While Evelyn Nesbit left the pages of ragtime a few chapters ago and she may never return to the novel, I found the time we spent with her character thought provoking, compelling, and emotionally stirring. A little research into the real person Evelyn Nesbit will show that almost every shocking thing about her life actually happened. She was actually assaulted by famed architect Stanford White at 15, abused by oil scion Harry K Thaw in Europe, and witnessed her former assaulter/lover shot by her current husband atop Madison Square Garden. It should also be noted that Nesbit did in fact donate to Emma Goldman's magazine, at least according to her wikipedia article. Now if that wasn't enough for you Doctorow adds his own spice to her story: her obsession with a little poor girl from the southeast side.
All of these elements not only make for interesting plot but also an extremely complex character. It is obvious that Evelyn Nesbit is looking for a fulfilling place and purpose in a society which idolizes her, but also detests her. She is forcefully shifted around from man to man, many of whom abuse her, yet she always comes out the other side with a worse reputation than the men who mistreated her. When she finds this little girl she finds a level of control and purpose that is alien to her. She finds a situation in which she has value and power, but also emotional connection. In a motherly role she finds a level of content which she had never previously experienced, and this desire for human connection and value to others is what makes Evelyn a profoundly sad character. Although she is famous, wealthy, and beautiful she manages to find a place where none of those matter and she is happy. Alas it was not to be.
I personally sympathize with Evelyn a great deal: she has had her childhood somewhat ripped away from her and into adulthood she is something of a social pariah. She obviously has a lot of repressed feelings and desires (as showcased by her symbolic freeing by Emma Goldman) and she has never been allowed to operate as her own individual. In the little girl she finds solace, but their separation is truly tragic, and also notably the second time the little girl has had a mother figure cast away never to be seen again. I think a lot can be learned from both the real Evelyn and Doctorow's Evelyn. They both lived lives in a society that constrained them as woman and as people with tragic results.
All of these elements not only make for interesting plot but also an extremely complex character. It is obvious that Evelyn Nesbit is looking for a fulfilling place and purpose in a society which idolizes her, but also detests her. She is forcefully shifted around from man to man, many of whom abuse her, yet she always comes out the other side with a worse reputation than the men who mistreated her. When she finds this little girl she finds a level of control and purpose that is alien to her. She finds a situation in which she has value and power, but also emotional connection. In a motherly role she finds a level of content which she had never previously experienced, and this desire for human connection and value to others is what makes Evelyn a profoundly sad character. Although she is famous, wealthy, and beautiful she manages to find a place where none of those matter and she is happy. Alas it was not to be.
I personally sympathize with Evelyn a great deal: she has had her childhood somewhat ripped away from her and into adulthood she is something of a social pariah. She obviously has a lot of repressed feelings and desires (as showcased by her symbolic freeing by Emma Goldman) and she has never been allowed to operate as her own individual. In the little girl she finds solace, but their separation is truly tragic, and also notably the second time the little girl has had a mother figure cast away never to be seen again. I think a lot can be learned from both the real Evelyn and Doctorow's Evelyn. They both lived lives in a society that constrained them as woman and as people with tragic results.
This is a really nice post, and I also really enjoyed reading about Evelyn and seeing her try to live what she considered a good life even as the world looked to destroy it. I think Doctorow's story of Evelyn serves as a cautionary tale of the affect of being famous on the average person. It is ironic that Evelyn *dreams* to be a pedestrian mother on the Lower East Side, caring for her daughter and working in the house throughout the day. While many people would find that life to be filthy and undesirable, and dream of fame, Doctorow gives us an insight into that Evelyn's mind and shows us that being average is all she has ever dreamed of. And I completely understand why from seeing how the men in her life (such as Stanford and Harry) behave.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you -- Evelyn is a fascinating character. I personally think part of the reason she was so attached to the little girl is because the little girl gives her an opportunity to be a good person. Not that she wasn't a good person before, but as you mentioned, she always comes out looking worse than her abusers. In a world where women are defined by their value to men and relationships with men, Evelyn doesn't have a good reputation. Her reputation wasn't her fault, but I'm sure she feels some sense of responsibility for it. The little girl offers her a chance to remake herself: Evelyn can care for her, hopefully eventually help her out of poverty, and be known as someone who helped others instead of someone who had some bad relationships.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why but I always made a connection between Evelyn Nesbit and Coalhouse. I think it's because they both start from having a certain prestige and put togetherness and then it just drops. But after reading this, I realized that they're actually very different because Evelyn Nesbit didn't really ask for any of this stuff to happen to her, where as Coalhouse initiates the actions that decline his "prestige."
ReplyDeleteIt's cool to see how well Doctorow wrote an almost-side-character, creating a character arc out of historical facts. I also didn't know that the real-life Nesbit supported Goldman; I thought their meeting in the novel was more of a fictional crossover, but it seems Doctorow took real-life history into account once again.
ReplyDeleteFun fact: Nesbit donated to Goldman specifically to spite her husband.
ReplyDeleteFun opinion: I find it really interesting that Goldman is the one who ideologically "frees" Nesbit from complaisance toward the patriarchy, but Goldman is also the one who shatters her relationship with Tateh. I don't know if Goldman knew what she was doing as she did it. Maybe Doctorow is introducing some critique of Goldman in here. Maybe he's saying that, in attempting to better people's lives, Goldman ruined some people whom she meant to help.
I think that this can be expanded to basically any celebrity through history, not only the Nesbits. For every generation, there are celebrities to represent the movement, and all of them have had their lives basically owned by the public. Whatever they want to do is broadcast to the world for criticism and mockery. While some may not have had to deal with the sexual abuse, they have issues like that themselves.
ReplyDeleteyou put this in really good terms, I have to agree Nesbit was one of the most interesting characters of the book. I think especially, her background as such a praised sex symbol makes the story *that* much more interesting as we see her more "human" side which for the most part, society removes from any over sexualized person in the media. In her interactions with the little girl, Emma Goldman and even Tateh, we see this more humane side of her which makes her story so compelling. She feels these real emotions we too feel, and that makes her story so much more tragic. It seems that every "good" thing she has found in life she somehow loses, only finding consistency in her work as being eye candy for the common people. Furthermore, this spotlight results in criticisms for everything she does. She, as almost every celebrity is, has her life taken from her by fame. Though we are used to that story now, it's interesting to see that story rewritten in years prior to the media centered generation we live in now.
ReplyDeleteWriting this after we finished Ragtime, it is interesting to see how Evelyn's character has evolved. It is stated in the final chapter that she had faded into obscurity. Seeing her up close is fascinating. It makes me wonder how todays child celebrities constantly feel. The biggest person that comes to mind in comparison to Evelyn Nesbit is Justin Bieber. He was thrusted into the spotlight at an extremely early age. His every moved was made public. Every that he did was made into a scandal in one way or another. Following Bieber's "Purpose" album, he faded away for awhile, wishing to keep his life private. It makes me wonder if Nesbit, like Bieber, wished to fade into obscurity (at least for awhile) in order to live a "normal" life.
ReplyDelete