Freedom and Confinement

The more that I read Freedom, the more I ask myself just what freedom means within the context of the novel.  I have slowly come to realize that the answer to this question may be different for the various main characters and for the various sets of circumstances in which they find themselves.  Yet, it seems that, most often, what is described or viewed as freedom in the novel is more of a false escape from situations or consequences—an escape that is ultimately more enslaving than liberating.  For example, when Joey moves to Virginia to attend college, Connie tells him that he should feel free to sleep with other girls while he is away (272).  While this may appear to be freedom at first glance, as it would allow Joey to forget about his tumultuous relationship with Connie, being unfaithful to her is doomed to bring him a flood internal conflicts and muddled emotions. The same is true when Patty is unfaithful to her husband and sleeps with Richard.  While this may seem to suggest that Patty and Richard are demonstrating their freedom through this act, it only serves to make them both miserable once they part; it also enhances the discontent they both feel for their everyday lives.

This escapist mentality does not only apply to characters who stress their freedom through sexual acts.  When Richard briefly contemplates suicide, he relishes in the appeal of being free of his complicated relationships with Patty and Walter, free of “the bother of being a bother” (402).  When Patty emphasizes that she loves the freedom that she possesses to make trips to Nameless Lake, it is no mystery that this freedom is appealing because it provides a refuge from her unhappy marriage and home life.  In fact, the novel reads, “There was a more general freedom that she could see was killing her but she was nonetheless unable to let go of” (190). 

To me, this connects to a political idea expressed in the novel:  freedom often comes with conditions.  This raises the important question:  is freedom that comes with conditions freedom at all?  This reminds me of a scene in the movie The Duchess during which Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire, is surrounded by her husband’s comrades as they discuss women’s rights.  They note that “freedom in moderation” is their party’s approach to the matter.  At this, Georgiana points out that the concept of freedom is an absolute; just as one cannot be moderately loved or moderately dead, one cannot be moderately free.  This rings true for me, and with this in mind, I am anxious to see how characters’ ideas of freedom continue to evolve.