Analysis of Mrs. Whipple in "He"
by Terence Makoid
Have you ever known someone who lives their life as an artificial facade? In Katherine Anne Porter’s short story, “He”, we find that the main character, Mrs. Whipple, fits this category perfectly. This internal conflict one has with self-delusion is found within in thissouthern poor-white family of the Whipples, especially Mrs. Whipple. The story is structured in such a way as to set the reader for an intimate lead into the psyche of Mrs. Whipple, where they encounter her superficial personality that is played upon her mentally ill son and seen contrasted with the surrounding characters.
The structure and setting of
“He” allows for the reader to be guided, without an obvious narrator, through
these depressing circumstances. Liberman explains
how there is, “an ‘objective’ representation of events reflected through
the minds of the characters, not apparently through the minds of the author”
(Liberman 88). This representation allows for the
reader to get inside the thoughts of the characters, allowing for a unique
detail to irony, from what the character thinks as oppose to what they
say and do. Vanashree reports on the repatitious example of this iron found
through Mrs. Whipple’s point of view, in her motivations and her compulsive
desire to appear what she is not in reality (Vanashree 15).
Since there is such emphasis on the detail and not action, Liberman
comments that this allows for the plot to occur in real time without the
need for a narrator (Liberman 89). The setting also
plays a primary role in leading the reader. Hendrick
indicates that this bleak setting, with such a dismal plot allows for the
reader’s attention be solely on “the corrosive effects” of the environment
of the mentally ill child, He” (Hendrick 67).
The Whipple’s setting actually roots from a satire of Porter’s
background as Hendrick reveals
that, “Porter uses as background
the poverty of her childhood in the small town of
The heart of the story arises from the internal conflict found between Mrs. Whipple and herself. Mrs. Whipple lacks a true knowledge of herself, which plays out into her superficial personality. Vanashree explains this personality flaw efficiently by saying that Mrs. Whipple is, “…a woman particularly susceptible to self-delusion, Mrs. Whipple is also morally blind. Like He, she is stupid and senseless. She cannot come to terms with her hard realities and her personal failures as a mother” ( Vanashree 14). Nance clarifies this self-delusion when it emerges from Mrs. Whipple’s consistent sayings of hypocrisy causing her to make every judgment based upon what the neighbors will say (Nance 19). Mrs. Whipple seemed to only desire public approval, even though the surrounding community could care less. Nance explains this “Willful Blindness” that is symptomatic of the beta character contrasting to the alpha or heroine that thirsts for the truth (Nance 19). Although many would attribute this quality to her environment and her need to hide her ‘white trash’ appeal, but Vanashree explains otherwise. “Mrs. Whipple’s conceit and mean-spiritedness are after all understandable: the situation may not be much better even if people are more civilized” (Vanashree 16). Therefore this type of personality may be seen in a wealthy character, who may want to personify the glitz and glamour of a rich lifestyle, when in reality they too may be facing as harsh or worse conditions than the Whipple’s confront. Nevertheless, Liberman comments that Mrs. Whipple’s concern for the appearances that she makes immediately causes the reader investigate the realities of her life that she is trying to cover up (Liberman 89).
Mrs. Whipple’s personality flaw, of self-delusion, becomes centered around her retarded son, instigating an emotional impact on the reader to have a greater distaste for her character. Vanashree states how, “Mrs. Whipple tries to adjust to the problem of having an idiot son who is a burden to her and the family…” (Vanashree 15-16), although her love for this child is exposed quickly as her selfish sentimentality takes over. Liberman suggests that this love for her son is more stated as a fact rather than an action (Liberman 89). Her hatred for her son is seen in what she allows him to do. She lets him climb trees, do more work than he should, handle the bees since he doesn’t seem to notice the stings, lead a dangerous bull and even steal a pig from its mother. Mrs. Whipple, “…thinly cover[ed] her hatred for Him with Christian piety” (Hendrick 67), as she always seem to pray to God in the times of need. “Lord, don’t let anything happen to Him. Lord, you know people will say we oughtn’t to have sent Him. You know they will say we didn’t take care of Him” (Porter 64). Here is a prime example where Mrs. Whipple’s superficial mask of love and concern is taken over by her abhorrence toward Him because of her personality flaw. This catch between a motherly instinct and a true hatred for the boy is seen in the name, or lack there of, as the son is always referred to as He. Nance explains that this, “failure of the boy’s parents to recognize his personality, symbolized by their failure to give him a name, is the root of their error and suffering” (Nance 19). As Mrs. Whipple chooses not to see Him in any humanity, she is taunted later at the climax of the story when she realizes the her past treatment of him, as she cries while going with him to the county home. She knows that this event is in similar comparison to when she sacrificed their pig in an earlier scene just to have an extravagant dinner for her brother and family. This incident is therefore played on that scene as she is sacrificing her son to the institution for her own sake as she once again tries to cover up the life she wishes she did not have. Since her son’s mental illness allowed him to never let her know his feelings, causing for Mrs. Whipple’s personality to emerge and distaste for her character from the reader to intensify.
The foil characters in this story, the men such as Mr. Whipple, the doctor, and even the driver to the institution, brought about ways that the reader may acknowledge their feelings against Mrs. Whipple’s insincerity. According to Hendrick, Mr. Whipple was a realist while his wife insisted on pretending on a life that didn’t exist (Hendrick 66). Mr. Whipple would barter instead of owing great sums of money, which Mrs. Whipple only looked down upon as it showed how poor they were as she says, “I hope you didn’t say such a thing before Jim Ferguson… You oughtn’t to let him know we’re so down as all that” (Porter 63). However, this opposing view always brought light and an anchor of reality to the story from Mrs. Whipple’s pretend world. Nance explains how, “[The doctor’s] frankness stands out sharply against the surrounding haze of her evasions” (Nance 21). When her son had fallen on the ice and had repeated convulsions he recommended that He be institutionalized. Hendrick questions whether this advice from the doctor was given on a humanitarian or a mercenary basis (Hendrick 85). The doctor, like many, could see through Mrs. Whipple’s fake concern for her son and gave this suggestion based upon his concern for Him to leave the environment in order to better His quality of life. The driver to the institution saw the pain that Mrs. Whipple went through during her realization climax. Liberman explains that, “… we sense that the driver’s fear of looking back is more than an avoidance of emotional pain occasioned by a spectacle of acute sadness. Behind him is what is behind everyone, a career of human error, human imperceptions, human deficiency in the face of the human demands on us for generosity, even when, having received little, we have little to give (Liberman 90). This driver symbolized the reader in this scene as the story came to a close. He brought about the point of view that the reader constantly felt, as a present onlooker for the whole plot, rather than one who usually knows what may happen next. The driver truly evokes the sense of emotional strain felt by the reader throughout the story’s tumultuous times.
Nance comments on the Whipple family as, “…an oppressive
union, bleak and enervating, made oppressive…by their common burden… lack
of vitality and love and the mother’s totally inadequate response to reality”
(Nance19). This burden found within their poor life
is truly exemplified within the character of Mrs. Whipple.
Her personality conflict with reality truly creates the unique
relationship with her son and the contrasting views held by others around
her. Porter uses her story, “He” as a study on the
effects of the environment on a mentally ill child and illustrates this
fully through Mrs. Whipple’s personality deficiency.
Works Cited
Hendrick, George. Katherine Anne Porter.
Twane Publishers, Inc.
Hendrick, George and Willene.
Katherine Anne Porter
Twane Publishers,
Liberman, M. M. Katherine Anne Porter’s Fiction.
Nance, William L. Katherine
Anne Porter & the Art of Rejection.
Porter, Katherine Anne. “He.”
The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne
Porter.
Vanashree.
Feminine Concsciousness in Katherine Anne Porter’s
Fiction.
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Last updated 24 April 2003
