Inspiration

Jacqueline Procter
Journal #6
February 22, 2008
Stephen Crane

Quote:
“Maggie always departed with raised spirits from the showing places of the melodrama. She rejoiced at the way in which the poor and virtuous eventually surmounted the wealthy and wicked. The theatre made her think. She wondered if the culture and refinement she had seen imitated…could be acquired by a girl who lived in a tenement house…”

Summary:
Maggie enjoys the theatre, as it inspires her to think beyond her immediate environment of poverty and degradation, and offers hope for a life of “culture and refinement.”

Response:
Prior to the theatre, Maggie accepted her lot in life. For the first time, she is offered a glimpse into a life of culture, as the theatre inspires her to think beyond her present circumstances, as she wonders if a girl like her can rise above her station in life to attain a life of class.

What speaks to me is the importance of the arts. For the artist, it is a means of creative expression, and for the viewer a means of communicating with the soul, as it has the ability to offer inspiration in many forms. In Maggie’s case, the theatre sparked her imagination, which offered an alternative to her present condition.

I can identify with being stuck in a situation beyond your control, as I grew up in foster care, which is basically a modern day form of indentured servitude, minus any form of inspiration. Like Maggie, I also had to endure trash talk. They spoke French – Cajun – and I understood, and had to endure derogatory remarks from their friends, as well as the general ostracizing because I didn’t live with my parents and had a Yankee last name.

It’s not surprising to me that I am immersed in art at this stage of my life, as my early life was void of any inspiration. I’m just thankful that I finally left Louisiana. I was afraid to leave initially, but since then I’ve moved to Vermont, Montana, Nevada, and California. Unlike Maggie, I am motivated to leave when my environment doesn’t agree with me. There are definitely more options for women these days as opposed to life at the turn of the century.