"CAL" of Bernard Mac Laverty
Analyse/essay av roman fra Irland(om konflikten i Nord-Irland),med vinklingen:"er boka en kjærlighetsroman"?
"CAL" of Bernard Mac Laverty
The novel is set in an unknown town of Northern Ireland. The conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants is one of the mayor themes in the book. Through Cal, which is the main character in the novel, we experience a wide range of situations. And in different ways, all of them have something to do with the conflict. But "Cal" may also be regarded as a love story.
When Cal falls hopelessly in love with an older woman that he seemingly never would attain. Her name is Marcella. Cal is nineteen and he's a Catholic, and a quite sensitive boy. He's living with his father, Shamie, which works at the abattoir. They are the only Catholics living in a protestant neighbourhood. Other characters that ought to be mentioned, is Cals mother who died when Cal was about eight. He truly misses her. And Crilly, an old schoolmate of Cal, and Skeffington, the boss of the local, so called, "IRA-group". These two are putting pressure upon Cal to take part in dangerous IRA activity. On the other side of the conflict stands Cyril Dunlop as a Protestant.
Cal - a love story?
As mentioned before one can regard "Cal" as a love story. In the beginning of the novel Cal falls helplessly in love with Marcella. She's older than him and is a seemingly unattainable woman for Cal. His attraction to her starts in the library where Marcella works (she works there because she is bored staying home). Cal on the other hand is on the dole. He had quit his job at the abattoir, because he found it quite disgusting. His biggest concerns are to smoke his cigarettes and to get his "giro". Coincidentally he goes into the library and sees her. At first he's attracted to her not remembering who she really was. He especially likes her continental way of looking. When he gets to know her name he suddenly remembers something from the past, something very unclearly. He feels guilty and ashamed. He continues his small visits to the library. Their first small conversation is on his initiative. She doesn't seem very interested, but not unfriendly. Then, by chance, he sees her in church with her little daughter. He finds it some strange that she's a Catholic, as she was married to some protestant Robert Morton (from a family that had been Protestants of generations).
As we read more of the novel we get the feeling that Cal really has had something to do with Marcella in the past. And that it may be something that has to do with the IRA.
As followed Cal gets work at the Morton farm where Marcella lives. It is quite vague if he's getting the job there is by coincidence or if it's something that he plans to do. Anyway he is very interested in Marcella He obviously likes being near her and having small conversations with her. As in some following episodes at the farm and in the library. It is also worth mentioning that Cal is the one that is in love and taking the initiatives. We don't get any clues yet telling us that she's in love with him.
Since the house of Cal and Shamie is burned down (truly by the protestants), Cal hides himself in a cottage near the Morton farm. About this point in the "love story" we get to know the connection between Cal and Marcella from the past. And what had really happened. It was Crilly that killed Marcellas husband, Robert Morton, in an action organised by Skeffington and the IRA. And Cal turns out to be the driver in the action. As a nightmare Cal re-experiences this scene as he sleeps in a cottage near the farm. He has nowhere else to go. Here one could say that there is a turning point.
When he gets caught, Mrs. Morton surely feels some pity for him and she gives him permission to live in a cottage. Marcella is happy for Cal and helps him a lot the following days moving in. For example furnishing the little place and finding him clothes as he's lost everything: He gets clothes hidden after Robert. This makes the love between Cal and Marcella even more complicated and complex. Cal is in love with the woman that he has been taken part in doing something awful to. He is a poor and innocent victim of the society, and of a mistaken attempt of the IRA. He truly wants to tell Marcella but he doesn't, mainly in the fear of loosing her. Marcella is very important to him. If one look at Cals life he only has his father left as his mother is dead. And one can easily see that Cal seeks a kind of a security and love in his life. After so many problems and difficulties in his life, he seeks some happiness and things that he sees as beautiful. The one is Marcella. For Marcella life is empty after Roberts death, living on the farm with her parents in law. She therefore found it nice that Cal lived nearby so that she had an excuse for going out. But also so that he could keep her company.
In this time they have a lot of fun together and they have got to know each other better. For instant in a situation where Marcella comes to him and starts to cry. She confides herself to him about her sad life, and that she sometimes wants to take her daughter and just go. Cal and Marcella also go to mass together. As with Cal the religion is also very important to her. When he visited his father, that had become psychologically depressed, he also confides to her on their way back home together. And Cal invites her to have a drink (for a change in her habits). Cal feels guilty being happy with her. Marcella says that he's good for her, making her feel younger. One other day the two of them, and her daughter Lucy, have a nice time together finding blackberries. They are together like a family, which no one of them fully has. The happier Cal feels, the sadder he becomes. He wants to confess to her, to weep and be unforgiven. But he finds that the slightness of her sin makes his confession impossible.
One typical description of their hopeless love in the book is one monologue of Cal: "To speak of love he knew there had to be openness and truth. He was a lie to her constantly because of what he had done. What he got from her he had to steal."
One day when he's the only one in the house, he snoops around in her room and reads in her diary. When Marcella comes home she makes them a quite romantic dinner. They talk like good friends. Afterwards Cal kisses her but it was against her plans and she get mad on him. Some days are followed by little contact between them. Then one evening she comes to the cottage and tells him she's sorry for the other night. She didn't know about his love to her, but she admits that it should have been obvious. They make love to each other this time. Marcella certainly sees him in a different light now, but they still are good friends, conversing. Although it is difficult for Cal since he strongly remembers the terrible thing that he can't tell her. Now they have moved from just being friends to lovers. In addition to that, one other important fact is that now Marcella also takes initiative in their relationship.
Here I would say that one find the main turning point in the novel. Cal now gets into troubles in town, together with Skeffington and Crilly, and the police are involved. Cal is the only one that gets away, and he walks home. Earlier that day he had bought Christmas presents for Marcella and her daughter that he carries "through" all the problems. This might mean something symbolic; He's trying to get away from the problems and "clings" himself to his new life and Marcella, because he's about to loose them (the gifts) as he fights against his past. When he finally reaches home Marcella doesn't understand that something bad has happened. He wants to tell her everything. He knows that this might be the end of the story as Skeffington and Crilly supposedly would tell the police about him too. Mrs Morton is coming home the day after too, and Marcella sees and "end" of their new life in this prospective. The evening turns out to be nice; they eat supper and Marcella appreciate the gift he gave her. In the morning on Christmas Eve the police comes to arrest him almost if he knew. He's grateful that at last someone was going to make him right after what he'd done. In a way he knew that his and Marcellas relationship had to come to an end because of his feeling of guilt and shame.
I got the impression that everything happened faster in the film than in the book. In the film they had let a lot of moments out, both important and not that important episodes. For example: It seems in the book that it took quite a long time for Cal and Marcella to become lovers. But in the film it seemed like they become lovers just over night. There are also a lot of details in a book that it's almost impossible to throw light on in a film. I would say that the most of Cals thoughts are not expressed in the film. But it was about the same action and we did understand what was happening. An advantage in a film is that it's in a way given "life" to the characters and the situations. So in my opinion we got about the same impression in both media, but not quite.
Du må logge inn for
å kunne legge til kommentar.
Klikk her for å logge deg på.
