Another Country

The characters in Another Country are united by their alienation. They all inhabit the same society, but they do not feel connected to the people or groups that surround them. They feel unconnected and uninvolved, as though they are drifting along on a search for something or someone who will give meaning to their lives. The characters try to give their lives meaning by performing gestures. Vivaldo, for example, wishes to signal his progressive credentials, so he proudly travels uptown to purchase the service of Black prostitutes. He considers this to be an act of solidarity, showing the world that he rejects racism. However, he never feels any connection to the women he visits. He performs a physical and financial transaction with them and then leaves, returning to the white part of town. Ida is not distracted by Vivaldo’s so-called solidarity. She describes to him how his behavior reinforces social alienation and oppression. Vivaldo’s behavior is an example of how he is so disconnected from the society that a proud antiracist gesture fails to consider the thoughts and feelings of the oppressed racial group. Vivaldo lacks empathy, which is why he struggles with his writing, why he struggles with the idea of oppression, and why he struggles with alienation. Like the other characters, he is disconnected from society and from those around him, unable to forge meaningful connections with people he truly understands. From Ida to Rufus to the uptown prostitutes, Vivaldo misinterprets or misunderstands every social interaction, leaving him unable to connect to the world he inhabits.

Social alienation is also illustrated in the lives of supposedly successful people. Richard and Cass seem to do everything society expects of them. They are nice, polite people who care about others, who raise two young children in a safe, familiar environment. Richard writes a successful book, and they move up in the world, enjoying the social mobility and the stable family life that society promises to people who play by the rules. But Richard and Cass are not happy. They have the adornments of success, but they take nothing from it, as they are alienated from their success and unable to enjoy it. Richard takes no pride in his work, knowing that he is not respected for his literary credentials. He accuses Cass of not respecting him, but really he does not respect himself. Likewise, Cass conducts an affair because she has become alienated from her husband just at the moment when he has given her everything she ever wanted. Richard wanted to be a writer and Cass wanted to support a loving family. Now that they have everything they wanted, however, they discover that their success is not rewarding. Success has no substance, as they are alienated from the society that has told them to pursue material wealth rather than anything more rewarding. Richard and Cass’s miserable marriage reveals the alienated disconnect between real emotions and hollow aspirations. Richard and Cass are so alienated from society that they do not know what will make them truly happy, so they pay a high cost to find out.

Ellis is one of the only characters who feels his life has purpose. He takes pleasure in being cynical, seeing the world on a transactional basis that allows him to succeed. He rejects the idea of art or fidelity; he uses his money and power to take what he wants from any people like Vivaldo or Richard. He may not consider himself alienated, but Ellis is a representation of the worst impulses of the alienated world. He is the product of society, completely unhindered by loyalty or obligations to others. Ellis may be happy, but he will never be satisfied, as his existence is a product of an alienated world that will never satisfy his urges.