Analyse de "Ice Palace"

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SC ‘s , a Southern Belle.

V. The structure of the short story

Since SC’s journey produces confirmation rather than transformation the structure is circular. It is a six –part narrative. Chapter1 2 and 6 take place in Tarleton , Georgia during spring and summer ch 3 takes place on the Pullman up North and ch 4 and 5 in the nameless Northern city during fall and winter . Ch 6 repeats almost verbatim the words, the scene, the atmosphere of ch 1 The story has come full circle because SC realizes she cannot adapt in the North , she definitely belongs to the South.

VI. How the psychological crisis is resolved in the ice palace

SC already experienced a feeling of confusion when she had breakfast at the Bellamy”She doesn’t recognize the sun” and the same, feeling overwhelms ( envahit) her but more acute , intense in the maze = labyrinth of the ice palace . FSF knew what he was doing when he chose a labyrinth, the very (même) place to lose one’s bearings (ses repères).SC loses sight of Harry and fears she might “freeze to death”. Then she has hallucination and sees Margerie Lee the stone figure of the Confederate cemetery and calls all her Southern friends to rescue her .The crisis culminates when she screams “take me home!”.All this goes to show that she has realized she doesn’t belong in the North. She cannot live elsewhere but in Tarleton Georgia , the deep South.

VII. Implicit criticism of the South.

The return of SC means that “her sleepy side has won over the energy she aimed to expand = develop. In fact she goes back to Tarleton a place “of inertia of utter coma “.

Living in the South also amounts to ( revient à ) always living in the past , trapped in the memory of the dead Con federates , the scars of the Civil war with carpetbaggers , glued ( englué) to the nostalgia of an aristocratic antebellum South (avant la guerre de Secession) also known as = a.k.a Dixie Land

VIII. Reappraisal of the North (réevaluation)

The North which seems to be negative is the region where “things happen on a big scale”as SC puts it .It is full of energy “can you feel the pep in the air “ asks Harry when SC arrives in his city.

The men from the South are “money failures, ineffectual and sad “that is why SC chooses to marry a Northerner for (car) a Southerner” could never support her” in her own words. Conversely , Northerners are the driving force of the country. At the Bellamy’s party SC meets students from Yale and Princeton , “the best athletes in the world.. and the greatest financiers in the country “ The North is “a man’ s country” in Harry’s words implying men there are efficient ,money- driven,hard-working, super achievers the very opposite of southerners.

This is the reflection of the supremacy of the Union , which crushed the Confederacy during the Civil War. The industrial, financial and economic domination continued to prevail for some time during the 20th along with the feeling of superiority that goes with it as illustrated by Harry’s comment on Southerners

IX. Conclusion

In the Ice Palace SC Happer The Southern Belle is on an initiatory journey when she goes up North to marry Harry Bellamy her Northern fiancé . She wants her mind to grow and live where things happen on a big scale This can only be found in the North with Harry and she hopes she can adapt there . Indeed , she is aware of her divided self “the sleepy old side and the sort of energy”.

The circular structure of the story shows that SC has come back to square one and now her life has come at a standstill (arrêt) the direct quotation from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is among the most famous in English literature . Tomorrow , tomorrow and tomorrow are Macbeth’s words after lady Macbeth killed herself. They are part of a monologue which expresses how meaningless life is and that life is oriented towards death . There is no escaping death. So the final tone of the short story cannot be said to be optimistic .

It illustrates FSF ‘s disenchantment with the South , his painful personal experience with his marriage with Zelda Sayre , whose indolence wrecked their lives . He insisted that their daughter Scottie attend Northern schools and forbade Southern boyfriends.” Scottie should avoid the insidious appeal of warmer , softer climates and grow up tough and strong in a hardier region “ (letter from FSF to