The final section of Proud Man begins with a rather grim tone, to say the least, as it involves a deeply troubled and traumatized individual, Gilbert Hassall. This man has spent a great deal of time in dark places, but after his encounter with the Person, he begins to spend time more frequently in lighter and brighter places. This section has an interesting stance on locale, or place, that I would like to parse out, as I find it to be an important element to this section in particular.
First and foremost, the dichotomy of light and darkness, along with similar opposites, is seen in full here. Gilbert often indicates that he wants to relish in the sunshine; he wishes to be in bright places where he can read classical literature with enthusiasm and feeling (293). Despite his inner desire to be in these cheerful places, where "young" Gilbert was once happy and good, Gilbert has not been able to escape the tendrils of dark places. He refuses to enter or even to look into his mother's room for a number of days, as the dark tree obscures all light from entering. Even after Gilbert removed the tree, and entered the room, he becomes very cold, and wishes to be in the company of the Person (311). Curiously, Gilbert has no difficulty being alone, but not in a cold place like the moon (262-263). Even in his dreams, Gilbert is prone to be exposed to the horrors of his childhood.
I am drawing attention to these specific events for this reason: Gilbert has obviously lived a hard life, having grown up in a broken family. It is especially in childhood when one is most vulnerable to be damaged by traumatic events, and Gilbert certainly had his share of them. As the Person helps him to realize, Gilbert does not fear the darkness simply because it is dark, but because of who might be lurking inside it. It is in his mother's dark room that he observes one of her terrifying "fits", and thus, it is in places of darkness where his painful memory is attached. The Person examines this woman in his earlier dreams, where she has a fluid and terrifying face. It appears that moments of strong feeling and emotion, be they pleasant or horrible, often remain in the place of origin; when Gilbert cuts the throats of innocent little girls, he buries the bodies in their respective places, one of which happens to be a watery pit near a wood, not unlike the bog or swamp that appears in his dreams (271). On the other hand, the locations that Gilbert deeply wishes to be in are appropriate, based on the feelings he derives from what happens there. He finds delight and relief in an orchard near his house, where he connects with Elsie and her kitten. These beautiful places can also be traced in Gilbert's dreams, where he finds himself on the sunny side of a river.
Based on these observations, I will put forth a few questions that will hopefully lead to some healthy discussion.
-Using Gilbert's fascination for the classics, I am able to distinguish between his dark times in Tartarus and his light times in the Elysian Fields. Are there other instances in Proud Man where location drastically changes or somehow affects the characters in the story? If so, what places can you cite and how do they relate to the main figures?
-All three individuals of the story (Andrew, Leonora, and Gilbert) all describe the Person in the same way: as cold, devoid of all feeling, or like a stone, motionless and still. Are these descriptions of the 'human', as opposed to the 'subhuman', in any way, enlightening to you? If you met such a Person in this life, would his/her countenance give you the same impression?
-What do you make of Proud Man's ending? Based on the Person's "analysis" of the dream, did the Person reach a satisfying "conclusion" in his/her "experiment"? It should be noted that the Person himself/herself is in a state of confusion for some time after the dream ended, and even notes that it remains a possibility, albeit a remote one, that the subhuman was indeed the ancestor of the human.
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