The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock Paralysis

The feeling of paralysis to the modern world is such a realistic feeling that everyone encounters at a point in their life. It is the feeling of being physically present in a specific place, but being paralyzed by the anxieties that one is overcome by. One’s anxieties can prevent them from accomplishing their aspirations and goals, and that is where the paralysis to the modern world lies because even the most insignificant actions are affected. In the poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, Prufrock’s anxieties clearly affect him in the way in which he lives his life. Prufrock experiences paralysis to the industrial world he lives in, and as a result he has trouble with truly enjoying the smallest gestures of life itself.
The research acquired on my behalf lead me to believe that the answer to my question is that Prufrock struggled with love due to his overwhelming anxieties that resulted him feeling paralyzed by the society that he was a part of. “Prufrock fails to seize opportunity to pursue a meaningful relationship because he doubts whether meaningful relationships are possible in his world. That the women in the poem, and Prufrock himself, appear as fragments, and not as a whole people, is not insignificant” (Boyd). Although there is evidence that Prufrock struggles finding love due to fragments within himself and the women, it all seems to boil down to his own anxieties holding him back from seeing the women and himself as a whole in part of the bigger society. Prufrock’s paralysis stems from him not being able to take that first step in approaching women because of his anxieties which is the core of his problems both internally and externally. “In ‘Prufrock’ the emotion seems to be one of paralyzing angst caused by the bifurcation of the self into public and the private and the recognition that others endure or maintain a similar dichotomy” (Boyd). It is as if Prufrock views himself as one against the rest of society, yet if
Interestingly, this poem was written in the year 1915, during WWI. During that time period while the men were at war the women had to take on the jobs that the men had left vacant, and perhaps that empowered women throughout the country, because aside from their typical “women” role of staying at home and taking care of the house and kids, they now played a more important role in the eyes of society. This could be the reason why Prufrock’s paralysis of initiating a conversation with women is so present due to the women having a bit more confidence of their roles in society. This observation came about as a part of the feminist criticism that is present in literature. In Prufrock’s case, the women are moving up in society and perceived as more independent and possibly stronger, however, they were still very inferior to men because in society the men have always been the head of the household. That being said, one would think that Prufrock would have the upper hand in his love searching quest, yet he is brought down by the paralysis that he faces with both his social and sexual anxieties amongst