Up until the middle of Libra, we had seen Lee Harvey Oswald only from the perspective of a rugged, lone teenager and a young man aspiring to become entangled in the dangerous world of politics. With this in mind, it's interesting to get a glimpse of Oswald as just... a "normal" person with modest desires, such as marrying a woman, Marina, and starting a family. As much as he would probably not like for this to be the case, one thing is clear--both of these worlds, that of politics and that of personal life, overlap, and it's evident in the way that he and Marina engage with one another after moving to America. (It also comes across in the way Lee treats his mother, but that's just somewhat related.)
Looking at their relationship before having a child, they seemed to have been "the same as anyone, completely ordinary," as DeLillo loosely claims on page 202 of the novel. The way he describes their relationship beginning to form is incredibly sweet, with Lee being amazed with facts about Marina, and the two being windswept into love and marriage. At this point, before other significant events happen in his personal life, Lee and Marina really do seem to be like any other couple in love, and having a good time with one another.
However, the frays in their relationship crept up on me. First, it was they were like anyone else in love, and soon, "they were like people anywhere ... if they quarreled it was only because he had a different nature in America and that was the only way he could love." Sure, there were speed bumps in any relationship, especially with such a move and culture shock, but this came across as a little sinister to me.
Marina doesn't understand Lee's hostility and dismissive nature geared towards his mother, and when she's only trying to gather more information about him, understand his life a little more: "He hit her in the face. A open-hand smash ... she stood there with her head tucked against her left shoulder, one hand raised in blank surprise." (230)
Though this moment concerned me just as much as it probably shocked Marina, I wasn't surprised when Lee began to turn violent. Or, was he even "turned" violent? I think at this point in the novel, it's clear that Lee's frame of mind is all over the place. He can't handle her questions, her inquiries, her really just trying to understand where Lee was coming from... and he couldn't handle that. It's not just the fact that Marina isn't taking what Lee is saying for word. It's the fact that he wants to keep any part of his life private from her, especially any part that leads to her finding out more about his involvement in the riskier side of politics.
We can see from the continuation of the novel that the domestic violence gets worse, and becomes more commonplace. Lee's frustration with Marina is evident when he mentions how she "[tells] those Russians how [they] live their lives ... [their] private lives." The biggest proponent to Lee's violence is that he's worried about the spheres of his life overlapping, which we know is futile, considering the characters that put themselves into contact with Lee towards the end of the novel. It's hard for me to empathize with Lee here, now that his dealings are not only affecting himself, but those around him that are unaware.
I was also really interested by Lee's relationship with Marina (I'll probably also write a blog post on this), and with his daughter June. The domestic violence stuff definitely doesn't sit well with me (duh) but I agree with you, it didn't really surprise me all that much. I'm glad that Lee hasn't yet inflicted any violence on his daughter (although abusing Marina in front of June isn't exactly psychologically healthy for the kid). Despite the violence, though, I do think that Lee has been able to find a lot of comfort in having a wife and family. Despite all the unhealthy stuff, despite the fact that Marina doesn't seem to benefit all that much, I do think that Lee has benefitted from having her in his life.
ReplyDeleteI actually was pretty surprised, though maybe I shouldn't have been. One side of Lee is so concerned with helping people-- or at least social justice, but he really doesn't do a very good job of applying that concern to his interactions with others. I know this point has been beaten into the ground during our discussions, but it's really true that he puts more effort into feeling like a hero or a cool secret agent (a man of history) than he does into actually helping people or doing what ever secret agents actually do-- getting good information or something.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not extremely surprised by Lee's capability of acting violently towards others, I definitely did not expect that, out of all of the people in his life, he would be hurting Marina. I think the positive effects Marina and June have had on Oswald's life are profound. They seem to be his only grounding force, the patches of light in an otherwise dark and lonely world. Lee managed to find someone who loves him and pays him all the attention he craves, and it seems as though he appreciates the affection. So for him to lash out at his wife almost uncontrollably was difficult to read about, for the obvious reasons but also because of the fact that Lee is hurting the person who is giving him exactly what he wants.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Marina is a little too nosy.
ReplyDeleteIt's not super surprising that Lee turned out violent, given his childhood, and as sad as it is about it being towards Marina, it makes some sense. Lee has typically been a lonely person, and Marina is the person he's around the most, which means he knows her the best. I think him lashing out at her is logical because I don't like he's bad enough to take his anger out on a random person. Marina just happens to be the nearest person to him a lot of the time, so she becomes the victim. To a sane person, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I can see how it would make sense to Lee.
ReplyDeleteIt felt strange to me that someone like Lee, after following his life from childhood to the military and then beyond, would have a child and start a family. He has unusual aspirations and hasn't really fit in anywhere or made that many substantial connections to other people. I thought it was nice that he experienced something pleasant like falling in love, but it did feel inevitable that his relationship with Marina would eventually turn out poorly. Marina feeling that Lee isn't revealing all of himself to her is a particularly disturbing insight and also shows that even with marriage, Lee doesn't connect well with other people.
ReplyDeleteOn some level I understand why Lee would push his mother away. Throughout the time he spent with her while growing up, they were always moving and he seemed to be unhappy. I thought it would be good for Lee when he finally settled down with Marina and June, so I too was surprised when he hit Marina. This directed my earlier sympathy away from Lee. Still, for a big part of the book he lived separately from his family trying to support them. When he pleaded with Marina to move into an apartment with him at the end of the book and she refused, I again sympathized with Lee. Really, throughout the book my opinion of Lee was never really positive, but I often felt bad for him.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there is the domestic violence, I do think that Lee's affection/feelings toward Marina are real. They don't seem to be faked, he doesn't seem to just be playing a role as a husband and father. The way he pines after his children when he's there, or when he just sits with June Lee for an hour to the way Lee desperately tries to get Marina to come live with him right before the shooting--there's a genuine sense to it all. Coupled with the domestic violence, though, it's a confusing relationship.
ReplyDeleteI found Lee's violence towards his wife to be expected given his childhood and background. Im not saying that everyone who has a troubled childhood will beat their wife, but it's not a shocker. I personally don't feel like Lee is capable of handling a family life and taking care of a child. He seems like a genuine introvert and the part where he is beating his wife, and even the part where he is acting so rude to his mother about writing the book, are difficult to read because we know how much those people care about Lee.
ReplyDelete