In Quicksand by Nella Larsen, Helga Crane is the protagonist who seems dissatisfied with her surroundings. Helga’s character development throughout the story happens within her thoughts and actions. For example, in the beginning, Helga begins her work teaching at Naxos. At first she is optimistic about the young minds filled with aspirations, but then thinks that the school institution itself beats this out of them, to quote specifically: “Helga Crane had taught in Naxos for almost two years, at first with keen joy and zest of those immature people who have dreamed dreams of doing good to their fellow men. But gradually this zest was blotted out, giving place to a deep hatred for the trivial hypocrisies and careless cruelties which were, unintentionally perhaps, a part of the Naxos policy of uplift” (11). In understand Helga, I get the sense that she is someone who battles with the desires of her heart and the realities of real life. She questions the differences her friendship would make to the students and compares it to the size of an atom. She also struggles with the notion that money holds her back, and although she struggles to be free and express the actions her mind seems to scream for, everything isn’t as simple to make happen for herself. Helga seems to struggle with the desires she has in her mind and the oppression that seems to surround her regarding race. Helga fumes over the sermon of the preacher who urges that black people of Naxos were superior because they knew to stay in their place, and to go further than that would lead them only to corruption. Although the preacher seems to at times praise the students, Helga understands the message behind the preachers sermon, This infuriates her and she imagines the creativeness and individuality that would be able to be expressed but aren’t, comparing the school to a “machine”.Here Helga again is faced with the fact that her true wishes and desires fall dead on the reality of the situation, and when it finally hits her, she can no longer stand it and devises a plan to free herself from Naxos.
Intro to Women Writers-Hybrid Sp 2014
Writing Women of the Long 20th Century
I agree with you, Keila. Also, I think it’s interesting to see Helga’s epiphany regarding her future right in the beginning of the story. After being able to escape her reality for some time while standing alone in the room, she finally reaches a limit and decides her life has to take a different path.
To add on to yours thoughts of when you stated that Helga’s struggles with the notion that money holds her back. I agree completely with this statement. Helga struggles with identity and finding out what she truly wants. Helga struggles with the desire to want the finer things in life which in her case she repeatedly refers to as nice clothes (page 368). She wants material security. As the narrator discusses on the bottom on page 372 “clothes had been one of her difficulties.. Helga loved clothes, elaborates ones”. She believed if she has the financial freedom to get whatever she wants, this will bring her one step closer to finding the happiness she can’t define herself.
Yes, Helga did struggle with the desire to want the finer things in life but when she was spoiled with those finer things like clothes, jewelers by her aunt in Denmark she didn’t feel as exotic and as superior as they made her to be. When she arrived in Denmark her sense for materialistic objects made her feel special and part of her felt like she finally has all the luxury she wanted but as time passed by she realized her life is still missing something. She also realized it wasn’t the financial freedom that will make her happy. She had to move on with her journey to discover her true self and what makes her happy.