ENGL 4310

"Revelation" is one of my favorite stories that we've read this semester. I think this is because Mrs. Turpin doesn't just fall off her high horse; she is shoved off of it, and very forcefully too. On re-reading the story, it seems to me that she switches places with the "ugly girl" or the "white trash" that she met in the doctor's office. Obviously, she drastically changes after her encounter with the girl, but I didn't initially see it as a switching of places. I came to this conclusion based on how the eyes and glances of the characters are repeatedly portrayed, and how those images change immediately after Mrs. Turpin is hit with the book.

Mrs. Turpin is described in the first paragraph as having "little bright black eyes" (633). In the same paragraph, the narrator describes the little white-trash boy as having "eyes idle in his head." This description, however, does not just apply to the little boy, but to all the white trash in the office. Most of their eyes seem to be described as "expressionless" (641) or "vacant" (635). This suggests to the reader that the narrator is likely not reliable because everything we are told comes from the perspective of Mrs. Turpin and so our images of the characters are tainted with how Mrs. Turpin sees the world. In other words, the narrator does not present us with an objective view of the office. Soon after Mrs. Turpin enters the office and makes some quick judgments, her eyes meet those of the well-dressed, agreeable woman's. Other than this moment and a a moment where we are told that her eyes "sparkle" (637), there is no reference to the agreeable woman's eyes or her gaze; this is because Mrs. Turpin views her as an equal, and so there is no need to make any distinction between her own eyes and this woman's; they, too, are equal.

When Mrs. Turpin notices the ugly girl watching her, she describes her eyes/gaze with such words as: "scowl", "smirk", "smolder", "unnatural light", and "peculiar". Being the daughter of the agreeable woman, this girl is clearly not white trash. However, she is ugly and has a disagreeable disposition, so her eyes are not described as "bright" or "twinkling". Mrs. Turpin is disturbed by the girl because she cannot put her finger on how to categorize her, which is probably why her eyes are described with terms that seem to only apply to her.

Immediately after the girl launches herself at Mrs. Turpin, Mrs. Turpin's vision is altered and she has a kind of out-of-body experience (it may also be significant to note that the book hits Mrs. Turpin directly over her eye). She quickly recovers and her "vision suddenly revers(es) itself" (645). When this happens, I don't just think that she is just regaining her senses; I think she switches places with the "undesirable" people in the office. When Mrs. Turpin meets the eye of her attacker, the girl's eyes seemed "much lighter than before, as if a door that had been tightly closed behind them was now open to admit light and air" (645). The girl seems to have been bettered by this experience, whereas Mrs. Turpin's gaze is henceforth depicted with terms which previously only applied to the girl: "scowl", "glowered", "wrathful". Also, there are a few instances where she seems to be gazing vacantly at the world around her, much as the white trash were described in the office. Another circumstance which leads me to believe that Mrs. Turpin has indeed switched places is when "her lower lip protruded dangerously" (651). This immediately recalls the instant in the office when the girl's "lower lip turned downwards and inside out" (640) and Mrs. Turpin thinks to herself that it is the "ugliest face" she has ever seen. Well, it seems that she has not only adopted that ugly face, but a very disagreeable disposition as well.