Introduction
Raymond Carver’s story titled “Gazebo” is connected to Edward Hopper’s charcoal drawing titled Study for Hotel by a Railroad by exploring the theme of psychological distance in romantic relationships. The story’s plot revolves around the troubled marriage of Holly and Duane. The couple’s connection gets weaker and extraordinarily painful after Duane cheats on Holly. The two spend an entire day in the motel’s room trying to resolve Holly’s suffering. Still, nothing can restore her faith in Duane’s sincerity, making the theme of a growing distance between partners explained dynamically. The story was chosen for analysis due to its realistic images of broken trust and informativeness in illustrating highs and lows in romantic connections. The drawing depicts a man and a woman in a hotel room that avoid looking at each other, making the depictions of strained relationships the central connection. The works’ messages are similar as both oppose the fairytale romance idea by illustrating invisible yet insurmountable barriers between partners.
The Connection between Carver’s and Hopper’s Works
The drawing’s composition and characters resemble the story’s plot to a great extent since both works are concerned with imperfect relationships in which partners are one-on-one with painful realizations despite being together. Carver’s story is set in the motel and features a cheater and his desperate wife incapable of “taking it anymore.” Similar to that, a couple staying in a hotel room is the drawing’s leading subject, which is clear from the title of Hopper’s work. Holly “sits on the sofa” and consumes alcohol, apparently in an attempt to reduce the unbearable pain and get distracted from mental images she wishes to forget. The man in Hopper’s drawing sips something from his glass, too. The woman in the drawing is in the armchair, and the fading contour of her book suggests that she is skimming through the pages too fast. Her relatively angry facial expression and these nervous hand movements suggest she is concerned with looking for anything to fiddle with to redirect her attention from something emotionally unpleasant. Thus, the works suggest being alone with one’s pain or concerns.
By using colors, light, compositional features, and descriptions, the works skillfully convey the atmosphere of disconnection and hopelessness. Being around her husband, Holly often “closes her eyes and turns her head back and forth” instead of looking him in the eyes. It resembles a lack of eye contact between the characters in the drawing. The light from another room falls on the faces of Hopper’s characters, making it obvious that neither of them seeks to steal a glance at the partner and reconnect, at least superficially. In terms of colors, Hopper’s drawing uses charcoal, and its black-and-white palette assists the artist in highlighting the disappointment the couple must be experiencing after some unwanted discussions. The lack of hope in Hopper’s drawing might be less extreme compared to Carver’s Holly, whose heart “has turned to a piece of stone.” Nevertheless, in both cases, there is no place for joy or images of the future that would fill the characters with enthusiasm.
Conclusion
Finally, the link exists since both the story and the drawing introduce the audience to couples that deal with thoughts and experiences that create barriers between them and leave them with a bleak picture of the future. The connection becomes clear from the story’s narrative means and the drawing’s color palette, use of light, and composition. Concerning the works’ meaningfulness, Hopper’s drawing seems to be more open to interpretation and makes the audience think about human relationships’ fragile nature and feel some uneasiness. The reason for that is the characters’ poses and a lack of contact between the two. Carver’s work seems to be more straightforward, with the writer wanting the audience to feel and reflect on irreversible damage in relationships. This could be explained by the author’s attempt to teach a valuable moral lesson and warn the audience against following Duane’s example.