The mysterious older man luring away the young girl is an archetype in literature. The dark older man enshrouded by enigma never fails to captivate. Plus young impressionable girls like the idea of being wanted, of being attractive. Connie doesn't fail to mention her youth and beauty and how her mother is jealous of her. She looks in mirrors and other people's eyes to see her reflections, which reminds me of one of the characters in Jean-Paul Sartre's, and that character definitely got hers (an eternity in the most messed up love triangle in hell sure would do it). It definitely had a Go Ask Alice feel to it when Connie first locks eyes with Arnold Friend. His name was interesting to me because his last name is "Friend," when in truth he is deceitful, conniving, and well, just plain creepy.
I enjoyed (well enjoyed isn't really right, but I was intrigued) the slow progression of the dialogue between Connie and Arnold when they are at her door. Her panic mounts gradually as his anger and force builds. His manipulation of her in discussing her family and his terrifying gathering of information combined with his age is overpowering. He messes with her mind, saying what her family is doing, what they're wearing, what they will and won't do. His talk of promises about not coming inside are ridiculous, because Connie cannot keep him at bay indefinitely. First of all, he is a terrifyingly older age, and secondly, no one can talk and distract someone forever.
Connie finds that her vanity and foolishness can attract the wrong sort of people, and playing with fire gets you burned.
Arnold friend is a confusing character. On the one hand he is controlled, cool for the first part of their interaction, meticulously closing in on her like a wolf on its prey. Yet he speaks in an affected, lilting way, which is mentioned several times in the story. He also quotes a series of song lyrics when he speaks. Although I did not catch all the musical allusions, I think his speech is littered with insertions of song lyrics.
He is so forward about the subject of raping Connie. He says, "'Yes I'm your lover. you don't what that is but you will...But look: it's real nice and you couldn't ask for nobody better than me, or more polite. I always keep my word. I'll tell you how it is, I'm always nice at first, the first time. I'll hold you so tight you won't think you have to try to get away or pretend anything...And I'll come inside you where it's all secret and you'll give in to me and you'll love me--'" For one thing, Arnold Friend could never be a kind and gentle lover. Although Connie does not fit the criteria for Arnold to be pedophilic, he might be hebephilic. It's equally disgusting and contemptible, but hebephilia has a different set of diagnostic criteria, and the psychological characteristics between pedophiles and hebephiles differ. Arnold is attracted to Connie, who is fifteen, not an eight-year-old child. Hebephilia is similar to ephebophilia.
So it's sexually disturbing, and although the story is slightly coming of age, how much can you come of age if you get murdered? Connie does feel like she has never seen her room before, that she doesn't recognize anything in her house or in her life. "He ran a fingernail down the screen and the noise did not make Connie shiver, as it would have the day before." She no longer feels that her heart belongs to her, and she will never see her family again. Arnold tells her that her father's house is just a cardboard box he can knock over whenever he wants.
It's coming of age, but Connie's experience of adulthood is probably short lived.
I like your point about how playing with fire gets you burned. Connie learned the hard way that vanity is not a redeeming quality. She finally sees that her games can attract the wrong kind of people. I agree that for a coming of age story Connie has very little time being "of age". She never has the chance to grow up or change her conceited demeanor.
ReplyDeleteI also felt disturbed at the end of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?." What you said about "young impressionable girls" always liking the idea of being wanted is a big element of the story. If Connie had not sought so endlessly for attention, she would never have been trapped by Arnold Friend. I really liked your last statement, "It's coming of age, but Connie's experience of adulthood is probably short lived." This is definitely the best way to describe the ending of such an unsettling story.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more, this story completely disturbed me. It was even more disturbing considering how realistic the scenario was. I really enjoyed your statement about playing with fire gets you burned. I believe Connie was basically asking for something to happen to her. She was much too naive for her confidence and self-assurance and everything was bound to fall apart for her.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog, you made some great points.
I was slightly confused by Arnold Friend, too. All his song lyrics and slang were the indication to me that he was pretending to be someone he was not. It reminded me of times when my parents try to use some kind of hip word to be cool, and it sounds ridiculous and unnatural coming out of their mouths. His age did make him creepier, and the fact that he hid it physically as well was a red flag that Arnold Friend was anything but a friend.
ReplyDeleteArnold Friend is this devilish character. In my fiction classed, we discussed his problems with his feet, a reference often seen with the cleft feet of the devil, no matter appearance he takes on. His car reads A. Friend in spray paint, another sign of his deceptive nature.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your response, I wanna go back an delve into what I wrote about this story.