Social Tensions In Public Settings
In one of our breakout room reading discussions, the topic of public bathroom etiquette was, inevitably, brought up. Someone mentioned that the book falsely made the social atmosphere in bathrooms overly tense, and I wished to expand on that statement.
As someone with social anxiety, I find any public setting intimidating. I am hyper-aware of almost everything going on around me: any movements I make, the body language of the people around me, and any sounds or visual stimulants within the reach of my senses. This is not to say, however, that public restrooms are necessarily tense. To the average person, I assume they are capable of going about their business (no pun intended) without paying much heed to those around them, so long as there's nothing out of the ordinary. Experiences such as rest stops are often erased from our heads, easily forgotten among the other mundane tasks we perform as we set about our day.
In The Mezzanine, however, our main character, Howie, draws one's attention to the nuances of public bathrooms. He highlights everything going on around him, from his own sniffles to himself indicating that he is minding his own business to small actions being made by the fellow bathroom users around him. Our minds do notice these things, yes, but often it is only within secondary thought, a mere sub-conscious awareness that can only be triggered at the direct brought-upon focus of the subject. When the average person is hyper-aware of things, there is usually an underlying feeling of unease or unrest.
I do not believe that Baker was trying to portray tension in the facility setting. In the style of the novel, he tasks himself with pointing out everything in near excruciating detail--that's just how he writes. To us, however, we are not used to paying so much attention to these minuscule factors. The fact that Baker brings up these details can create an illusion of tension for us, since we are unused to having such things pointed out. In reality, he is probably not describing a tense atmosphere, and likely Howie isn't necessarily feeling tense either. It's probably just me, being an over-thinker.
Howie also describes the "corporate rest room" in quite positive terms, as a kind of sanctuary where you can clean your glasses, brush your teeth, wash your face, and where you generally "know what you're supposed to be doing," apparently unlike in the office itself. But it is a unique kind of space that combines private and public, and he's also attuned to all the weird social negotiations that go on in such a setting. It's fundamentally different from a private/home rest room (which we don't even call "rest rooms"; we only "rest" in public contexts) in all kinds of ways, and this creates some interesting ambiguity. I do love the way he sees his supervisor, Abelardo, but there's no weirdness or pressure around seeing "the boss" in such a context--they have their usual absurdist exchange, and again, it's generally a positive experience for our narrator (now that he's found his "trick" to assuage his social anxieties at the urinal!).
ReplyDeleteYeah, I totally agree that he is bringing up minusucle details that may make life seem unenjoyable, when all he's doing is thinking in a way that nobody has ever thought before (or at least written about). He doesn't only notice small things, he elaborates on them so much as if he were writing an academic paper on them.
ReplyDeleteI also took interest in this topic and pursued more information from some of my male friends on the subject of urinal conversation. Mostly, in their perspective, conversation while using the urinals is common place among friends (less among strangers). It kind of makes sense to me but I still think it's weird. The main thing though is that I disagree with you in your point on how Baker didn't mean for tension to be perceived in this scene. It seemed very obvious, to me, that there is tension between Howie and his workplace peers. The same may not be reciprocated, however, I do believe that Howie was very nervous because he mentions he doesn't like to pee with others there because he overthinks it and can't do it. He seems very awkward and nervous about the whole situation.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that a lot of the small details that go on in public bathrooms are easily forgotten by us as our minds usually only really notice and respond to them subconsciously. It's kind of weird to read a scene with these small details spelled out and brought to our notice, when really, these sorts of things are normalized for us. It's the sort of details that are there, but we don't necessarily think about them until it's pointed out to us.
ReplyDeleteWhile Howie doesn't seem to have social anxiety, as he can adequately hold a conversation, however he is probably, like you, and over-thinker. He goes very in depth about things that are unnecessary to go in-depth about, such as buying milk. it seems like he is hyper aware of everything, and cares a lot about all the small things he notices.
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