The Warmth of human emotion Heat and warmth are usually depicted as elements of comfort and security. This warmth is what people crave to achieve this comfort. In Evelyn Lau’s “Family,” the heat and warmth give deeper meaning in regards to human emotion. The contrasting images of ice and cold as well resemble the abstract human emotion in the short story. The elements are used in such a way as to satisfy the hunger of emotional warmth in regards to the characters Zoe and Douglas. As the story unfolds there is a sense of coldness surrounding the community.
The setting stage for the action is in fact a community in a cold winter. Through warmth is how one reaches one’s own comfort level. It is noted to the extent that one must almost search for the warmth inside one’s self to achieve this comfort. In the case of Zoe she achieves warmth though emotional stability.
Both Zoe and Douglas do search for this but by intention are both quite different. As the friendly relationship between the two progresses, it soon evolves into a hot and steamy relationship full of adultery and deception. Lam 2 Zoe in the case of the relationship is the one who seems to crave this warmth. It is soon noted that her attraction towards Douglas becomes almost too great for her to control herself. Even though she knows that the man she desires is a well-respected man with a wife and children, she feels compelled to satisfy her own desire, thus deeming herself as being selfish. Yet at this point, as she is acquainted with the wife, Ellen, she still thinks about the warm touch of Douglas’ hand and how she is drawn to his warmth.
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There was a time when people were divided into 2 groups: those with social skills that help them in interacting with others, and those without the needed social skills to interact thus causing them to retreat into a shell or their own little vacuum of a world. These groups no longer exist in today’s world because of that technological marvel that has been bridging social gaps in the 21st ...
As Zoe is left alone by herself, thoughts of sexual depictions come into her mind. As cold as she feels she pictures Douglas and his Wife in a cuddling scenario in the master bedroom. At this point she feels somewhat jealous of the fact that Ellen is his wife instead if herself. By occupying her mind with images of Douglas “wrap[ing] his arms around his wife, her stomach and, her breasts” (Lau 1153), Zoe feels even more compelled to satisfy her desire for Douglas. Her craving for Douglas’ emotional warmth becomes too unbearable for her as she watches the dead animals hung up in the organic-foods market.
She “resist[s] the urge to lean forward and stroke her fingertips down the grain of their feathers and fur, towards the belly warm as the belly of a sleeping man” (Lau 1154).
Zoe is character who understands the consequences of her actions and yet she does not take any consideration into what goes on around her. Even though she desires to touch Douglas’ hand and to make love to him, she knows it is wrong. Yet she “[knows] that as soon as she [sleeps] with Douglas in his own house, she will feel relief” (Lau 1158).
At this stage Zoe is obviously blinded by her desires.
Her rational thinking is totally overwhelmed by the desire to fulfill her “cold-blooded” (Lau 1153) body and to sleep with Douglas. She does not care as to what will happen as long as she gets the chance to Lam 3 feel his touch along her body. Yet no feeling of betrayal comes across her mind. She does not take into consideration of how Douglas’ wife may feel. As Zoe gets cold at night she puts on Ellen’s night shirt for warmth as if she does not care if it is Ellen’s or not.
This can also be compared to how she yearns to be with Ellen’s husband and take him for her own. According to her, now is the time she must satisfy her desire for emotional warmth. Everything else is outside of her world as she focuses her attention on Douglas only. Douglas acts as a character who realizes his fault in the whole situation, yet he desires to share his warmth with Zoe. Though he is the one who does not seek emotional warmth, he does however, offer it to Zoe.
The Term Paper on The Cold War Influenced Nearly All Aspects Of American Political part 1
The Cold War influenced nearly all aspects of American political and cultural life from 1946 -- when Winston Churchill announced the descent of an Iron Curtain separating the Soviet Union and her Eastern European satellite states from the non-communist West -- to the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. The influence on the American film industry was deep and long-lasting. Hollywood became ...
His warmth is what drives Zoe to be with him. She intentionally underdressed in the cold weather in order to feel his warm hands wrap around hers. As he transfers his warmth while kissing Zoe her senses become “radiant, explosive, [and] obliterating… .” (Lau 1160).
Warmth is most cases is something often see ked to comfort one’s self from the cold. In the case of Zoe it is emotional warmth that is being achieved to escape her cold loneliness in Evelyn Lau’s “Family.” The images of heat and cold are two conflicting elements which one must satisfy in order to place one’s self in one’s own comfort zone. Sources Lau, Evelyn. “Family.” The Harb race Anthology, Ed.
John Scott, Raymond Jones, Rick Bowers. Toronto: Nelson Learning, 2002.
