Is Scoop our antagonist?
p.168: Scoop is being introduced as someone who opposes Heidi. This is shown by the way he tells her what she is: ‘You’re being very difficult”. He then tells her what he thinks of her, “You really have one hell of an inferiority complex”. He puts her in a very defined spot by repeatedly using the word ‘you’ when addressing her. The first time he is introduced, he is portrayed as someone who has a fix image of her even though they have just met. It seems as though he tries to push her over the edge by insulting her and questioning her actions. The reason why he’s being so pushy might be that he is trying to get a specific reaction out of her, as it looks like he has a goal in mind when talking to her. Scoop uses words such as ‘obviously’ to define himself as someone who knows better than Heidi herself what she is like: “ I mean, you’re obviously a liberal, or you wouldn’t be here”. The way he talks to her is dominant and rude. He makes her feel inferior to him and makes himself stand out as the alpha male. What is interesting is that whatever he does and says to her only makes her more attracted to him, which contradicts her feminist image. Scoop also commands Heidi around: “That’s bullshit. Be real. You’re neat and clean for Eugene”. After making her feel put on the spot by him, he directly insults her by saying: “I have absolutely no interest in you. You’ve been incredibly obnoxious and your looks are B-“. Once she actually tries to make some conversation and is interested in what he says she asks him if he works for a paper and he responds: “Did they teach you at Vassar to ask so many inane questions in order to keep a conversation going?”, shutting her down one more time.
The way Scoop is introduced to the play makes him very well look like the antagonist, even though that doesn’t mean that there is certain chemistry between the two characters. Throughout the play he has the role of contradicting Heidi. They’re opposites, even if they might be in love. By making Heidi dependant of him, he ruins her image of a feminist, as she contradicts her own beliefs by being in love with him after he’s married and has kids. Scoop admires Heidi because of all the strength she puts into her beliefs but he would never marry her. He needs a woman that stays at home and takes care of the kids while he brings home the money and food.
What message does Wasserstein use him to convey?
Feels everything is below him as he grades frivolous aspects that he encounters in life (books, bands, people) below himself. He claims Princeton University wasn’t worth him, and didn’t deserve him. He challenges the protagonist’s Heidi’s opinions, and triumphs over her.
Portrayed as the Alpha Male character who has no fears about walking up to a stranger, and bluntly questioning her is she had sexual intercourse. Scoop keeps Heidi on his hook, even long after his married life, using her as an escape goat once in a blue moon. Heidi too describes him as her “Bad habit who she is addicted too.” The interactions between these 2 characters are very limited, and they only meet by chance once in a blue moon through their friends. The contrast between the confident alpha male Scoop, and the reserved Heidi with an inferiority complex highlights the society in the post World War II era. Heidi is described to be a trivial women, while Scoop is a serious man. The scene where Heidi is unable to get a word in edge wise during the live studio interview in New York due to the intervention of Scoop and also Peter in her opinions. In this era female opinions were considered trivial and worthless, thus leading to the emergence of feminist humans led by Heidi (Humanist, as termed by her). Her lecturing of renowned female artists virtually unheard of today, mimics and mirrors her position in her life and society which she strives to change.
What techniques does Wasserstein use to convey this message?
Wasserstein uses Scoop’s language to convey that women after World War Two had no power compared to men. The use of ‘you’ makes him look like he knows a lot about her and women in general. He pushes her so much with insults and swearwords, that she adapts her language to his’ and uses words such as ‘fuck’. The author makes Heidi and Scoop complete opposites, but by letting Scoop support the feminist beliefs in some ways he portrays and yet choose a woman who doesn’t give such demands, he put women in a light where men are more dominant than them.
Although I do agree that Scoop does come across as a bit of an antagonist at the beginning do you feel he remains the antagonist throughout? I personally feel like he is more of a cheeky character at the beginning but as the story progresses we see him deteriorate. We see him reverse in his ambitions, and settles and actually depending on Heidi much more than she does. Essentially he admits to settling, not being happy and also being scared of the lack of a legacy he has left behind. To me this is more of a character that is a bit of complex and confused individual. As a I brought up in our conversations I feel like he is too cowardly to play an antagonist, what do you think? Do you feel like Scoop is a foil? Also what I had kept wondering was the relevance of his grading system? Do you think it's his own personal way of being able to rank people to establish how low he should settle?
ReplyDeleteI think that you're right and that he does change throughout. I feel like he realizes after some time that Heidi would have been the better choice for him, as he comes back to her when he feels alone and doesn't really know how to live without her. When he sees that she has a baby I think that he realizes that Heidi isn't just this independent woman that strives to do justice to her beliefs. At this moment, he reveals himself, as you said earlier, as a coward. He clearly doesn't know how to take on a challenge and go for what he wants. His actions hinder him from finding happiness, though he still opposes Heidi in her actions, which to me makes him the antagonist. You're right when you say that he is a much more complex character than JUST the antagonist. He is, as William Archer would say, a real character. He is a coward, but maybe that's something contributing to his image of the antagonist because Heidi is strong and still this wannabe strong person opposes her. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHis grading system shows how judgmental he is. He thinks that just because he's educated, he knows a lot about people and can grade them accordingly. Yes, I also think that he thinks about how low he should settle but I feel like there is more to it than just a wife. He uses it for everything and frequently when in company of Heidi. Maybe he needs to grade things in front of her to overplay his own insecurity? What do you think?
I think that you're right in identifying he has opposing values than Heidi, I think this makes him more of a foil, " a person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another." Through the opposing thoughts and general personality of Scoop we see how Heidi rises above and proves to be much stronger than we think she is, he is also in the beginning a place where we are able to see her confusion and naivety. Do you agree with the idea that he is a foil or more of an antagonist?
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your idea of the grading system, it his security blanket. His way of imposing his "superiority" on people. Do you think it's ironic how that is one of the reasons Heidi falls for him in the beginning? That he does in a way make her feel less of herself so she finds the need to satisfy him?
I think that you make a good point about the foil version of Scoop. I guess that we can agree on the fact that he is weak and maybe not strong enough to be an antagonist.
DeleteYou make a good point asking if it isn't ironic that Heidi falls for him because he uses this lame game of a grading system to seduce her. Maybe that says something about her insecurities as well, as she might be secretly impressed by his rude comments and way of putting a label on everything around him.