Friday, November 14, 2008

My White Rope

I am still wondering just what this white rope mean in the book, and why does Mr. Wentworth choose to climb down it and not up. I think that Mr. Wentworth is holding on to the only thing that he has to look forward to in life or the only thing that he has loved ever "Adela", and that the reason he chooses to climb down it is that in his mind he is going to die sooner than later, so it makes no sense to climb up, when he perfectly know that he should slowly climb down till his death. I liked how he said that maybe the rope is climbing up, so he is just fighting to stay there, i guess, trying his best to stay alive, and fight for that little chance of happiness with Adela, that one first and final shot at love.

1 comment:

hpeterse said...

I agree with you that Wentworth is fighting to stay on the rope in order to stay alive and "fight for that little chance of happiness with Adela, that one first and final shot at love." But I view the rope as leading either to heaven or to hell since the rope itself is life. After all, Williams writes that Wentworth wanted to remain on the rope, but he knew it was impossible. This connects, then, with the title of book in how Wentworth is continually climbing lower and lower, descending into hell. I love how Williams writes that Wentworth is not sliding, but climbing and that he cannot see the knots that allow him to continue his descent. I see this as Wentworth's own choices leading him toward hell and separation from God. Further, the fact that he cannot see the knots shows that he cannot pinpoint what in his life is leading him on this path. This is how I viewed the rope when I read about it.