You will want to focus on the conversation that Leila has
with the old man who dances with her and suddenly bursts her bubble of illusion. Note
the picture of old age that is painted by Leila's unpleasant partner of the future she
can expect to have:
"And you'll smile away like the poor old dears
up there, and point to your daughter, and tell the elderly lady next to you how some
dreadful man tried to kiss her at the club ball. And your heart will ache, ache," the
fat man squeezed her closer still, as if he really was sorry for that poor heart,
"because no one wants to kiss you
now."
The irony is obvious.
In Leila's very first ball, where it becomes quite clear that she is the belle of the
ball, she is confronted with the future that awaits her. However, in spite of this
unpleasant reminder of her fate, Leila finds that quickly youth triumphs over old age,
for now, as she forgets the old man's words and even the old man himself as she starts
dancing again, and her feet "glided, glided" with the excitement of the vision of
everything becoming "one beautiful flying wheel."
No comments:
Post a Comment