Sublimation in the work of May Sinclair: "The Flaw in the crystal"

Abstract

This thesis argues that desire in May Sinclair's "The Flaw in the Crystal" (1912), is depicted as a driving force urging a new paradigm for the male/female relationship in modern society. It begins by exploring the symbolic meaning of two female icons of the Judaeo-Christian traditions; Eve and Mary, and how their images have contributed emotionally as well as physically to woman's development and affected man's. While deconstructing the text and grammatical structure of its semantics, this essay asks the reader to consider the internal and personal process of sublimation required to attain the spiritual/physical merger encouraged in Sinclair's text as well as how that reflects on the external and collective process. Finally, it offers the reader a vision of how these processes not only mirror each other but present a more active way to participate in human evolution.