Small World- Part Three

How is the theme of disillusionment shown in this part? What does this have to say about the characters affected?

One of the prominent themes in this part of the text is the idea of disillusionment. This concept is raised at many points. First, there is a general disillusionment of the study of English. This can be seen through Parkinson's research student, Frobisher's contempt for the number of literary awards, and von Turpitz's plagiarism of Persse's paper, to name a few.

The most blatant display of disillusionment is Persse's disillusionment over Angelica. When Persse finds out that Angelica is a stripper, and later, a prostitute, he feels like he should no longer love her. I find this to show a lot about Persse's view of Angelica and his love for her. The first thing that I think of in this scenario is the parallel to Calisto in Celestina. Once Calisto slept with Melibea, he ceased to desire her. When Persse, an academic, discovered Angelica's true self, he ceased to want her any more. I think that it is possible to say that knowledge is Persse's version of sex, and that this knowledge satiated his desire.

I also speculate that there is more to Angelica than Persse thinks. First off, her name suggests that she is not the Jezebel that Persse believes her to be. Besides the obvious connotations to innocence that her first name invokes, the reader learns that her middle name is Lily, another symbol of innocence and purity.