Image Study

The Devil's Whirlpool
This is a picture of the infamous devil's whirlpool where Gilbert Erskines's body was spit out seven days after his tragic suicide. The bride he left behind one day after his marriage waits for his corpse to appear, searching from sun up to sun down for her late husband's body. Ariah Littrel feels incomplete, trapped in the moment, irresolution at the fact that there is no corpse. Without this proof of his passing she is somewhat in denial of the events and cannot move on until she sees him. The whirlpool represents conclusion, answers, confirms Ariah's fears. But it also lets the bride move on, as she has been paralyzed by The Falls this past week. Athough the whirlpool's surfacing of the body is a horrid, gruesome occurence, it also has relief behind it, bringing closure to Gilbert's death. It is a turning point in the novel, because from there Ariah begins a completely new life, separate from Gilbert and her life as Mrs. Erskine.


Ariah's appearance/image
Ariah's images is very important in this novel because she is seen very differently through the eyes of each character. Ariah sees herself as bony, disgusting, and sweaty; constantly belittling her image and putting herself down. Her first husband, Gilbert Erskine, decribes her in very negative terms regarding her physical appearance as well as her personality. He is disgusted by the immature, insecure woman he has deflowered on their wedding night; commenting on her gaping mouth, sweaty forehead, and stench. But Dirk Burnaby's view of his new wife Ariah is completely opposite of how Gilbert and even Ariah views herself. He describes her as dainty, beautiful, like no woman he has ever been with. He adores the strong, intelligent, talented woman his new wife is. Interestingly the physical things Dirk mentions are those that she has hated about herself in the past (frail figure, rusty red hair, porcelein skin). Ariah's kids have complicated views of Ariah. They love their mother and feel almost protective of her (especially her eldest, Chandler) but they sometimes resent her for her rash, emotional, bitter ways.
It is interesting to experience Ariah as a character through so many different point of views because it fully develops her character more so than any other in the book. At some points you might not even think they are describing the same person when describing Ariah. It is a testament that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.


Love Canal
The Love Canal is a very important image in the novel because it leads to alot of very important, ultimately tragic events in the plot. Dirk Burnaby originally tries to turn down the love canal case, but is roped into it through a series of events out of his control. Burnaby gets in over his head with the case. He becomes obsessed; pulling out of his own pocket, letting his temper loose, amd ruining the relationship he has with his family. Like the love canal is lethal to the community it is also lethal to Dirk Burnaby. It seeps into his life and ruins everything, the case eventually leading to his tragic death. This event ended the 'happily ever after' that the Burnaby family had created, the living damned to live the rest of their lives in grief and separation.




The Falls
Of course Niagara Falls is an important image in Oates' novel, it is essentially the center of the plot, many events revolving around its powerful pull. The Falls has many different effect on the characters throughout the story, although most of them are morbid, compelling individuals to do irrational, tragic things. Gilbert is drawn to Niagara as an escape to his problems, The Falls being his answer. Dirk Burnaby hears the call of the falls speaking to him to do the unthinkable, to finally leap from the tight rope he has been walking across throughout his flashy life. The Falls finally taking him in a tragic 'accident'.  Then, Dirk's only daughter also hears the voices of the Falls, begging her to jump in, that her father would want it. Juliet almost falls victim to the Falls, if not for her admirer, the quiet Bud Stonecrop, who eventually quiets the Falls voices in her head.
The events that pilot the novel's plot are caused by the Falls and its hypnotic influence and power.