Conversely, the gray cat that stalks the quail, as predator, is identified with Harry Teller as an enemy of an unfallen Eden in the midst of a fallen world. The white quail, a symbol for Mary as well as for purity and idealism, is a cipher in the complex world of reality. Since the story contains so many clearly defined natural symbols (the garden as a renewed Eden, the outside world of the surrounding hills as an intruding evil), some critics have noted biblical overtones. This negative portrayal of the female has troubled feminist critics and led others to search for biographical parallels in Steinbeck’s disintegrating relationship with his first wife, Carol Henning.Īs evidence of the complexity of this second tale of The Long Valley, other analyses have been developed to understand this story of marital unhappiness. Her insistent attitude and her determination to be a dominant force in the marriage also contrast with his passivity. He is aroused sexually by her appearance, while she appears revolted by sex and often relegates him to a separate bedroom. He is relatively unconcerned and uninvolved with her planning, while the garden occupies Mary’s every waking hour. Depicted with an almost manic obsession for control, Mary clearly contrasts with Harry, her chosen mate. Choosing her husband, Harry Teller, on the basis of his compatibility with such a structured living area, Mary appears to exclude personal emotions so she can attain her goal. Told in six episodes, the story revolves around the goal of Mary Teller to wall out the natural environs and to replace them with a structured and artificial garden of her own creation. Since the events portrayed are rather static, however, and since the characters appear as mere archetypes of opposing forces or ideas, most critics have agreed that the plotline and characters are not the strengths of the story. Still others see Mary as a strong woman, struggling to exist in a world where male and female roles are stringently assigned. Some critics have used it as basic evidence of Steinbeck’s misogyny, believing that his portrait of Mary Teller is clearly designed to criticize her controlling, manipulating traits as well as her determination to create a false “ideal” world in the midst of a real one. Analysis of John Steinbeck’s The White QuailĪ wide variety of interpretations have greeted John Steinbeck’s “The White Quail” since its publication in The Long Valley in 1942.
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