Conformity In A Double Life

The Distinction Between Light And Dark Within Societal Constraints In A Double Life, Karolina Pavlova compares elements of her life with the naive protagonist to show the complex nature of creative identity and social constructs. Furthermore, Cecily, a young woman in Russia’s aristocratic society, cannot freely express herself due to her worries of imminent backlash; however, in the quietness of the night, Cecily subconsciously recognizes the poetic creativity that she truly possesses. While Pavlova consciously saw herself as a poet and received criticism for it, Cecily, the protagonist, remains unaware of her poetic talents. As Cecily is portrayed as a young and unaware protagonist throughout the novel, Pavlova is able to offer an insightful

This image is contrasted when Cecily is alone, surrounded by the quiet darkness, in which she subconsciously illustrates her creative and poetic talents. This juxtaposition continues throughout the book, illustrating Pavlova’s utilization of the different characteristics of daytime and nighttime to explain the intense battle between conformity and freedom that these women in society faced. Pavlova ties Cecily’s daytime interactions directly to the strict nature of Russian society, illustrating the pressure that women feel to conform to oppressive norms without the ability to exercise independence and creative thinking. In the novel, the narrator states that Cecily “could never commit the slightest peccadillo, the most barely noticeable faults against them, could never forget herself for a moment, raise her voice half a tone, jump from a chair, enjoy a conversation with a man longer than was proper.she was so used to wearing her mind in a corset that she felt it no more than she did the silk undergarments that she took off only at night” (Pavlova

Pavlova purposefully places Cecily’s interactions in the brightness of the daytime to highlight the pressures she faces to conform to the expectations of her gender and social class. Through these daytime interactions, Cecily’s internal struggle becomes apparent through her fight to reconcile her own desires with the expectations imposed upon her by society Contrastingly, Pavlova utilizes the darkness to illustrate the creative freedom that Cecily has abstracted from the pressures of society. Throughout the novel, Cecily is only able to find herself alone at the end of the evening; “Finally she laid down.and everything went quiet.her soul just would not fall asleep” (Pavlova 7). Once asleep, Pavlova portrays Cecily as subconsciously producing creative writing; “They have fettered you from childhood,/Have swaddled your free mind,/deprived you of your eternal inheritance,/freedom of feeling and the kingdom of thought.” (19). Subconsciously, Cecily recognizes the negative effect that societal norms have on her free mind; however, she still remains consciously