Kahlia Carl
After being integrated into the group of students in his Greek class, Richard reflects on his times at the country house with them. He comments that the group’s warning signs were “easy to see […] in retrospect” (Tartt 93). If so, why was it so difficult for Richard to connect the dots and see how the moments in the country house would lead to the group murdering Bunny? How could his outlook have been so flawed? The tone of Richard’s narration and diction reveals his perspective on the Greek class, showing his obsession with the group’s aesthetics and how it indoctrinates him into admiring the group and disregarding the warning signs of their true nature. This lionization of a person or thing leads to one sacrificing their own individuality for the preferences of their idol, and, as a result, ultimately making them susceptible to coercion into doing drastic things, diving deeper into their obsession, and losing their sense of self and morality.
From Richard’s idolization yet inconsistent description of the group, we see their contradicting nature, and how glorified Richard perceives them to be despite their ugly qualities. Richard describes the presence of a “sly and benevolent Providence” leading him, showing how highly he thinks of Julian and the Greek class (93). “Providence” is used to describe something godly or spiritual, which, in Richard’s eyes, can be used to describe Julian and his students (93). He thinks so highly of them that he is not suspicious of their behavior because, in his eyes, he is ignorant. This is the “web” of “symbols” and “omens” that do not make sense to him yet, but it has meaning nonetheless: like the idea that a mortal could not comprehend the ways of gods (93). However, he has mixed feelings about them, mirrored in the contradictions of “sly and benevolent” (93). He knows they lie, trick, tease, and withhold secrets from him, but they also invite him to the country house and dinner, integrating him into the routine they have previously kept shut off from anyone else. His inconsistent description shows their contradicting nature and how Richard views them as people to look up to as well as people who put stress on his life.
Richard is so blinded by the aesthetic of the group and the lifestyle they present that he cannot identify the alarming and dangerous situations that they lead him into. Longing to become like them, he loses himself and his sense of right and wrong in the process. Richard feels that he can be enlightened by these students, find the answers in them, and adopt the aura they have. Slowly, in bits and pieces, this “web” falls into place, and he gets closer to his goal of shooting up “like a thunderbolt” with all the answers (93). He feels anticipation, like a scholar or scientist on the cusp of an invention, calling it a ‘fabulous discovery” (93). Richard is longing for this Eureka! moment when everything makes sense. Because he is so devoted to this cause—to figuring the group out and achieving this character, whatever it may be, that he likes so much about them—he goes to extreme lengths of isolating himself from the rest of the college and fully submerging himself into the Greek class’s lifestyle. Like the core of the dark academia aesthetic, Richard romanticizes the idea of discovery and the pursuit of knowledge, going to the extremes of ignoring reason and the red flags that the group presents.
Richard’s obsession with the group’s aesthetics is mirrored by changes in narration style, showing how highly he perceives the Greek class in comparison to the rest of the world and how manipulated by this vision he is. Usually, the narration takes on a modern, straight-to-the-point style. However, it transitions to very descriptive hyper-imagery whenever Richard is observing the Greek class. When he is with the group, the narration becomes abstract, as seen when he describes the group as something from the “ancient world,” and the painting-like perfection of when Camilla cuts her foot (31). Likewise, this passage, as the group and his time with them is the ultimate focus, is dreamy and disconnected from reality. He calls “life itself […] magical” and uses flowery, elaborate wording, finding “premonitions” and “coincidences” every way he turns (93). This shows how his perspective becomes skewed when concerned with the group, hyper-fixated on finer details rather than the overarching picture. As his fixation grows, he adopts more of the group’s characteristics: their clothes, isolation from the rest of the student body, and the façade of wealth. He starts to adopt their perspective as well, losing sight of himself.
Richard shows the extent to which one can justify the actions of the people one admires, willfully ignorant of their true nature and shortcomings. Because of the academic, wealthy, exclusive look that the students in the Greek class have, Richard thinks they are perfect and tries to mirror this perfection to the extremes. He puts them on such a high pedestal that he is blind to their bad qualities. As Richard delves further into his obsession, he tries harder to uncover this answer that he thinks they have, hoping that, by learning from them, he can become like them. However, people are not the image that they put up, and because Richard fails to realize this, he cannot see the warning signs that lead to the escalation of conflict that causes the murder of one of their friends. Not only that, but he becomes a willing accomplice of this murder, losing his own sense of morality and becoming blind to reason, only seeing things the way the group does.
A Yearning for Enlightenment