In The Professor’s House, there are many parallels between the Professor and Tom Outland. Although their lives, thoughts, and upbringing are vastly different from each other there are significant commonalities between them, such as the need for a place of their own to be used for some kind of personal awakening. For the Professor, it is his study which he is so deeply obsessed with, while for Tom his place of refuge is Blue Mesa. To me, both places seem to be used as a sort of sanctuary for its respective dweller.
In the professor’s case, he spends the majority of the novel sequestered away, in the simple third floor study of his old residence. Though the Professor’s family has already moved into the new home made just for them, he goes to great lengths to preserve his old study. He goes so far as to continue paying rent for the entire house just so he could occupy this small space. Furthermore, he goes so far to preserve it just as it was and not change it in anyway. He refuses to remove anything from the study or make any changes to it. As the story progresses, the Professor lingers in his old workspace and spends more and more amounts of time there, removing himself from the daily routine of his friends and family.
The room becomes a place where he can disappear, and it comforts him in a way that his family and friends cannot. “It was the one place in the house where he could get isolation, insulation from the engaging drama of domestic life” (18). Furthermore, the space is used as a sanctuary where he can envision his most idealized self, and discover “the mystery and importance” (57) of who he truly is. The study may be a physical, material place, yet the feelings and emotions it evokes for the professor is anything but physical, rather a spiritual force. For the professor the study enables his creative prosperity where he can think of and craft all his writing and creative endeavors.
Similarly, Tom seems to find a similar type of sanctuary in Blue Mesa. Although the spiritual awe and appeal of a place like Blue Mesa is more obvious than the simple one-roomed study, the value for Tom is much like the study’s value for the Professor. In both of these places there is a lack of intrusion by the social world and the characters find something they need which is not offered by anyone or anywhere else. Just as the study was a place solely for the Professor, the mesa had not been visited in 100s of years and Tom used it as a place of his own. They are both places of isolation and personal discovery. Both Tom and the Professor seem to be missing some kind of spiritual meaning in their lives, which they strive to find and these spaces fulfill that void by giving places and objects significance that only they can relate to.
Although both places are vastly different in their appearance and physical nature, they both serve a similar purpose for each respective dweller. Both are places where the characters can be alone and find themselves by being introspective. The isolation in each place provides the characters a sanctuary to think and be contemplative.
I like how you pointed out the parallels between the sanctuaries for the two men-- what does this teach the reader about the effect of isolation on a human?
ReplyDeleteI think your comparison between the two places of sanctuary and isolation in which each character secluded himself and found meaning in his own life is a very important one. I would add though that at a later time they each shared in the other’s special place as well, and in so doing, they deepened their bonds for each other.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, though, the study becomes a place that suffocates and tries to kill the Professor, whereas the Mesa doesn't seem to have that kind of side to it. It seems like part of the book's message is that it may be necessary sometimes to forsake the glorious solitude of being alone with something one loves for the responsibilities of mature adulthood and family ... that is, if we read the Professor's acceptance at the end as a good thing of course, and it's not entirely clear that we are supposed to.
ReplyDeleteI had not considered the parallels between the two places at all. This post was very interesting. I wonder if the Mesa could have eventually had negative effects for Tom had we seen his relationship to it play out.
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