The Phaeton Symbol in John Brown's Body

Abstract

ALTHOUGH Mr. Benet's narrative of the Civil War offers few problems in meaning, one feature of the poem requires explanation. I refer to the figure of Phaeton which, appearing first as an ornament on the clock in a quiet New England home, attains a kind of daemonic existence in relation to the fortunes of Jack Ellyat, the Connecticut boy who joins the Union Army. Relying on Canby's statement that the Northern characters are more convincing than the Southern because the former have psychologies whereas the latter are chiefly manners and fate,1 I propose to show that Ellyat's story is a careful study in character development, in fact the main example of detailed psychological analysis in the poem, and that the Phaeton figure serves both to emphasize the unity in this part of the action and to represent the period of romantic youth through which Ellyat moves on his way to manhood. Furthermore, I wish to point out that in associating Phaeton with the clock, Benet suggests that Ellyat's development is worked out in two dimensions of time, the second corresponding to the lost year of adventure symbolized by the ride of the charioteer.2 In giving special attention to critical experiences in the life of a boy, Benet was, I think, returning to a favorite theme; for his works, both verse and prose, are often concerned with youthful characters and their problems. He is particularly sensitive to the influence of first love and to incidents which mark its passing. Such tales as Too Early Spring3 and Glamour deal with characters who feel that love is followed by an enduring spiritual change. In the latter story, for instance, Southgate, a would-be novelist, is conscious of the moment when romance ends: When I lay down on the bed, I