Miriam

Miriam : 

Miriam By Truman Capote

Truman Capote"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.“ : 

Truman Capote"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.“ Born September 30, 1924, in New Orleans. Name at birth: Truman Streckfus Persons Truman took his stepfather’s last name, Capote, after his mother married Died of liver failure on August 25, 1984, at age 59. Best known for his 2 famous novels: Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. Capote was openly homosexual and flamboyant Used alcohol and drugs heavily, which contributed to his death.

“Miriam” : 

“Miriam” The short story “Miriam” was published in Mademoiselle magazine, June 1945 and was awarded the O Henry Memorial Award in 1946. “Miriam” began Capote’s literary career, as he received his first contract from Random House after an editor there read “Miriam” and was impressed.

Capote’s ambiguity : 

Capote’s ambiguity Capote likes to deal in ambiguity. A favorite technique of his is to introduce a bizarre element into an ordinary scene or story and let it fester.

Capote’s ambiguity : 

Capote’s ambiguity Miriam is a bizarre and irrational element, one that can intrude on an orderly life for no apparent reason. She is an agent of diabolical fate, blithely defying one's insistence on rational explanations.

Many questions surround “Miriam”… : 

Many questions surround “Miriam”… Who is Miriam? Is Miriam real? Why does she show up? Why does she look like a ghost? Is Mrs. Miller insane? Who is the old man? What happens at the end of the story?

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller Mrs. H. T. Miller is a widow who lives alone in a small apartment near the East River in New York City. She dresses simply and wears no makeup.

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller It is clear from the outset that Mrs. Miller is not a stereotypical recluse living behind locked doors in dark, untidy rooms. Her apartment is described as a pleasant one in a recently remodeled building.

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller She is a widow, but there is a mention only of adequate insurance, not of insurmountable grief.

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller Although she may have narrow interests and no close friends, she gets out to the grocery store once in a while, occasionally takes in a film, and even goes shopping. Her life is no different from countless other lives, especially in a big city.

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller Capote says that “her activities were seldom spontaneous,” that she rarely does more than clean house, fix food, tend her canary, and smoke an occasional cigarette. It may sound like a life of quiet desperation but not one of delusional madness.

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller Near the beginning of the story, a snow begins to fall during which ''foot tracks vanished as they were printed'' – perhaps suggesting that Mrs. Miller herself will soon be quietly erased. Does this suggest the quiet fading away of the elderly as youth (inevitably) takes over?

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller Some critics suggest that Mrs. Miller represents Capote’s mother. Miriam is peculiarly motherless, like Capote was as a child. Capote as a child

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller Mrs. Miller observes more than once, Miriam's mother, whoever she may be, must care little for her, especially in light of the fact that Miriam arrives at the old woman's home at all hours of the night.

Mrs. H. T. Miller : 

Mrs. H. T. Miller "Your mother must be insane. . . She must be out of her mind," Mrs. Miller exclaims. As a child Capote experienced a similarly unchaperoned freedom. His mother never knew where he was because she was never around.

Miriam : 

Miriam

Miriam : 

Miriam Miriam shows up unexpectedly, asks for things, and attempts to move in, as if Mrs. Miller is obligated to take care of her. Mrs. Miller purchases treats for Miriam, just as a doting, loving relative might (does she expect her?)

Miriam : 

Miriam Miriam grows more and more irrepressible. She moves into the widow's room--sternly telling her "I've come to live with you"--steals her precious cameo brooch and hurls a vase filled with paper roses to the floor, then instructs Mrs. Miller to "kiss me good night" (the woman musters just enough strength to decline). Miriam is almost impossible to avoid or suppress.

Miriam : 

Miriam When Miriam arrives with a box of clothes, prepared to move in, Mrs. Miller becomes filled with anxiety. Who/what does Mrs. Miller fear? Her own insanity? Death?

Miriam : 

Miriam At this point, it is logical for readers to question whether Miriam is real or symbolic of some element of Mrs. Miller’s life that she will have to “live with” from then on

Miriam : 

Miriam Rather than give in to Miriam, Mrs. Miller makes a sane move: She goes for help. The neighbors do not take her for a crazy woman. Instead, they comfort her and offer to check things out for her. When the neighbors check Mrs. Miller’s apartment, nothing is amiss and no one is there.

Miriam : 

Miriam However, Mrs. Miller returns to her apartment alone and finds Miriam still there—here her mental state is questionable and the reader sees that Miriam probably only exists in Mrs. Milller’s mind.

Miriam : 

Miriam Encroaching insanity? Psychosis? From the next room, Mrs. Milller hears the rustle of a silk dress moving nearer, swelling in intensity; she feels the walls trembling with vibrations and the room caving under a wave of whispers.

Miriam : 

Miriam As Mrs. Milller stares into the face of the fragile Miriam, who has the hair and eyes of an old woman, she may either be surrendering to some sort of madness, or she may be facing the overwhelming reality that her life is merely a meaningless existence.

The old man : 

The old man

The old man : 

The old man Another irrational element in the story is the deformed old man who stalks Mrs. Miller while she is on her shopping spree.

The old man : 

The old man It is not until Miriam mentions having lived with a very poor old man that Mrs. Miller finally breaks down and runs for help, for she knows intuitively that it must be the same old man.

The old man : 

The old man Are both the old man and Miriam mere figments of Mrs. Miller’s imagination—demons of her deepest dreads? Could her mental state include paranoia, one in which she imagines that a random elderly pedestrian is stalking her?

The Ending : 

The Ending

The ending of the story… : 

The ending of the story… So…is Mrs. Miller insane? Becoming delusional? Suffering from dementia brought on by aging?

The ending of the story… : 

The ending of the story… Is Mrs. Miller lonely and living with an overactive imagination?

The ending of the story… : 

The ending of the story… Could Mrs. Miller be facing her own mortality and fearing death?

The ending of the story is yours to interpret. : 

The ending of the story is yours to interpret. End of presentation.