Something Driving an Author from the Ground : The Oedipal Case of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"(Tohoku Reveiw of English Literature)

Benjamin Button is born an old man and grows and ages backward. When he is young (but appears old), he is abhorred by his father because he looks much older than his father. Decades later, he is, once again, abforred by his son, who treats him as someone else because he has grown into childhood and does not look like the adult he is. Although we see different reasons for the abhorrence at each stage of Benjamin's aging process, the story deals constantly with the difficult relationship between father and son. This is difficulty that we can also see in Fitzgerald's own life. In his autobiographical piece "The Death of My Father," Fitzgerald tells us that he had mixed feelings toward his father: although they maintained strong emotional ties, Fitzgerald regarded his father to be a "failure." Moreover, in "Author's House," the protagonist-narrator suggests to the reader that he has buried someone (his father) in the cellar (representing his unconscious). This paper attempts to throw new light on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by identifying in this short story a symbolic patricide that bears strong similarities to that seen in the Freudian Oedipal triangle. Further, this paper also analyzes allusions in the text to the Wandering Jew, symbolizing the figurative punishment meted out for this denial of the father. Like the legend of Oedipus, "Benjamin" is a patricide story. However, Benjamin does not kill his father physically; instead, he "de-authorizes" his father by reversing their roles. When Benjamin is born, he looks like his father's father and is placed in a paternal position and role in society and family. With the appearance of an old man, he deprives his father of the paternal role and to an extent replaces him. Then, at the end of the story, Benjamin has become a child (though old), and his son denies him in the same way, by usurping his work role. Together, these cases indicate that the narrative logic of "Benjamin" is one in which fathers are to be replaced by their sons-and, crucially, this is described as a sin needing punishment; Button's wife's father describes it as "criminal" (172), and Button's existence triggers much anger in relation to this confusion of paternal and filial roles. As mentioned above, this story also reflects the folk tale of the Wandering Jew; Benjamin himself is referred to as a "Wandering Jew" (169). This allusion reminds the reader that Benjamin is to be punished and become a social outcast (in his case, for the patricide). Through this treatment of themes of patricide and punishment, this thesis reveals how "Benjamin Button" echoes the tales of Oedipus and the Wandering Jew.