who is seen and not heard.
ReplyDeleteFor the first half of the story, Klara was his pretty angel. But when Klara told him to throw that mad, insane, stupid tale into the fire,he became completely disappointed with her. At first I felt like there were some sexist undertones, in which women should be "simple", but the more I looked into it, the more I kind of felt it was just because Klara couldn't get on the same wavelength, so he'd rather someone who doesn't care either way than someone who is opposed to your ambitions in life. he was immersed in the gloominess of being understood by no one, he suddenly realized that Olympia, the Professor's daughter was his only listener with a "poetical nature", of which he was in dire need. He interpreted her heavenly eyes as a bridge that linked his spirit to hers, an woven interconnectivity. This might be completely wrong, but that was my take.
ReplyDelete