Audrey N

Audrey Niffenegger Born: June 13, 1963 in Haven,

Michigan, USA grew up in the Chicago suburb

of Evanston, Illinois Education: B.F.A., School of the

Art Institute of Chicago; M.F.A., Northwestern University

Currently lives in Chicago, Illinois

First Novel: The Time Traveler’s Wife (2004)

Awards: Ragdale Foundation Fellowships

biography

Are there connections between the author’s life, culture, philosophy about literature and the literary text?

biography

There were a lot of similarities between the characters and the authors’ life.1.Same location: Michigan and

Chicago2.Same job with Clare: artist3.Music lover4.The author loves to travel which is

somehow related to Henry’s time travel.

5.The author does not have a TV and Henry does not like TV because it causes him to time travel.

6.Clare’s mother used to make a diary and writes poems.

7.Henry has no religion and the author is agnostic.

What is the significance of the literary text or the writing of the literary work to the author?

biography

The author wanted to write about a perfect marriage that is challenged by something outside the control of the couple.Does the author of this particular story remind you

of any author we have taken up in class?

1. Ernest Hemingway – both grew up in Illinois

2. Gabriel Garcia Marquez – both drew and wrote about things when they were young

3. A. S. Byatt – both are non believer of Christianity

Elements

SettingWhat is the geographical, historical and social setting (setting in time and place) of the story?

Since Henry is a time traveler, the setting usually changes. The story first happened in year 1965 and ended in year 2053. Henry and Clare first met in the meadow in South Haven, Michigan where Clare parents’ live. When Clare was younger, the meadow served as a meeting place for them. This place is important because many of the important events of their lives happened there. When they got married, the setting was in Chicago. This is the place where Henry grew up. Clare worked here as an artist in a studio.

     

Setting

Will a different setting change the story significantly? In a way, it can change the story but I do not think that would be a great impact. For example, if Henry’s parents moved to another place, there will be no significant change in the story.

Does the setting affect the other elements of the story? Does it affect the atmosphere/mood of the story?

Yes, I think that the setting would affect some of the elements of the story like the plot and how the characters met. In case they met in the a beach, for example, Clare and Henry would not be able to meet because many people can see them.

plotTrace the action of the story, what happens in the different parts of the plot.

Exposition: The story started in the present time when Henry is 28 and Clare is 20. Henry did not actually know Clare during this time because he only met Clare when he reached 35 years old. This stage was like the getting to know each other and bonding stage.

Rising Action: This was the time when they were falling in love with each other and they decided to get married later on. Clare was also very desperate to have a baby even if she had six miscarriages. It was also in this stage wherein Henry decided to get a vasectomy so that he could not make Clare pregnant.

plotTrace the action of the story, what happens in the different parts of the plot.

Climax: The beginning of the climax was when they saw Henry’s body lying on the ground wounded. Henry was also paralyzed because of his putrid feet. Then during his time travel, he was accidentally shot by his father-in-law and brother-in-law when they were hunting in the forest. He died because of that incident.

Falling action: Clare continued her life after Henry’s death and waited for him to come back.

Resolution: Henry went back to Clare when she was already 82 years old. Clare just waited for Henry during her entire life from the time that they met up to Henry’s death. She still kept on waiting for him to appear.

plotDoes the story have a turning point? Point out where and explain why you think this is the turning point.

Yes. When Clare heard from the doctor that Henry’s feet will be amputated, Clare really felt worried and bothered because she knew that Henry really depends on his feet. I think that this is the turning point because Henry’s life will be useless and gone if his feet were amputated.

Does the story’s structure employ flashbacks? Flash forwards or parts that foresee/foretell upcoming events?

Yes, there were a lot of flashbacks especially in the start of the novel. When Henry felt stressed, he went back to the same events in his life which were important and sad for him. Clare (18): “I’m eighteen.”

Henry (41): “Heavens, so you are. It seems like only yesterday that you were six.

plotCompare or contrast this story’s plot with any other text we have taken up, films you’ve watch or any other story you know of.

I think this novel was really unlike any other movies that I have watched especially that the story is about a time traveler. There were movies before that involved time traveling but through the use of a time machine.

Clare Abshire:Static – She always keep on waiting for Henry to

come back every time he time traveled. Until the end of the story, she still waited for Henry to come back. Clare even said when she was already 82 years old, “it’s not much different from the many other times he was gone, and I waited, except that this time I have instructions: this time I know Henry will come, eventually.”

Henry DeTamble:Static – His personality did not change until the

end of the story. He still time traveled and has no control of it until he died. July 24, 2054, Henry is 43 and Clare is 82. “He found himself in a dark hallway.” This means he still went back to his previous life.

Main characters

Annette DeTamble, Richard Detamble, Mrs. Kim, Dr. Kendrick, Ben, colleagues at the New Library, Helen

Lucile Abshire, Philip Abshire, Mark Abshire and Fiancee Sharon, Alicia Abshire, Ingrid, Celia, Dr. Amit Montague, Grandma Meagram, Great Aunt Ducile

Alba, Gomez and Charisse

These characters somehow affect the emotions and mood of the main characters. When Alba was not yet born, Clare and Henry had a lot of fights whether to just adopt a baby. At the time that she was born, they were very happy. Dr. Kendrick also gave hope to the couple that Henry’s time disorder can be lessen and avoided.

secondary characters

charactersAre there sympathetic and non-sympathetic characters in the story? Are there characters that are foils of each other?

Point out some similarities between the characters in the story and the characters in the literary texts we have taken up in class.

Yes, I find the character of Ingrid sympathetic because she was very depressed which made her to commit suicide. For me, Clare was also sympathetic because all her life she has just been waiting for Henry who just disappear. She was also very eager to have a baby even if she already had six miscarriages.

In the story “Conscience”, I find Luigi and Ingrid have similar characteristics. Both of them are determined to do whatever they want.

conflictHow many kinds of conflicts can you see in the story? What kinds of conflicts are there? Cite parts in the story that specifically show the conflict/s.

The conflict were human vs. human, human vs. nature, and human vs. self. Clare and Henry had several fights because of Clare’s eagerness to have a baby. Henry had difficulties every time he time traveled especially when he was in a winter season. Sometimes, Henry wanted to changed or correct the past but he could not do anything about it since what happened happens. Also, his time traveling bothers him.

“And then I started to time travel back to that day, over and over, and I wanted to warn her mother, and I couldn’t.”

conflictTrace the development and resolution of the conflict/s.

Do the conflicts remind you of the conflicts in any other story you’ve read or movie you’ve watched? 

In a way, most of the stories that we have taken up have similar conflicts with Time Traveler’s Wife since we have tackled conflicts about human vs. human, human vs. nature, and human vs. self.

Henry and Clare had a disagreement on which house would they buy or rent because Henry had already seen their house in the future. Then, they had quarreled about having a baby because Clare had six miscarriages already. Henry’s solution to this was to have a vasectomy but Clare got pregnant by Henry in the past. They also had quarreled about getting their daughter’s DNA. Clare did not have a choice and just go through with it since Henry already did it.

Point of View

The point of view used in the novel was the first person or the character itself. Every chapter or every scene, the author wrote the name of the character speaking which made it easier for the readers.

“I wouldn’t change anything I wouldn’t give up one second of our life together.”

This is during Christmas’ eve when Henry was almost dying. Clare was talking to him telling him how much she loved him.

What point of view or lens is used in the text? Who is telling the story? Can you give one or two lines in the story that elucidates the POV?

The first person perspective helps the readers know what the characters really feel directly. Unlike if it is from another’s point of view, then the readers might not have the impact that they could get directly from the character itself. Their feelings and emotion are expressed in a way that the readers could really feel what they are feeling.

Point of View

Which of the stories we have taken up resemble your chosen literary text’s POV?

The stories “Salvation” and “The Use of Force” both uses the first person point of view which is the same with the The Time Traveler’s Wife.

How does POV influence the story? How different would the story be if told from a different POV?

Theme and Symbolism

What is the whole story about? What universal human experience does it reflect? Try to summarize the author's meaning in one paragraph. Try to state the theme of the work in one sentence?

The theme of the story is about love, time, and family. The whole story is about the never ending love of Clare and Henry. The universal human experience that the story reflects is the unconditional love of Henry and Clare. Clare still waited for Henry even though he already died for several years.

Theme and Symbolism

Identify symbols, metaphors and narrative devices that would support your interpretation of the literary work. Cite some lines that contain these symbols.

1. Museum/Library – The Store Houses of TimeHenry liked museums since he was a little kid. There was once that his parents took him to a museum and he was so excited about it that he could not sleep the night before. He had no control of his time travel and the museum made him feel at home where past, present, and future existed at the same time. It makes him feel secured.

2. Time – A Tape RecorderHenry compared the tape recorder to a time traveler’s life to explain to Clare (when she was six years old) how it works.

Theme and Symbolism

3. Clare’s Dream – Hope and FearClare had a dream of being a mermaid on the night before her wedding day. She was afraid that she might not be able to marry Henry. She was full of hope and determined to marry Henry. Clare also dreamt about having babies. She was worried if she will have a baby.

“I have been dreaming all night. The dreams merge, now. In one part of this dream I was swimming in the ocean, I was a mermaid.”“I dream that my mother and I are walking together down a quiet residential street in South Haven. I am carrying a baby. As we walk, the baby becomes heavier and heavier, until I can barely lift it.”

Theme and Symbolism

4. Henry’s Dream – Loss of FreedomHe dreamt that his feet was amputated. Without his feet, he could not run and running for him is one way of escaping from danger especially when he is time traveling. The loss of his feet means the loss of control over his life and sense of being.“Look, they’re all white!” And it’s true, the

skin has gone dead white, the feet are lifeless and putrid.

What is your interpretation of these symbols? What is their significance to the theme? What meanings do these symbols, narrative devices give to the story?

Theme and Symbolism

Examine the title of the work, the names of the characters and places in the story. Are they also symbolic? Does the title lend to the main idea of the work?

The title definitely gives the readers an idea of what it is about. Basically, the story was about Clare and Henry which suits the title The Time Traveler’s Wife. The names of the characters were not symbolic. The place used like the meadow was really appropriate since nobody can see them when they meet. Other places in the story were also symbolic.

The symbols and theme give the readers the ability to think critically. It also gives the readers the idea what will happen next in the story.

Are the title and names or the use of the title and names similar to any literary class we have taken up in HUMALIT?

Theme and Symbolism

The title of the book is somehow similar to the story of Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” because both of them involved time in the title. The names used, however, did not have similarities to the story’s that we have taken in class. The names in the novel and in the stories were not the same.

Definition of Literature

Yes, because it made me think and analyzed what will happen next in the story and how it will end. I compared the dates and events. I analyzed it in a chronological order whether it match or not.

Give your own definition of "Literature"--a definition that you have developed by going through the course.

Literature is a way of writing which uses language that can give the reader the ability to think and analyze the story in a critical way.Refer to the Terry Eagleton essay/my lecture entitled

“What is Literature?” to answer the following question:Do you consider the literary work you have chosen as literature? Write a short paragraph or two that explains why you think so or do not think so.

ReferencesBiography: Flanagan, M. (2003). “Audrey Niffenegger Interview”

retrieved fromhttp://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/authorinterviews/a/

niffenegger_2.htmLundquist, M. “Time Traveler's Wife (Niffenegger) - Author

Bio” retrieved from http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-

fiction/1059-time-travelers-wife-niffenegger?start=1

Characters, Theme and Symbolism: “The Time Traveler's Wife” retrieved from

http://www.shmoop.com/time-travelers-wife/characters.html

Lines from the E-book: Retrieved from

http://www1.hifiwiki.net/files/library/pdf/bb3690b2368d1dc10520e8912fd1190e/siona_entw.pdf