Interpersonal Relationships In Swamp Angel and Fifth Business

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Interpersonal Relationships In Swamp Angel and Fifth Business In the novel Swamp Angel the main character, Maggie, asserts that "swimming is like living , it is done alone". This is, in fact, a very telling statement with respect to the life of both Maggie and the life of Dunstan, the main character in the novel The Fifth Business. Maggie's comparison of life to swimming raises interesting points about the way in which each of the two characters proceed along the road of life. Maggie's statement is actually a simile which compares swimming alone to living life. In most cases a simile is used to take certain characteristics of one entity and to bestow them upon another entity in which they are not usually found. Maggie's comparison of swimming alone to life is no different. It is generally held, in modern society, that life is a journey that is made with the help of others. Intimate interpersonal relationships are viewed as support systems in life. Many people view these relationships as that which makes life worth living. Maggie's statement directly refutes these claims. When one is swimming alone there is no one to rely on for safety and guidance. The owness of survival, in essence not drowning, falls squarely upon the shoulders of the swimmer alone. Maggie's comparison leads one to believe that the same is true for life. In life , as in swimming alone, one should rely only on oneself for survival. Maggie's comparison of life and swimming alone, and all that it implies, can easily be viewed as the personal motto that both Maggie and Dunstan live by. Each character is very strong willed and independent as one would expect. Anyone who lives life alone would have to be both of these. the characters also sha... ... middle of paper ... ...stan to be less of a man and in turn himself to be the greater man. Through analyzing the personal relationships of both Maggie and Dunstan many similarities can be found. Both characters display a pattern of maintaining relationships which lack depth. that is to say that the relationships never reach an emotional level where intimacy is evident. I also becomes evident that both characters pride themselves on independence. Neither character is willing to lean on another person , as this is viewed as weakness. If these characters can be viewed as spokespeople for Ethel Wilson and Robertson Davies it would seem as though both authors would agree with Maggies statement that "swimming is like living, it is done alone". This statement is defiantly applicable to both characters but it seems dangerous to assume that the characters are representative of the authors.

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