Explication of Self-Sacrifice of an Ideal in 'Unless'

Immediately the Dramatic Situation that struck me was Polti’s twentieth ‘Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal’. This is perfectly fitting to Shield’s incredibly impacting theme, for Carol Shields’ accomplishment with her novel Unless’ was that she articulates a side of womanhood that has the power to speak to women throughout generations. Nora is an antagonist in the novel, the main antagonist’s daughter, who has chosen to sit mute and beg for money on a busy corner in downtown Toronto. Nora’s quest for GOODNESS is her personal ‘Self-Sacrifice for and Ideal’, and Nora’s mother, Reta, sees it as a struggle to be heard. She feels that her daughter is sitting on the curb panhandling for money because she has no other choice. Her opinions can never really be heard or valued at the same level as a man’s so she must find completion in another way. Nora ‘loves the world’ (Shields 128); everything from ‘earth tipping in space’ (129) to ‘branches of languages’ (128). She must fulfill her own search to ‘find where [she] fits in’ (130) and her solution is to beg for money and give it away. She takes comfort in nothing and lives in a shelter for how can she possibly have possessions when others do not?
Here is an idea that has the capabilities to touch everyone, not only women. For who has never felt overwhelmed by the catastrophes that surround our lives? We are safe enough in our own small comfort bubble of daily life, but outside it there are pirates in Somalia, fires in California, and global warming. We want to help, feel the need to, but how can we? Faced with the expensive and seemingly hopeless problem of the world we retreat back into our bubble of protection and think about only day to day matters in order to maintain reason for ourselves.
Nora can do that no longer. She there is no longer a safe mindset for her to return to, for she has been too exposed. Nora witnessed a ‘Muslim woman’ (41) who ‘poured gasoline over her veil and gown, and set herself alight’ (314). She attempted to smother the flames and save this woman, another female who we can imagine as feeling trapped inside her own body. Nora failed to save the unknown woman and carries the scars both internally and on her body from her collision with helplessness. In order to remain even slightly sane, she feels she must give everything, even herself, away and so she becomes the ‘Person Sacrificed’. Women, raised and programmed to be caring and nurturing, for science seems to support the view that females have ‘brain circuitry and hormones that make women so much more attuned’ (Weise) and ‘constantly aware of the emotions and needs of those around you’ (Weise). If an instinct to nurture is inbred what happens when your private world suddenly expands to include the whole planet and all its creatures? Nora seems to feel there is nothing she can do but shut down and do as much as she can, as quietly and unassuming as she can. She wants to help, but does not wish to cause any fuss, and so she does not speak, does not make eye contact, and does not keep any possessions she collects from panhandling.
Reta feels that Nora is silent because it is her only choice. Reta is a writer who has one acclaimed hit as her own work, the rest are books translated for her mentor. Her book is listed as a beach read; a far cry from the poetry and other intellectual books she produced with her earlier works. Reta is also a reader and what strikes her as she reads her chosen articles is that, be it a man or woman writer, is that there is a severe lack of female voice being cited. Reta is an educated woman, her role model is an extremely intelligent and vocal feminist, and her writing group consists of three very successful and bright women. She knows there are female opinions ringing out in the world and she feels they fall upon deaf ears and then are lost. If there is no one listening, then what is the purpose of speaking? Nora writes pointed and well written letters to the authors of such articles, expressing her distress and explaining her daughter’s situation. Once again Shields remarks on what it is to be a women. Reta does not shout or become angry in her letters, ‘whispering is more like it’ (Shields 220) in her pleas to be heard. Reta’s whisperings never leave the page though, she signs the letters with false names which is pointless considering she never sends them but rips them after writing. In this is the female situation Shields repeats again and again in Unless and the encompassing ‘Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal’; women have ideas, are capable, intelligent people, and yet despite the claims of feminism are not partners with men. Their voices are not respected equally, ideas often being glanced at then cast aside for the “better and brighter” solutions of men. Still these voices refuse to shout, for to do so goes against inner nature; it is better to see and accept, then to deal with the problem in one’s own way, making as few waves a possible. Everyone does it differently, be it by begging without expectations on the corner of ‘Bloor and Bathurst’ (25), writing dozens of letters that will never be seen, or not challenging yourself enough to write more than ‘a light novel’ (14). All are self-sacrifice for the ideal, a wish to belong and be heard.
What is missing is the ‘Hero’. Is the ‘Hero’ what brings Nora back to the loving and grieving arms of her family, or is it Nora, the one who is sacrificed, for giving herself away so freely to her cause? Pneumonia from the Toronto winter causes Nora to collapse and be sent to the hospital where the ‘severe second degree burns’ (301) are discovered and the connections are made to the incident with the Muslim woman. There waiting at the hospital is the whole of Nora’s family, and it is Nora’s mother Reta who Nora first wakes up and speaks to. Reta, a mother who felt the loss of her daughter colour every sensation in her life, is the ‘Hero’ for it is Reta who does all she can to both understand the GOODNESS that Nora is seeking and still bring her back to the surface. Reta is the last person Nora speaks with before the incident and her disappearance and the first she speaks to upon her awakening. Reta is there to pull her daughter back into a world where she can function. Though the Nora’s personal ‘Ideal’ in its consuming form of total world love through sacrifice has been lost, it is for the better because now it is possible to focus that attention in a way that is healthier. Nora can give back in other ways, she doesn’t need to live with nothing to contribute and feel connected. She can rebuild and function in the world for her family is with her and they will carry her experiences for her and they ‘will do this gladly’ (315).

Word Count: 1207