The Self And The Other In The “Love Affairs” In A Lost Lady: A Cognitive Approach

In A Lost Lady, Willa Cather not only portrays the image of a young artist, Niel, but also depicts the energetic Mrs. Forrester. Niel is sensitive and intelligent, harboring a romantic imagination about the world and people around him; Marian Forrester is sophisticated and has a good sense of humor, showing her personal charm in every encounter with others. Whatever she does is “ladylike”. In addition to the portrait of these charming figures, the novel also presents several complicated relationships, which mainly takes the form of “love affairs”, including two adulterous relationships between Marian and two men. To explain the reasons for either failed or successful love relations between them, this thesis takes the tension between the self and the other in those relationships as the starting point, and then approaches the interaction between the self and the other from a cognitive perspective rather than as a romantic convention. From this perspective, the encounter of human beings is an encounter of cognitive structures which bridge the gap between the self and the external world, the self and other individuals cognitively; the construction of human relationships thus can be translated into construction of a mutual reality. Here, “reality” is that which is generally agreed to be reality, a consensus based on the negotiation of the experience and knowledge of both participants. By constructing a consensus reality, human beings can transcend solitude and find his/her orientation in life.Based on these assumptions, love affairs in A Lost Lady can be metaphorically understood as the coupling of two cognitive structures; the destiny of each relationship is dependent on whether he/she can bridge the gap between the self and the other cognitively and whether he/she can construct a consensual reality responsibly. In the love affair between Niel and Marian, their mental structures meet, creating a tension. While Niel represents Cather’s idealism, Marian incarnates her pragmatism. In Niel’s mental mode, the gap between the self and the other cannot be bridged, leading to his isolation with the other and his sense of loss in reality. In contrast, Marian transits smoothly between different relationships and finds her orientation by constructing a reality with the other. This has something to do with her dialogical attitude towards the other and her flexibility in a fluid reality. During this process, her morality lies in her responsibility in each relationship. Under this frame, the reasons for either failed or successful love affairs are attempted; Marian’s unique qualities are given cognitive explanation and her morality is reevaluated.The introduction reviews criticism devoted to studying the human relationships and the characterization of Marian in this novel. I attempt to approach the human relationships from a cognitive perspective and to explain Marian’s qualities within those relationships. The discussion is concerned with the tension between the self and the other.Chapter one is the theoretical framework. By invoking the cognitive paradigm established by Sami Ludwig, I attempt to build a cognitive matrix which includes two dimensions: the relation between the self and the external world forms a vertical axis and the relation between the self and the other individuals, a horizontal axis. Some concepts are highlighted such as “theatricality”. Based on this matrix, I present two kinds of representations for the self to approach the other cognitively: an appropriative and self-referential representation and a dialogical representation. Those two ways of cognitive representation are manifested in Niel and Marian respectively and given detailed analysis in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.Chapter two presents the cognitive matrix in the novel. Within this matrix, characters not only face a fluid social reality, but multiple realities they build with other characters in their love affairs. Encounters on both levels constitutes a liminal experience. In the fluid and multiple realities, cognitive issues arise and cognition affects the well-being of each character. During this process, two kinds of cognition appear: a “still” one and a “fluid” one. In the story, Niel and Ivy represent the still cognition while Marian represents the fluid representation. For the author, Cather’s social context is also experiencing a dramatic change in which her literary world presents certain patterns. Seen from a cognitive perspective, those patterns can be understood as Cather’s cognition within realities.Chapter three analyzes the still mental model of Niel. In order to better understand the limitations in Niel’s mental model, I compare it with Ivy’s. Ivy represents Materialism in danger of becoming a social reality while Niel represents Cather’s idealism, a countering force against Materialism. However, by comparison, the two seemingly disparate mental models converge on being appropriative and self-referential. In their mental models, the other is deprived of agency and richness. Niel’s mental model constitutes the reason for his failure in human relationships and his sense of loss in reality.Chapter four explores Marian’s love affairs and her personal qualities. In those love affairs, on one hand, Marian keeps her “self” by her self-expression; on the other hand, her expression forms a dialogue with the other. In her self-expression, her passion is her constant expression of intention and her “play-acting” is her manifestation of her intention. By way of self-expression, Marian disrupts the mental frame constructed by Niel and shows her agency and life force. By her dialogical attitude, she succeeds in transiting smoothly within different relationships and realities.In the concluding part, I claim that in this novel, Cather not only depicts a young artist, Niel, but a self-fashioning female artist, Marian. While Niel depicts the other in his mental frame, Marian becomes her own medium of rendering the various sides of her. The unique qualities of Marian can be attributed to the fluid context which forces the artist along with her characters to find a new orientation. In A Lost Lady, Niel is lost while Marian can be seen as Cather’s tentative answer.