Mobility In Paul's Case

Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case” is an examination into the nature of upward social mobility. In regard to this subject matter, her assertion consists of the concept that the advancement from one’s social class is not possible. Any aspirations to achieve it are, thus, considered to be futile. Such a claim can be seen throughout the short story in the protagonist’s relationship with his own social class status. The main character, Paul, is strongly attracted to the aesthetic elements of the wealthy lifestyle and holds contempt for everything else that does not reach the standard. This includes the very life circumstances he was born into. To mitigate the internal conflict caused by his living conditions not aligning with his ideals, Paul completely

There is “the nerveless sense of defeat; the hopeless feeling of sinking back forever into ugliness and commonness that he always had when he came home…After each of these orgies of living, he experienced all the physical depression which follows a debauch; the loathing of respectable beds, of common food, of a house penetrated by kitchen odors; a shuttering repulsion for the flavorless, colorless mass of every-day existence; a morbid desire for cool thing and soft lights and fresh flowers” (76). Aspects of Paul’s life outside the symphonies and theatres all serve as harsh reminders for what he can receive as a result of his social class status. The reality of this threatens to reveal the illusions that he can ever acquire the material wealth portrayed in the orchestras and plays. In denial of the truth, Paul decides to instead believe that it is imperative he distinguished himself from the monotony of his surroundings and therefore, assert his belonging to the wealthy class. The combination of the feeling of entitlement to the high class manner of living and the need to defend it creates tension and a pretentious attitude in him. He attempts to dispel the tension by proving his superiority to his classmates and teachers through lies, which includes the declaration of being a valuable asset to the performing group at the theatre and his intimacy with the singers at the symphony

Paul’s lies to his fellow social class members eventually lead to his ban from the symphonies and theatres as they became more exaggerated. This cuts away all his means of escaping the truth of his reality. Rather than submit to it, Paul decides to embezzle money from the Denny & Carson firm to fund a trip to New York City. It is there that he spends his time in full luxury and delusions. He even begins to doubt his past with “Had he ever known a place called Cordelia Street, a place where fagged-looking business men got on the early car; mere rivets in a machine, they seemed to Paul—sickening men, with combings of children’s hair always hanging to their coats, and the smell of cooking in their clothes…had he not always been thus, had he not sat here night after night, from as far back as he could remember, looking pensively over just such shimmering textures and slowly twirling the stem of a glass like this one between his thumb and middle finger” (81)? With his immediate surroundings no longer contradicting his ideals, Paul’s denial of reality increases. He is able to further delude himself into thinking that he finally succeeded in obtaining the wealthy lifestyle. There are no more constant reminders of his low social standing to dispel any of the illusions. Yet, this soon does not last long