Meg Wolitzer's Aout Critiques Today's Crazies
"Aout" is a story about the insecurity of NYC's uppercrust.
Dec 20, 2008 Pauline Lacanilao
In her short story “Aout,” Meg Wolitzer’s use of humor drives the distortion and criticism of contemporary neuroticism that the story is about. From the beginning, we know that the story is being narrated from the first-person perspective of a patient.
Of course, we don’t consider this patient to be someone who needs to be institutionalized, or who has severe mental or emotional disorders. Instead, she and the other patients seem to be members of a distinct sect of New York City’s upper class—the nosy yuppies who don’t get enough attention and who have too much time on their hands.
Clever Epithets
Woltizer presents this idea to us in her masterful characterization of the people introduced in this story. From Dr. V’s “big-framed blue eyeglasses” and the way she says “Oh?” when a patient mentions her presence in a dream, to the narrator’s epithets for the other patients (like the adolescent “Learner’s Permit” and the obscurely gay “Lightning Booth”)—Wolitzer crafts for the reader, a clear image of people who think they’re crazy but aren’t.
This is where the humor comes in. The readers can tell that the narrator and her fellow patients take themselves too seriously, and we sense the absurdity in it.
Especially with the embarrassing situation they place themselves in. Wolitzer’s judgment of comedic suspense is skillfully portrayed in the gathering of Dr. V’s patients in her office after they have just broken in, thinking Dr. V was on vacation.
Wolitzer unveils the humorous neuroticism of each character as perceived by the narrator, which in turn reveals to the reader the narrator’s own neurotic tendencies.
Masterful Characterization
For instance, when the brash “Peacock Thorne” sits in Dr. V’s chair, and the narrator’s shock and offense is relayed, the reader gets a sense that there is an underlying envy—or at the very least, a desire to stand out from the rest of the patients the way Peacock Thorne does.
This envy is again solidified later in the scene when the patients collectively change Dr. V’s answering machine, and the narrator “pipes up” about oily hair on the paper towel, immediately after Peacock Thorne mocks Dr. V’s apparent boredom with her patient’s dreams.
Because Wolitzer allows us to be there with the narrator by letting us see everything from this neurotic perspective, thus making us neurotic ourselves, we get a sense of pride and relief from trumping Peacock Thorne as well as arousing wild laughter from the other patients.
Parody and Humor
Although this story is woven delicately around a keen understanding of realism, perspective and interior monologue, our contemporary milieu, mood, and description, parody and humor is what I believe drives the story.
The laughable characters and moments are what make this story real and interesting. And Wolitzer takes us through it seamlessly, without ever being overwhelmingly (that is to say, annoyingly) witty.
Wolitzer doesn’t force this humor on us. In fact, it is merely a back drop for the story. Nonetheless, it richens the characters and allows the overall point of the story to linger in the reader’s mind even once we’ve finished it.
What do you think about this article?
More in Reading & Literature
Latest Articles