Farewell my Lovely, The Robber Bridegroom, and In the Skin of a Lion: Unconventional Heros

Unconventional Heros

Farewell my Lovely, The Robber Bridegroom, and In the Skin of a Lion all contain heroes, although their heroism is of an unconventional sort. Despite their non-traditional nature, the characters of Philip Marlowe, Jamie Lockheart and Patrick Lewis are all identifiably true heroes, because they successfully engage, draw in, and 'win over' the reader with their positive characteristics. They are not merely average people with a few heroic attributes. Furthermore, these characters have many characteristics in common, despite their disparate backgrounds and vocations (of a private detective, a bandit, and a worker). This essay begins by introducing the theme of 'ambiguous heroism' that runs through each of the three novels, by scrutinising the example of The Robber Bridegroom. Following this, by looking in detail at the similarities (and differences) that are evident in terms of the characters' moral stances, physical bravery, and world view, it shall be demonstrated that all three characters are candidates for ambiguous heroism.

The simplest example of ambiguous heroism is offered in Welty's work, based as it is on the fact that Jamie is obviously a hero, as demonstrated by the opening quotation of this essay, yet he is also a bandit. From the beginning, this arrangement is fraught with contradictions. As Rosamond says, "Although my husband is a bandit, he is a very good one"2. Conventional value systems which view bandits negatively do not necessarily hold true in the world of The Robber Bridegroom. The so-called robber bridegroom of Welty's text is very different from the one in the original fairy tale upon which the novel is built. Most of the negative characteristics of the original robber bridegroom have been displaced onto the character of Little Harp, while Jamie himself is endowed with a collection of positive properties hitherto absent from the robber bridegroom. It should be born in mind that in the non-realistic fairy tale world of The Robber Bridegroom, unlikely things become actual, and Jamie's hero-status despite his banditry is but one example of this inversion of the 'expected order' in the work.

In any case, Jamie does not remain a bandit throughout the novel. He undergoes a transformation at the end:

Jamie Lockhart was now no longer a bandit but a gentleman of the world in New Orleans, respected by all that knew him, a rich merchant in fact. All his wild ways had been shed like a