Prufrock Relationships Essay
In lines 26-69, how does Eliot portray the character of Prufrock and his relationships?
In lines 26-69 of “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” , Eliot reveals the thoughts and feelings of the subject, Prufrock, through a narrative poem that illustrates Prufrock’s insecurity. Eliot does not comment directly but allows the reader to draw conclusions from the hints given in Prufrock’s dramatic monologue, where his thoughts are presented in free association (stream of consciousness). Through the use of unstructured verse, irregular rhyming and modernist techniques, Eliot paints a portrait of the tortured psyche of a modern man who is over-educated, neurotic and emotionally stilted.
Prufrock is self-conscious about his appearance. He tries to dress smartly and conventionally with a morning coat collar that is “mounting firmly to the chin” and a necktie
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He views the people in the room as groups and considers himself as an outsider. Prufrock observes women who“come and go talking of Michelangelo”. Not only does he feel anxious around women, he also feels emotionally distant from the rest of society, causing him to live a lonely and depressed life. Prufrock as an outsider is emphasised by the extended metaphor of the fog- cat. Fog is intangible, it is able to inhabit places other creatures cannot, sitting on drains and window panes. Prufrock, just like the cat, is able to ‘linger’ on window-panes, quietly observing social routines. The languid metaphor of the cat suggests Prufrock’s mental state- he is depicted as a pathetic man whose anxieties over activity and indecision isolate him. Eliot uses fog as a symbol to demonstrate humanity’s detachment from each other. In Portrait of a Lady, “the smoke and fog of a December afternoon” mock the unwelcoming atmosphere created by the man and woman as the man coldly observes the woman arranging her room, quoting dialogue of drama and
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