1. The symbol of the street-car carriage described in Emilia Pardo Bazanâs short story reflects the desire of the people to represent themselves as belonging to the higher class and to overcome the challenges of the real plebeian life. To accentuate the gap between the desire and reality, Bazan states about the plebeian carriage as about the aristocratic one, âOh, how gay the Madrilenian Sunday is and how aristocratic the streetcar at that time of dayâ (Bazan 46).
2. In Bazanâs short story, the symbolically important carriage is described as âthe plebeian streetcarâ which âsparkles proudly in the sunâ (Bazan 46).
One carriage scene in Washington Square is when âin the carriage, as they drove home, she [Catherine] was as quiet as if fatigue had been her portionâ (James 23). The next scene is when Catherine tried to reach âthe road, where the carriage stood waiting. In it sat her father, rigid and silent; in silence, too, she took her place beside himâ (James 100).
3. The carriage in Emilia Pardo Bazanâs short story symbolizes the inner desire of the people to hide their origin and to achieve the social tops when the carriage in Henry Jamesâs novel is a symbol of the home where silence and patience can be found.
4. The carriage described by Bazan is the reflection of the peopleâs changing nature when they can seem to be plebeian or aristocratic. On the contrary, the carriage in Jamesâs novel is the symbol of the charactersâ true nature when they prefer to become silent or quiet to find the desired patience.
5. Susan McKenna states that in her story, Bazan focuses on âthe various types boarding the streetcar at the Puerta del Solâ (McKenna 81). As a result, the social dissimilarity of the population is emphasized along with the description of the carriage.
6. In her discussion of Bazanâs works, Susan McKenna concentrates on the features and elements not only from the social perspective but also from the point of gender.
7. In the introduction to Jamesâs novel, Jennie Kassanoff states that Washington Square is rich in symbols, and the reference to cars is important to reflect the charactersâ true nature and their desire to run from themselves (Kassanoff ix).
8. Jennie Kassanoff is great in seeing deeper in the context and symbolism of Jamesâ novels and stories.
9. The symbol of the âchangingâ carriage in Bazanâs story is an attempt to represent different types of people and their possible desires to play the other personsâ roles within the society. These various types of people want to escape from the plebian reality and to achieve the social tops.
10. The symbol of a carriage in Jamesâs novel is the authorâs attempt to describe the place where the characters can avoid their ironical behaviors and become silent in order to achieve some harmony.
11. The main ideas which should be emphasized with references to symbolism in Bazan and Jamesâs works are that the simple symbol of a carriage as the public transport can be used to reflect the diverse public with its many ideas and desires. Moreover, the carriage is also the symbol of the transition from one state to the other when people cease to be active and become silent because they want to behave in such a way.
Works Cited
Bazan, Emilia. “The White Horse” and Other Stories. USA: Bucknell University Press, 1993. Print.
James, Henry. Washington Square. USA: Interactive Media, 2012. Print.
Kassanoff, Jennie. âIntroductionâ. Daisy Miller and Washington Square. Ed. Jennie Kassanoff. USA: Spark Educational Publishing, 2004. i-x. Print.
McKenna, Susan. Crafting the Female Subject: Narrative Innovation in the Short Fiction of Emilia Pardo BazĂĄn. USA: CUA Press, 2009. Print.