| re: But it's ultimately the right series of setups & payoffs for the protagonist | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 03:21 pm EDT 07/05/20 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 03:17 pm EDT 07/05/20 | |
| In reply to: re: But it's ultimately the right series of setups & payoffs for the protagonist - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:31 pm EDT 07/05/20 | |
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| I think the song has a progression that you're not fully considering. Yes, she starts by saying that she wants him to just stay alive (which I think isn't nothing during a war when your husband is itching for a fight), but that is only the beginning of her demands on him. She builds slowly, as she must in order to get around his defenses, but her ending demand is much deeper (emphasis mine): If I could grant you peace of mind If you could let me inside your heart Oh, let me be a part of the narrative In the story they will write someday Let this moment be the first chapter Where you decide to stay And I could be enough She isn't just asking him to be alive. She's asking him to commit to her ahead of all other things, to stay with her and be part of her family, and to let her into the work he is doing. As someone who is married to a workaholic, I resonate deeply with her wish that she could be enough for him, that their love could be what sustains him and gives his life meaning (which, of course, is too much to ask anyone, thank you therapy) . She's asking him to tear down the barriers that he has erected to keep her out - the same barriers that allow him to write about the affair which leads to Philip's death - and to actually share himself with her, which he can't. Not really. She's also asking him to give her the access that he gives Angelica - to involve her in his work, and to respect her intellect. Instead, he's writing Angelica about his problems with states' debts, while Eliza is downstairs raising their son. For me, the core of this song is she's asking him to love her, fully and truly, and it's a big demand because it's something he can't give her. That makes me cry every time. I think one of the reasons it's easy to dismiss Eliza is that she asks for so much while appearing to ask for so little. She crouches these big demands inside of smaller demands (though, again, asking him to not die in a war that he sort of wants to die in isn't really a small request, in the same way that asking him back to bed when he's about to go get killed is no small request), and even when she lands on what I see as the cri de coeur - "that I could be enough" - she follows with the more inclusive, "and we could be enough, that would be enough". She understands how he needs to hear this, even as she knows she's fighting a losing battle (which is how I read it, but also I think how Phillipa Soo plays it). I don't think that Miranda needs a strategy to get us to invest in Hamilton over other characters. I think the story and the point of view naturally does that. I see Miranda's work as the opposite - getting us to care about all of the other characters who surrounded and supported him, and giving them all weight to argue against him. But then, I don't have a problem caring about multiple characters at the same time; I can invest in Alexander as well as Eliza, Angelica, Washington, Burr, Lafayette, Mulligan, Lawrence, and Philip. I think one of the hallmarks of "Hamilton" as Epic Theater is that there are so many people to care about and invest in throughout the story. |
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