Memoir and the Construction of Narrative: Look at a Teacup by Patricia Hampl

Historically, memoir has been defined as a subcategory of autobiography. While the art of memoir is nonfiction and written from the first-person point of view (much like autobiography), memoir is differentiated in form from autobiography. Rather than summarizing a life in whole, the memoir offers a much more narrow form. An autobiography tells the story of a life, while memoir tells a story from a life. Memoir is more about what can be gleaned from a few years or a moment in the life of the author, than from the author's life as a whole. "A memoir is how one remembers one's own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked."

The word memoir shares the same root as the words memory and remembers. A memoir captures memories and comes from remembering. Unlike an autobiography, which describes in great detail the writer’s life, memoirs usually focus on a particular time, like childhood, or a particular moment, like the first day of school. These writings not only reveal memories from the author’s life, but they also reveal the author’s thinking and feeling, reactions and emotions. Memoirs may validate our lives. A memoir is a mere slice of ordinary life—a certain time period, a special relationship, a particular theme or angle on life written about the author of the piece. “We write memoirs to remember, to construct meaning from our lives, so that others may witness what life was like for us because this makes us feel more “real.” We write memoirs “to pass it on” and to record what must never be forgotten. We may write memoirs to better understand our lives.

In Look at a Teacup, Hampl has recalled her bygone days with the curves and slurs of the teacup given by her mother.  In narrative, she gives a personal definition of the art of memoir. She begins her memoir with the history of the teacup “she bought the teacup in 1939, of all years.” 1939 is historically unforgettable date in European history which excavates the memories of the brutal World War II, echoes of women’s cry, separation of family members, subjugation of patriarchy in the family, society and the whole world.

   The term memoirs have often been used to describe works that are more properly defined as autobiography, than the literary memoir. Memoir has been used interchangeably with autobiography or "memoirs", generally referred to in the possessive, "my memoirs" or "his memoirs", which were much like a collection of different memories from the author's life and thrown together. Patricia Hampl not only has recorded her memories, but also the memories of her mother. “My mother’s face, which has fallen into sadness, nothing tragic ever happened to her-nothing big, she will say.” Here, her mother’s memories are graver and almost blurred which she doesn’t like to scratch. She submerged into the ditch of marriage and family accepting them as the priorities of her life. Hamp remembers her conversation with mother when she was ten:

“I know the most important thing in the world”, I told her when I was ten.”

 “Well, what is it?” she asked.

“Work. Work is the most important thing.”

Her face showed fear. This fear is the manifestation of her inner thoughts. “No, family is the important thing. Family, darling”, her mother says. Her voice seems repressed and timid. She is the product of the male dominated society where women are reduced as a pet and domesticated living with perpetual fear. Her image can be reflected on the teacup “sometimes it’s so pale it doesn’t seem green at all.” Her face is pale with fear and she has lost natural color forever. The flowers of her life are all scattered which symbolically presented in the description of the cup, “inside the cup, there are the flowers, as if someone had scattered a bouquet and it had tumbled into separate blossoms.” Hampl further writes, “There is a slur of recollection about them, something imprecise, seductive, and foggy.” Here, the words ‘slur, seductiveu and foggy refer a blemish on the image of her mother by the ‘Male’- everyone who were involved in creation of this discourse and waging the war.

The Tao says,” true words aren’t eloquent; and eloquent words aren’t true”. Hampls words aren’t eloquent because it carries the bitter facts of the private life and makes it public as a mirror in front of their faces:

“… one day when dad came up behind her in the kitchen. He kissed her on the back of her neck. She thought they were alone, but my brother and I had followed him into the kitchen. He kissed her neck just where the hair stops. She turned from the sink […]. Her eyes were closed […] gave her lips a clownish kiss […] No, no she said. No, no to any joke.” (60-68)

The image of her father is shown no lesser than a rapist who attempts sex without caring the feeling of his wife and blinding himself with the circumstances. She dares to bring it to the public in order to demonstrate the reality of the male dominated society and to pose question to the so called marriage institution.

During the Second World War, many women become widow and they were compelled to do immoral acts by the force of time. So many of them were raped, brutalized and dragged to the streets by the nation’s policy. She writes “many things fell that year, for those brides- not only flowers into teacups. Their bodies fell, paired with other bodies, on beds together for the first time.” This crud statement juxtaposes marriage bed with the death bed for women who married at that year. Marriage is a recreational process which provides security and satisfaction in human life. But it has been appeared as a trapping black holes to many innocent girls at the time of buds. The horrible image of the war and its impact on female can be seen in her memoir:

Bodies fell that year in Madrid, too. In the cities of Spain, women looked up at the sky in terror. In Barcelona, almost for the first time in history, a woman carrying home a branch of forsythia wrapped in waxed paper ran for cover hiding from the air. In that war, bombs fell on women from the air, and it was planned. (60-67)

The war was planned by the male because Hitler was the male and the initiator of the war. Besides, the decision makers of the war from the initiative countries were all male. Here, she seems more radical in her thought because the long-life victims of the war were women and children. Hampl says that she tries to forget the history but every bits and fragments drives her into the past. She writes, “How can I ride forward on her errand when the entire world, even the smallest object sends me back, sets me wandering over and over about our own strange life and country, always trying to understand history and sexuality.”

In every family, women live like a stranger and a perpetual outsider. Their hands are chained by marriage, custom and rituals. Their voices are subdued and manipulated. The history of sexuality is like the discontinued pattern of the teacup. So she says, “Mother, the cups were discontinued because a country was discontinued.”

With her strong determination and an acute sense of revision of the past, Hampl criticizes women who say more than do. “We sit around a kitchen table, my friends and I, and try to describe even one thing, but it flies apart in words. Whole afternoons go. Women often waste time this way”. But she is sensing the importance of changing the history written by the males. She says, “History has to get written somehow. As Foucault says, history is written by those who are in power and it needs to be changed. “There are all these souvenirs in our houses. We have to wash and dust them,” appeals the writer. Since they don’t have their written history, all these souvenirs like her teacup are the documents of the history. It can speak more loudly then the musty history books written by the males sucking the blood of the women.

In this way, Patricia Hampl records her memories of World War II, along with the narratives of the history of sexuality and mother- daughter relationship. It only captures the bits and chunks of her past and shades sparks on the specific events colored by her own perspective. This memoir has many things to say as her mother always asks, “Darling, look at the teacup. It has more to say.”

            

Thematic Reading of "Bhabaharuka Sandarbha"; an Anthology of Gajal by Dev Raj Tiwari

Literature is the product of the society. The people of the same society are the consumers. It is an art of creative mind and pictogram of the human civilization. Poems are written to communicate artistically about the personal woes, social circumstances and historical dictums. To present these issues, creative writers have chosen different styles of presentation; syntactical and semantically cohesive elements.

Mr Devraj Tiwari is professionally a Teacher who has been teaching in different schools and collages since last 15 years. Poetry writing is his hobby. Although, ‘Bhavharuka Sandarbha’ is his first publication having seventy short songs (gazals), he has sang many Gazals in literary programs organized by Makwanpur Literary Society. Mr Tiwari writes poetry in different subject matters.

Kina Gita Gayau Dhalijane Hera

Byarthai Prita Laayau Jalijane Hera

(Why did you sing a song which destroys itself?

You love me absurdly which burns itself.) ( Gazal 1)

Here, the poet seems worried about love and its eternity. Songs of love are immortal as Shakespeare says in his sonnet addressing to his beloved which makes the love permanent. But, if the love burns the self, destroys the lovers, it has no meaning. So, the poet appeals to make the love eternal and meaningful. Today, love is treated as commodity and it has lost its value. T. S. Eliot, the modern poet laments in his poem “Wasteland” about the degradation of the value of platonic love. Love has been replaced by sex and vulgarity which destroys the lovers themselves.

Ma Ta Timro Dilko Gitar Bani Aauchhu

Tita Mitha Baat Garni Yar Bani Aauchhu

 ( I’ll come as the Gitar of your heart at  night

I’ll come as the lover to share despair and delight) ( Gazal 27)

Love is music to sooth the lovers and thrills them in the heart. Love unites their soul and keeps them happy. So, the persona says that he will come as a musical instrument to entertain his beloved. And also a true partner to share life’s anxieties and happiness. Love is the foundation of life which builds up hope for living. Life without love is complete astray. Many bloody wars were fought for love and great epics were written in love. As metaphorical poets said, “love is the union of both, soul and body.” Here, body refers the physical 

 love which can cement the spiritual love.

Bidhatale Dubailai Jutayeko Raat Pyaro

PuraPura Kahani Tyo Sunayeko Raat Pyaro

(The night was lovely which the God made us together

The story was lovely which we told to each other.) (Gazal 32)

People have lost faith in God and doubt began on everything. Today, there is no faith in love, no trust in relationships. Nights becomes nightmare for the couples who sleep together being separated in their heart. Modern gadgets like mobile, ipad, ipod has ruined the conversation between husband and wife. Therefore, the persona recalls his bygone days and says the night was lovely and romantic because it was designed by god. How wonderful was the night when we told the stories of love to each other melting in a same bowl. He further says:

Musukka Hasera Dhalayau Malai

Chup Lagda Lagdai Chalayau Malai

(You smiled while I was stony

You touched me while I was mute”) (Gazal 36)

Lovers are playful and enjoy pretention in the game. The persona pretends as if he is cold toward his girl, but her smile makes him hot. The girl makes him play with her. This is the part of love. When there is rejection prior to love it makes love more romantic and meaningful. They enjoy the love gained by effort. Oso says that love is a type of chemical which makes lovers dynamic in their characteristics. They quarrel much. They expect much. But it increases love between them. After the quarrel, lovers don’t speak to each other for hours which becomes the ages for them. As soon as the treaty is signed, the degree of love increases.

Besides love, patriotism is conspicuous in this anthology. The poet has stood like our brave martyrs Bhakti Thapa and Balbhadra Kuwar on the favour of nationalism. He says:

Yo Des Ko Pyaro Chhati

Mero Pani Ho Ni Sathi

(The lovely breast of this country

Oh, friend, this is mine too I pry) (Gazal 8)

Patriotism is a feeling of love towards own country, a sense of devotion and duty towards nation. But the politicians make it a song to cast a fog of illusion in the public. The persona compares his chest with the country. The country bears every problem, turmoil and always stands there like a victorious solder hiding wounds and scars of his body. So, he’s determined not to go elsewhere leaving his beloved country which is his own. It has the same blood. If the nation feels pain, so does him. Further says:

Itihas Biratako

Samji Hera Kati Jaati

(History of the brave people

Remember, how beautiful it is!) ( Gazal 8)

We have a history of bravery. Nepali is known as ‘Brave Gurkha’all over the world. Our ancestors fought bravely with the solders of Angrez in Nalapani Battle. They fought to death to protect this nation; so that we are calling Nepali to us. But, today this history has been bleared and smeared due to dirty politics. There is no love towards nation in action. People are sliding to other countries for job and security. The so called politicians are in deep slumber.

The poet also expresses his anxiety on the issues of regionalism and ethnic identity. He writes:

Himal Ani Pahad Ra Mades Pyaro Bhana

Janata Sabai Ataaune Yo Des Pyaro Bhana

(Mountain, hill and plain, say you love

All people can live together, say you love) ( Gazal 52)

Nepal is geographically diverse country. It is made up of Himal, Pahad and Terai. Different people from different ethnic groups live harmoniously. There is religious tolerance among them. So, the persona appeals them to make a vow that they love this diversification of the country.

In this way, Mr Tiwari presents multi subject matter in his collection of Gazals. Although, there are some technical flaws in the structure of gazals, thematically, this is praiseworthy. His art of depersonalization and simplicity make this book worth reading.