Beyond the Body

    

What is the significance of the value our society places on a womans body? Often the complexity of a woman is ignored in favor of her physical appearance. This theme is explored heavily in Robert Hass’ prose poem “A Story About the Body”. The narrator describes a relationship that begins in a week, a time when initial impressions are likely all that have been formed through interactions. Told as a story by the narrator, the prose revolves around the love a man, the young composer, feels for an older woman, the old Japanese painter. The story is about this womans body and how it changes how the world interacts with her, but it also is the story of all women who have been judged on the state of their bodies. With flowing diction the narrator uses specific words to hint at the young composers inability to see beyond the skin of the woman he desires. Many symbols are used to represent the lack of depth in his understanding of the Japanese painter and the effect this may have on women as a whole, as well as implying the Japanese painters thoughts on her rejection. It shows how the physical form of a woman is valued most but also what happens once this form deteriorates. Hass uses diction and symbolism to express how the state of our society, where a womans body is valued more than her unseeable character, changes how women are perceived and treated.

The young composer has fallen in love with the idea of the Japanese painter and not the actual woman. It is stated that “he thought he was in love with her” (Hass 3). He has only known of her existence and observed her for a week, and the depth of his feelings is never explored. The first three lines of the poem hinge on the single word “thought” (3), in pertaining to his love.  The young composer is probably not an observant man, as he equates his short experience of what could be mere lust, to true love. When the Japanese painter later tells him that she has lost her breasts it is said “he didn’t understand” (9). The narrator points this out to emphasise the man's perception of desire as love, as he perceives the woman with breasts, but the former does not always mean the latter is present. Not knowing what a “double mastectomy” (8) entails is not a major social blunder, but his reaction is almost cruel when he says “I’m sorry. I don’t think I could” (12), meaning he will not sleep with her. His rejection of the Japanese painter for diverging from the traditionally female, is phrased with the emphasis once more on the word “think” (12). This expresses similarity to his unsure love, mirrored in an unsure rejection.

The Japanese painter replies with depth that reflects the nature of her character, and mirrors the young composers behavior back at himself. She does not fight him or protest his treatment, she simply leaves him a gift “a small blue bowl on the/porch” (13-14). Only the top of what is in the “bowl” (13) can be seen, so it is an opaque material, such as solid glass. The entire “bowl” (13) is a message to the young composer about his interactions with the Japanese painter. Perhaps an opaque “bowl” (13) means the important parts of a persons life and personality cannot be seen after just a few looks. Such as how her “double mastectomy” (8) cannot be easily seen from an outside observer, but it still a vital part of her life and character. The harsh scientific term “double mastectomy” (8) holds significance as well, there is no romantic connotation to a surgical procedure, there is only a single fact. The phrase disrupts the flow of the prose and brings reality to the matter at hand; loosing her breasts is implied to be a  meaningful fact about the Japanese painter. The climax of the story about the Japanese painters body is her “double mastectomy” (8), but it also is the climax of many other womens lives, and the focus raises questions. Such as how should a woman be perceived and treated after she has lost a trait many associate directly with femininity? It is likely that the Japanese painter does not think herself less of a woman for not having breasts, as she does not make excuses when telling the young composer, but she is not open about her difference immediately. Despite her confidence in revealing the fact, the hiding might mean she experiences insecurity about her body that stems from an outside source, and to protect herself she refrains from being completely transparent. So if a person were to move past that barrier and discover her “double mastectomy” (8), she would probably judge their character on their opinion on the procedure, and her decision to stay silent in favor of not getting immediately hurt. This would probably form her standards for a worthy lover while getting to know a cer

The bowl the old Japanese painter gives to the young composer at first seems “full of rose petals” (14) at first, and seems a forgiving gesture. The truth is not so kind as the petals are just a thin layer concealing the insects, “full of dead bees” (17). Rose petals are often used romantically, such as paving the way to a wedding altar, or placed inside gifts to a significant other. They resonate with the care taken in a romantic encounter, and are used as final details. Placing the “petals” (14) on top of the “dead bees” (17) initially appears to mean forgiveness, but really they act as a pretty layer to conceal the shock lying beneath. The “petals” (14) originally were on a full rose, a flower that has its own nuanced language of romance for each color, but they have been plucked free as if the true deeper meaning of the rose was being disregarded. If the Japanese painter only wanted to hide the “bees” (17) from view, all she had to do was clip a few rose heads on top of the bowl, instead of carefully plucking petals from flowers and making sure they covered the surface completely. They represent care and time inverted to negative emotions, as earlier on in the poem the narrator mentions that the emotions the young composer feels fall apart, “withered very quickly” (11). The word “withered” (11) usually refers to plants, and the “petals” (14) symbolize this quick decay of the appeal the young composer felt for the Japanese painter. Petals will not last long after being removed from their source of life, the stem, and neither has his love lasted after the source of his attraction, her body, is removed. They imply he only looks at the surface, and stand as a representation of what stood between him and what could have been love. Below those petals, the “dead bees” (17) that fill the “bowl” (13), are not the only things that fill the message the Japanese painter gives.

Dead insects are not appealing to the majority of people, but it is unknown if the meaning behind them would make a gift of expired creatures any less repulsive. “Dead bees” (17) usually have damage done to their bodies since bees die after they use their stingers, and the damage would be worse if they were swatted and killed. This loss of a vital organ makes them useless and the creatures die quickly after. Parallel to this, the Japanese painter seems to loose all appeal after she loses her femininity in the young composers eyes. In the male view then, breasts are just as necessary to life as a heart or stomach. Women are not real women if they lack their secondary sex characteristics. So are women who needed a “double mastectomy” (8) for medical reasons, such as breast cancer or to lower the chances of cancer, somehow lesser people because they chose to change their body in such a manner? She says “I’ve lost both my breasts” (9), but that loss doesn’t necessarily mean the Japanese painter has lost her womanhood. What has happened is the reaction of the young composer reinforces the idea that her body is all that matters. The “dead bees” (17) from her studio are dead after some trauma, either they sting and die or are swatted and killed, ending their significance to the hive. In society once a woman’s body is damaged and she is not useful sexually, her worth drops exponentially, and constant reinforcement of this would make her self esteem drop until she becomes like a “dead bee” (17) and is unable to advance in life. Like inside that “bowl” (13), they keep piling up as society strikes them down.

The reaction of the young composer when he saw all the “bees” (17) was likely one of disgust. The Japanese painter probably wants him to experience this before he realizes the real message underneath the gift, since it is how he reacts to her, as the narrator says “he made himself look at her” (11). He has to force himself to look at her again, after he “watched her for a week” (11). This reads as a shift from attraction to being physically repelled by her body, which parallels with the disgust of the “dead bees” (17). Perhaps she is telling him how treating her as less than a woman, undeserving of love, can have a major effect on herself and other women, but it might be some simple payback too. Perhaps this seems obvious, but in an artist colony where the symbolism and underlying meanings woven into each individuals art could develop to the point of a second language, the initial revulsion  is also important, because that would be his very first reaction to a bowl “full of dead bees” (17). First impressions and instinct is how the young composer dictates his actions and they leave a bitter mark on both of them. The Japanese painter likely wants him to experience that first negative reaction, and after realizing the depth of wisdom her gift contains, maybe take a lesson from how his thoughts can change from disgust to clarity after making the effort to communicate both ways. Never communicating appears to lead the young composer to leaving, as well as inspiring the Japanese painter reach out with a message of her own.

 Possibly perceived as an innocuous part of the Japanese painters gift, the vessel she contains the “dead bees” (17) in has a message of its own. The “blue bowl” (13) is the last flourish in her layers of communication. The color blue is usually associated with boys, used in a variety of ways to differentiate between the common two genders.  Assuming the “small blue bowl” (13) is made of blue glass, as artists often use varied glassware in still-lives, it could symbolize that the young composer is a weak or fragile man for disregarding the Japanese painter for not having breasts, for not being traditionally feminine. The “bowl” (13) is a statement about his masculinity, and how childish he acted. Likely the Japanese painter is encouraged by his unbridled interest in her body and art, as she acknowledges his interest and admits her own desire “I think you would like to have me. I would like/that too” (7-8), in the hope of him having true feelings for her. That hope probably shatters, like glass, when he rejects her on the basis of not having breasts, and then runs away much like an upset child. The young composers rejection is perceived by the reader as a result of his interest only in her body. The Japanese painter seems to believe a man would be able to accept and have her without breasts. So, she is not truly insulted since the insult is a childish one, but only disappointed in him as a male. She sees him as a boy, immature, and unable to handle what he does not understand. Because of this his masculinity is thin, fragile even, in her eyes and she wants to make this clear to him at the end of their interaction.

First impressions are not everything in the start of a relationship. In fact, they may obscure more than they reveal. The young composer rejects the Japanese painter, who admits she would like to sleep with him, on the basis of her body not matching his idea of what she should be like. As part of society, this means that women exist as bodies for men to choose from and use, a damaging idea that removes a woman's autonomy and sense of self, but when men act on this idea it leads to dead ends. Not every woman is perfect, and that does not make her inferior, but she is still treated as if she was less important. The implications of Hass’ work reveals how obsessed society is with the outer appearance, and how this starves women of the respect they deserve. The dead ends are disadvantageous to men in creating meaningful relationships on an equal level with women, and it creates an environment where women must strive to be physically perfect in every way. This warped view of women could have consequences for various relationships if the focus is on the outer impressions and not on the invisible interpersonal bonds. Those that do not meet these standards are encouraged to hide their defects and silently bear the revulsion from potential partners. “A Story About the Body” shows a woman teaching a man what is wrong with his actions, and how his actions reflect the society all around them. That society is ours as well, and the message of the “small blue bowl” (13), is one that all men and women need to understand so the cycle can break. Then, women can be strong in body and mind, and men can meet them in all aspects with confidence and respect.

Works Cited

Hass, Robert. “A Story About the Body.” 2moreheadstate. 2moreheadstate, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.