View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Jagiellonian Univeristy Repository Anna Gawlikowska Imprisonment and False Liberation in E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime Though. more. than. three. decades. have. passed. since. the. publication. of. E .L . Doctorow’s.Ragtime.and.tons.of.paper.have.been.used.for.admiring.re- views.and.substantial.critical.response,.the.book.has.lost.nothing.of.its.initial. appeal.thanks.to.the.carefully.constructed.artistry.and.masterly.precision ..It. was.described.by.critics.as.having. a form.that.is.experimental.and.accomplished.enough.to.appeal.to.critics.who. demand.innovation.and.yet.familiar.enough.to.attract.the.common.reader,.and. a content.that.grapples.with.the.fundamental.issues.confronting.the.contempo- rary.fictionist.yet.never.ceases.to.entertain.and.engage.(Rodgers.1976:.139) and. as. being. “a bag. of. riches,. totally. lucid. and. accessible,. full. of. surprises,. epiphanies,.little.time.bombs.that.alter.one’s.view.on.things.and.enormous. fun.to.read“.(Fremont-Smith.1975:.41) ..Its.colourful.mosaic.of.themes,.shift- ing.narration,.repetitions,.circularity,.illusions.of.demystification.and.idiosyn- cratic.blending.of.facts.and.fiction,.as.well.as.the.syncopated.rhythm.of.ragtime. imitate.the.inexhaustible.energy,.but.also.the.complexities.and.paradoxes.of. America.in.the.1900s . Ragtime recounts. three. main. stories. interwoven. with. each. other .. Three. main.stories.of.people.who.could.not.have.been.more.different.from.one.an- other ..An.upper-middle.class.WASP.family,.consisting.of.the.characters.simply. named.“Father,”.“Mother,”.“Mother’s.Younger.Brother”.and.the.“Little.Boy”;. an.immigrant.Jewish.family.of.“Tateh,”.“Mameh”.and.the.“Little.Girl,”.who.is. at.one.point.referred.to.as.“Sha;”.and.a black.family.of.Coalhouse.Walker,.the. ragtime.musician,.his.fiance.Sarah,.and.their.baby.son,.Coalhouse.Walker.III .. The.members.of.each.family.try.to.discover.their.identities.and.achieve. coherence.by.escaping.their.dull.lives.and.routines,.searching.for.answers.and. 266. Anna.Gawlikowska solutions ..Doctorow.creates.a world,.where.almost.everyone.is.lost;.a world.of. emotional.immigrants.overtaken.by.history,.“arriving.eternally.on.the.shores. of. [their]. Selves”. (Doctorow. 1975:. 368) .. The. characters’. eternal. search. and. inner.discrepancies.depicted.in.the.novel.are.best.put.into.words.by.one.of.the. narrators,.the.Little.Boy,.staring.at.his.reflection.in.a mirror:. .. .. .. he. would. gaze. at. himself. until. there. were. two. selves. facing. one. another,. neither. of. which. could. claim. to. be. the. real. one .. The. sensation. was. of. being. disembodied .. .. ..He.had.a dizzying.feeling.of.separating.from.himself.endlessly .. (Doctorow 1975: 134) Trying.to.track.the.motifs.of.imprisonment,.entanglement.and.false.libera- tion.as.presented.by.Doctorow.in.his.novel,.I will.argue.that.there.is.only.one. person.among.these.characters.who.almost.reaches.freedom,.namely.Tateh .. Although.at.first.sight.he.is.the.most.unlikely.to.attain.liberation,.it.seems.that. Tateh.is.chosen.by.Doctorow.to.become.his.main.protagonist.by.the.novel’s. end.and.it.is.his.marriage.that.gives.the.reader.a glimpse.of.happinness.and. consollation ..To.achieve.this,.Tateh.has.to.disguise.himself,.sacrifice.his.old.life. and.face.memories.which.come.back.to.haunt.him ..It.seems.that.in.Ragtime,. Doctorow’s.aim.was.to.emphasise.the.elusiveness.and.uncertainty.of.his.char- acters’.goals,.endeavours,.explorations.and.escapes .. Doctorow’s. hero. is. an. embodiment. of. both. the. modern. and. the. early. twentieth-century. man’s. struggle. with. reality .. The. author. creates. characters. who.either.lack.names,.or.are.historical.figures.whose.lives.were.“developed“. creatively ..The.purpose.behind.such.a presentation.is.to.make.their.lives.and. dilemmas.more.universal.and.more.suitable.to.the.vast.historical.context.of.the. story ..In.this.way,.they.also.represent.specific.attitudes.of.people.of.that.time. rather.than.just.their.own.behaviours,.they.are.“primarily.interpretations,.not. historical.recapitulations”.(Harter.and.Thompson.1990:.59) ..Because.the.char- acters.are.types-like,.not.much.psychological.analysis.is.provided.and.the.no- tions.of.their.search.for.identity,.integrity.and.fulfilment.seem.sometimes.to.be. incoherent ..Yet,.these.are.the.ingredients.of.satisfaction.for.which.Doctorow’s. heroes.are.searching ..Burdened.with.feeling.of.lostness,.their.struggle.is.also. one.in.which.the.tensions.between.imprisonment.and.liberation.are.incorpo- rated ..The.idea.of.imprisonment.permulates.the.novel.and.manisfests.itself.in. many.various.ways,.including.physical,.emotional,.political.and.economic ..The. hero.struggles.for.liberation.chosing.paths.of.escapism,.assimilation,.rebellion. or.resignation .. Doctorow.does.not.provide.many.examples.of.imprisonment.in.its.least. complex,.physical.sense.–.incarceration ..It.is.the.ordeal.of.only.one.and.a rather. Imprisonment and False Liberation . 267 minor.character.in.the.story,.Harry.K ..Thaw,.a historical.figure,.whose.life.gets. “fabulised”1.by.Doctorow ..He.stays.behind.bars.awaiting.the.trail.for.Stanford. White’s.murder.he.committed.jealous.of.his.wife,.Evelyn.Nesbit ..To.emphasise. the.character’s.imprisonment,.Doctorow.refers.to.the.jail.where.Thaw.is.kept. using.its.colloquial.name.“the.Tombs,”.meaning.the.Bernard.B ..Kerik.Complex. in.Lower.Manhattan ..As.a public.figure.and.a millionaire,.Thaw.is.treated.in. a special.way,.having.meals.delivered.from.his.favourite.posh.restaurant ..Yet,. a jail.is.a jail.and.Thaw.has.to.face.its.discomforts . Though.not.much.elaborated.on,.Thaw’s.imprisonment.relates.to.a much. more.important.character.and.his.endeavours,.namely.Harry.Houdini ..They. meet.in.prison,.when.Houdini.performs.one.of.his.tricks ..Their.encounter.is. rather.bizarre.and.unsettling,.as.Thaw.masturbates.while.Houdini.makes.his. escape ..These.two.characters’.relation.is.also.based.on.paradox:.Thaw,.though. incarcerated,.enjoys.many.privileges.in.the.Tombs.and.is.certain.he.would.get. out.unpunished.sooner.or.later;.Houdini,.free.at.first.sight,.suffers.from.mental. imprisonment.from.which.he.probably.would.never.break.free ..The.illusionist. is.a true.specialist.in.the.field.of.escapism,.the.“escapologist”.and.another.of.the. factual.figures.in.the.plot ..He.perfectly.fits.the.image.of.Doctorow’s.characters. seeking.to.escape.from.reality ..His.life.is.characterised.in.the.following.way:. Absurd ..He.went.all.over.the.world.accepting.all.kinds.of.bondage.and.escap- ing .. .. ..He.escaped.from.bank.vaults,.nailed-up.barrels,.sewn.mailbags. .. .. ..His. escapes.were.mystifying.because.he.never.damaged.or.appeared.to.unlock.what. he.escaped.from ..(Doctorow.1975:.7–8). It.is.worth.mentioning.that,.similarly.to.Tateh,.whose.case.will.be.described. later,.Houdini.disguises.himself.using.a pseudonym,.the.fact.of.which.might. be.seen.as.an.attempted.escape.from.his.real.identity ..His.real.name.was.Erich. Weiss.and.he.was,.like.Tateh,.a Jew ..Both.characters.are.also.frustrated.with. their.lives.and.try.to.liberate.themselves . The.illusionist’s.frustration.is.multifaceted,.yet.consists.of.two.major.fac- tors .. Firstly,. it. derives. from. the. fact. that. the. most. exciting. “magical. tricks”. happen.in.the.real.world.of.science.and.technological.advances,.leaving.him. behind .. He. considers. himself. “a trickster,. an. illusionist,. a mere. magician”. (Doctorow.1975:.112) ..Entrapped.in.bitter.dissatisfaction.with.himself,.frus- tration,.feeling.of.being.misunderstood.by.his.audiences,.Houdini.tries.harder. and.harder.to.escape.from.his.inner.conflicts.seeking.psychological.and.emo- tional.liberation.in.physical.escapes ..Secondly,.he.is.haunted.with.the.need.to. 1 According.to.Julian.Barnes,.“fabulation”.occurs.when.“you.make.up.a story.to.cover.the. facts.you.don’t.know.or.can’t.accept ..You.keep.a few.true.facts.and.spin.a new.story”.(1989:.109) . 268. Anna.Gawlikowska understand.what.is.incomprehensible,.namely.roots.and.“tricks.of.the.trade”.of. death ..As.it.is.beyond.his.comprehension,.desperate.to.defy.mortality,.he.starts. performing.more.daring.escapist.tricks,.none.of.which.bring.him.consolation .. After.escaping.from.vaults.and.milk.cans,.Houdini.asks.to.be.buried.alive,.but. discovers.a limit.to.his.escapes.–.he.nearly.suffocates.and.needs.to.be.rescued. from.under.the.ground ..Although.he.should.draw.some.conclusions.from.this. experience,. Houdini. cannot. reach. demystification. of. his. life’s. purpose. and. sense ..To.liberate.himself,.the.illusionist.must.come.into.terms.with.the.fact. that.death.is.neither.what.one.can.escape.from,.nor.a challenge,.and.his.efforts. to.understand.it.are.doomed.with.futility ..Also,.he.must.acknowledge.that.art. has.its.limitations.and.cannot.serve.the.purpose.of.defying.death,.as.it.cannot. be.tricked.by.artifices ..Yet,.he.still.pursues.answers,.staying.deluded.with.the. false.promise.of.escape.and.the.confidence.that.it.is.enough.for.a human.being. to.try.hard.in.order.to.reach.some.correct.understanding.of.death . False.liberation.and.solace.dawn.on.Houdini,.when.he.discovers.the.scien- tific.achievement.of.an.aeroplane.and.gets.fascinated.with.flying ..He.momen- tarily.forgets.his.life’s.disappointments:.“He.thought.he.was.dreaming. .. .. ..He. was.flying!. .. .. ..He.felt.the.wind.in.his.face.and.discovered.he.was.shouting .. .. .. And.when.the.machine.rolled.to.a stop.he.wanted.only.to.be.airborne.again”. (Doctorow. 1975:. 116–7) .. Inner. peace. and. liberation. are. only. temporary,. though ..Houdini’s.desperation.and.recklessness.reappear.when.he.encounters. the.unexpected.demise.of.his.beloved.and.cherished.mother ..As.he.loves.her. very.much,.the.news.devastates.him.and.makes.his.existence.seem.even.more. futile.than.before.–.he.starts.risking.his.life.with.more.intensity.and.frightening. desperation:. Every.feat.enacted.Houdini’s.desire.for.his.dead.mother ..He.was.buried.and.re- born,.buried.and.reborn. .. ..his .. .wish.for.his.own.death.was.so.apparent.that.people. began.to.scream.and.a local.clergyman.stood.up.and.shouted.Houdini,.you.are.