Swift has a funny sort of fascination with the body and its vulgarities; not only what the body discharges, but also the components of said body. While Gulliver's adventures among the Lilliputians provide examples of the former, Brobdingnag provides for the latter.
Gulliver is disgusted by the natural form when viewing it from his minute position among the giants, and twice this disgust is focused upon the breasts. First, the farmer's wet-nurse is the object of abhorrence when she tries to suckle the farmer's child: "I must confess no Object ever disgusted me so much as the Sight of her monsterous Breast. . .and the Hue of [the nipple] and the Dug so varified with Spots, Pimples, and Freckles, and nothing could appear more nauseous" (141). A similar reaction occurs within the Palace, whilst surrounded by the Maids of Honor in their apartments--a boy's dream, is it not, to be surrounded by beautiful and privileged women, often half naked? Not quite. "A very offensive Smell came from their Skins. . .my Sense was more acute in Proportion to my Littleness," noted when Gulliver himself is stripped and placed on their bosoms. And their naked bodies were "very far from being a tempting Sight, or from giving me any other Motions than those of Horror and Disgust. Their Skins appeared so coarse and uneven, so variously colored when I saw them near," followed by a wonderful description of a hairy mole (168). Giant breasts are apparently not as popular as believed by porn.
Gulliver himself draws some comparisons to the people of Lilliput, whom he viewed at a distance due to their smaller stature. "The Complexions of those Diminutive People appeared to me the fairest in the World," and though he is told of this or that person's physical flaws, he is unable to discern them from his lofty perception (141). Several times, the Brobdingnagians are mentioned to comment upon how fair he seems, now that he is the diminutive creature.
From this, I gather that the world, people, and countries look quite nice from up high, say, from a monarch's seat. But from down low, viewing the world from the foot of the Leviathan, things are not so pretty. They are pockmarked, discolored, and offensive (and apparently, comparable to breasts). Gulliver is lucky to experience this difference in perspective, whereas the monarch wouldn't dare lower himself to the level of a peasant, who cannot rise above their station and look down.
The idea of portraying size in relation to social station was a great insight. i never thought of it like that before. Yeah the idea of people of a higher station lowering themselves to the savage and grotesque nature of not being as privileged would be pretty terrible, I mean how hard would it be to go somewhere like a third world country and see disease, war, and it's effect on the common people if your in a place of privilege, how uncomfortable would it make you? maybe that's why sections of cities were kept apart from eachother, the privileged and the lower classes were walled away from eachother just like the different races are kept apart my geography.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight. This seems to all point back to what I've thought of as the main point of Gulliver's Travels: that no matter what, if you look close enough, everyone and everything is ugly and stupid.
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