When he comes back to see Clarissa, his main goal is to look like a different and successful person. In a way, he wants to prove that her decline was a mistake and that she should regret it. He even mentions his new love, Daisy. But, this is something I'm sure everyone does. If someone rejected you and went on to be with another person, you would want to prove to him/her that you're perfectly fine without him/her. Most importantly, you want to show him/her that you've also moved on. Peter Walsh is doing exactly that or is at least attempting to.
To be honest, Peter kind of got slapped in the face two times. He had to go through a transition where Clarissa started to like Richard more than Peter, and he got hit with Clarissa's rejection. Damn. As much as Peter was critical of Clarissa, this is a hard blow to Peter. It's not easy coming back from such a defeat.
So should Peter be given a pass and not be looked as petty? In my opinion, I think Peter is doing the best he can. Through all these years, the fact that Peter hasn't forgotten about Clarissa shows his true heart. Because of his critical and sometimes annoying moments, readers (and Clarissa!) have a tendency to forget Peter's inner characteristics. While Clarissa might think his comments insensitive and unnecessary, I believe his comments (although sometimes invading I'll admit) still show a sincere side of Peter; they hide a hidden passionate love for Clarissa. Peter is quick to judge Clarissa because he cares for her; if he didn't, why would he say such things?
Hit me up in those comments.
Peter might seem petty to us (and to Clarissa), and you're right that, given her description, he seems to be "that guy" who is always criticizing her from afar (as indeed he does at her party). But in his view, he's not being petty at all--he's attempting to "save" Clarissa from what he sees as a petty and trivial, conventional existence. In his view, when they were younger, they had "theories" about all the fundamental and important things in life. Clarissa has "sold out" this more rebellious, independent-minded younger self, and now all she cares about are domestic issues like her parties. He sees her as a much deeper and more substantial person than her public persona would seem to allow. So in HIS view, he's not petty at all--her conventional life is what's petty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. From our perspective, It seems as though Peter is petty. I think that his intentions are good. He wants Clarissa to like him, so he makes sincere comments in order to try to help her.
ReplyDeleteI think we can also sympathize with Peter. It probably sucks that he got rejected by his love, and he still probably loves Clarissa. But when Peter looks like Clarissa's life, and how she values these social events like her parties, he probably sees her as the petty one. Good post matthew!!!