Angela Carter, "The Loves of Lady Purple"- "The professor had a curious habit; he always used to kiss his doll good night. A child kisses its toy before she pretends it sleeps although, even though she is only a child, she knows its eyes are not constructed to close so it will always be a sleeping beauty no kiss will waken" (49).
Blurs the lines between whether the professor is her mother, her lover, her father. It made me uncomfortable that he was all those things in one. He is described as this older man, yet he wants to kiss this inanimate object. Also, it's interesting that Carter compares the professor to a child with his toy.
The idea of a 'good night' kiss is something sweet, in my opinion. When I was younger I would get a kiss on my cheek from both parents, and now, I receive one from my boyfriend. I always recalled it has a kind and sweet thing. However, this quote has sort of given me the creeps. Why would you kiss a doll?
I see the maternal instinct of a child who kisses her dolls goodnight, as when she is playing house. Since Carter says the child knows the doll will sleep peacefully since it is inanimate foreshadowing since Carter does not allude to the professor understanding this with his doll, who will late break out and come to life.
interesting in conjunction with your thoughts about what are considered acceptable displays of affection:
ReplyDeletehttp://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-21/living/tf.parents.kiss.children_1_kiss-advice-kids?_s=PM:LIVING