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Motifs
Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel... read full definition
Book 1: Matchmaking
Explanation and Analysis—Vitality:
In an example of paradox from Chapter 2, Cal/lie describes their grandmother Desdemonda's attitude in her old age:
Years later, in [Desdemona’s] widowhood, when she’d spend a decade in bed trying with great vitality to die, she would finally agree that those two years between wars half a century earlier had been the only decent time in her life.
Desdemona tries with "great vitality" to die. This simply conveys Desdemona's determination to die, which she pursues with paradoxical livelihood. Desdemona is also deeply preoccupied with her health to the point of obsession. In large part, this health obsession stems from Desdemona's own self-consciousness about her incestuous marriage. She regrets procreating with Lefty after learning that incest can lead to the fixation of recessive genes. Desdemona's anxiety about her family's genetic health seeps into other aspects of her life, making her a generally health-conscious person, albeit to the point of ill-health. Desdemona makes herself miserable over her attraction to Lefty, distancing herself from the brother she once loved, and wishing for a quick death after his departure. Ironically, her preoccupation with health prevents her from truly enjoying life.
Related Themes:
Book 1: An Immodest Proposal
Explanation and Analysis—Hilarity:
In the following example of paradox from Chapter 3, Cal/lie lends an offbeat, somewhat irreverent tone to their narration, surprising the reader in the midst of an otherwise disturbing scene:
All the lamps were on now. The living room was bright. Toukhie was sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. Her head had fallen backward as though in hilarity, the angle opening the wound so that a section of windpipe gleamed.
The narration uses paradox in its characterization of Toukhie's slit throat as being thrown back in "hilarity," an image deeply at odds with the gruesome violence of the scene. This is meant to put readers in the mindset of Toukhie's husband, who detaches from reality in shock when his family is unexpectedly, brutally murdered.
In sum total, this passage embodies the shocking, strange reality shifts that occur when violence—and, by extension, war—enters into a space that once presumed its absence. Few people wish to imagine their home as a site of violence. When one is particularly unused to violence in the home, its intrusion thus is not only upsetting, but wildly inconsistent with the surrounding environment. Cal/lie draws on this contrast for their paradox, portraying not the hilarity of violence, but rather the absurdity of it occurring when and where it does.
