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Irony
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Part 1: Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis:
In keeping with its tragic plot, Giovanni’s Room is deeply melancholic, wistful, and unsteady. Having ruined Giovanni’s life and broken Hella’s heart, David is confessing his infidelities at the same time that he is trying to relive the brief joy of those earlier moments. He begins the novel with complex, winding sentences that meditatively pause in between each clause:
I was thinking, no doubt, of our nights in bed, of the peculiar innocence and confidence, which will never come again, which had made those nights so delightful, so unrelated to past, present, or anything to come, so unrelated, finally, to my life since it was not necessary for me to take any but the most mechanical responsibility for them.
David’s initial lyricism creates a comfortable illusion of distance and detachment from his past. But this self-knowing poise breaks down as he plunges the reader into the turbulence of his insecurities. David’s attentiveness to his inner states foregrounds the psychological turmoil of paranoia, shame, and resentment. He loves Giovanni and hates his awareness of this feeling. Much of the novel brings to life the visceral vertigo of a self at odds: the “cold terror” sits in his stomach and “tremors” course through his body as David tries to resist his attraction. Giovanni and David hold bricks together, coming close to killing each other. Fraught with longing and anguish, the instabilities in the story end up holding the reader on edge for most of the novel.
This inner conflict reaches its climax in its last pages, as David imagines Giovanni in the moments before his execution. Brief, clipped sentences build up anticipation for Giovanni’s death but also David’s final attempt to overcome his crippling self-consciousness. His defiant, poetic declarations come the closest to a resolution—or triumph—that the novel manages to offer. “I long to make this prophecy come true. I long to crack that mirror and be free,” he writes. In this way, “Giovanni’s Room” finishes with a despairing resignation but also a kind of new awareness. Though David cannot stop the fragments of Jacques’s letter—and the memories of the past—from swirling back to him, he can at least begin a search for self-acceptance.
Related Themes:
