'Capote presents ethereal love as a superior form to its sexual counterpart' In what ways can

this be found in his novella, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's?

Capote's novella, however atypical of romantic convention, is fundamentally a love story. 'Breakfast
at Tiffany's' is concerned with love in all its forms; sexual, homosexual and above all, asexual.
Capote explores the diversity of love and in contrast to dominant social and literary representations,
presents the purity and power of platonic relationships . It is through his enigmatic heroine, Holly
Golightly and the relationships she forms that Capote presents ethereal love as a superior form to its
sexual counterpart, as this essay shall discuss.

The superiority of ethereal love and relationships is created through the unique and pure love shared
by protagonist Holly and anonymous narrator, which is unlike the majority of Holly's relationships.
Shortly after our introduction to Holly, we are introduced to Rusty Trawler, a fellow New York
socialite. Rusty, 'an orphan, a millionaire, a celebrity' is infatuated by Holly in a quasi sexual
maternal way. In response to his whims Holly disciplines Rusty with 'a governess threat of
punishment in her tone that caused an odd flush of pleasure...to his pink face'. However complex
the sexual undertones of Rusty's love for Holly, his need and desire for her is made clear in the
pleasure he finds in her attention. The strength of this love is tested and in spite of the 'pleasure'
Rusty receives from Holly, we learn that it is no more than a fickle and passing infatuation. What
Rusty once needed from Holly he seeks elsewhere in his engagement to Mag Wildwood, who both
consequentially abandon Holly when she is in dire straits. Capote does not suggest that platonic
relationships are pure because they are without sexual complications, but because they are free from
need and desire that form the basis of sexual relationships. Holly forms close and strong
relationships with Bar man Joe Bell, and even more so with narrator, both implied
homosexuals,'there is always a large bowl of flowers that Joe Bell arranges himself with matronly
care', neither of which desire her sexually. They are both poor and unconnected with the social elite,
and therefore Holly has nothing to gain in her relationship with them. Their friendships are simply
based in sincere affection as Joe Bell accurately describes, 'sure I loved her. But it wasn't that I
wanted to touch her...you can love somebody without it being like that'. Capote reduces love to its
simplest and purest form in this description, without want or desire. The true meaning of these
words can be found when all is lost for Holly in that the two men still offer their unquestionable
love and support.

The strength of ethereal love can be most clearly seen in the deep mutual understanding that is
shared between the narrator and Holly. Capote communicates the power and strength of the platonic
love through the polarization of what each character symbolizes. Where Holly can be seen as a
symbol of freedom, 'Fred' can be seen as the opposing force, 'home'. Holly's character is never at
rest and her pursuit of freedom is encapsulated by what is written on her mail box, 'Miss Holiday
Golightly, Travelling'. This creates the sense of her making a holiday out of life, 'going lightly' from
relationship to relationship and place to place and abandoning what threatens her freedom.
Contrastingly, the narrator, 'Fred' can be seen as a symbol of stability. His name alone is a symbol of
home for Holly herself, 'I'm going to help you because you look like my brother, Fred'. Capote
communicates the purity of their love for one another through how the exchanging of gifts
embraces their difference of character. Holly, in light of her companion's need for security buys him
a bird cage, 'wrapped with a red ribbon, the beautiful bird cage', and 'Fred' gives Holly 'a St
Christopher's medal' i.e. the patron saint of travel. Firstly, these gifts show a happy medium, or
perhaps union, between freedom and home. The Bird cage shall not keep a bird, 'promise me you'll
never put a living thing in it', and Fred purchases the medal form Tiffany's, Holly's place of home.
'but at least it came from Tiffany's', the way the gifts unite freedom and home acts as a metaphor for
the compromises made in Holly and the narrator's ethereal love. Additionally, the gift exchange can
be seen to show the superiority of ethereal love in that it shows how Holly and 'Fred' not only
accept but embrace each other's faults and do not try to change one another. In his love for Holly,
'Fred' understands and supports who she is; a creature in need of constant escape. Contrastingly,
Holly's romantic love interest, Jose cannot cope with the reality of Holly's character. After her
devastation at her brother's death, Jose responds with, 'I have a worry that this should concern a
scandal...conducting like a crazy', showing not only a lack of empathy but a selfish interest in his
own image. Where the romantic love is weakened when the romance of life is absent, a platonic
love is rooted in the reality of each persons character, making it a superior form, as Capote presents
through Holly and 'Fred's' love.

Holly, in spite of her commitment to the idea of freedom, is very much a product of her culture and
American society. Her image and sexuality are carefully constructed and once again it is the
narrator that most shrewdly recognizes how she crafts herself and the synthetic nature of her image.,
'from observing the trash basket outside her door...survived on cottage cheese... her vari-coloured
hair was somewhat self induced.' In order to appear as she does Holly must diet and dye her hair;
she is a carefully cultivated work of art. Holly even sells herself. In reference to her visits to Sally
Tomato, who is obviously romantically interested in her she says, 'but I adore him now... I've been
going to see him for seven months and I think I'd go if he didn't pay me' the certain flippancy in her
tone suggesting that she does not feel degraded by what some would feel to be prostitution.
Furthermore, Holly uses the art of her sexuality to escape certain situations, for example to diffuse
the tension between her and Mr Yunioshi she teases, 'I might let you take those pictures we
mentioned'. Holly is desired and allows herself to be exploited due to a carefully crafted image and
sexuality she creates and this is recognized by the narrator; the artist. Fred, however, whose deep
understanding of art surpasses popular consumer conception (for example his lack of desire to sell
his work), never treats Holly in this way. The narrator describes, 'our understanding of each other
had reached that sweet depth where two people communicate more often in silence than in words'.
The narrator is in the superior position as the artist; Holly cannot sell herself to him because unlike
her superficial acquaintances he has a deep understanding of her form and it is because of this that
their ethereal love is presented as pure, untainted and superior.

A striking element of the novel is the role and position of the narrator. Although the voice of the
novel and director of the action, he is nameless and has virtually no identity. All that is known or of
any importance is that he is a struggling artist. The position of the narrator is another medium for
Capote to glorify platonic love, and this is achieved through two main aspects of the narrator.
Firstly, it could be interpreted that his lack of personal identity projects the unrequited nature of
ethereal love. He is referred to as 'Fred' in the novella purely because Holly associates him with her
own life, 'By the way, do you mind if I call you Fred?'. One could say that the ego that exists in
sexual relationships would not allow this level of devotion; to sacrifice ones identity for love of
another. For example, in the novella the selfish nature of romantic love emerges between Jose and
Holly when he abandons her to save his own identity, 'I have my family to protect, and my name'.
Capote presents how sexual love is polluted by ego and self interest, both of which are lacking in
the relationship between Holly and 'Fred', as communicated through how he adopts the identity she
gives him, a selfless act of devotion. Secondly, the narrator adopts a unique position as both an
outsider and an observer who Holly describes as 'wants awfully to be on the inside staring out'. This
'covert' role allows a certain level of intimacy that perhaps does not exist in conventional
relationships. Holly's façade of nonchalance and detachment is frequently broken down my the man
who exists separately from her social circle. For example, when Holly cries in the night her front is
broken down, 'Why are you crying?' to which she retorts 'I hate snoops', showing her discomfort at
her emotions being observed and understood. The detachment of the narrator allows him to see
through her pretence, allowing a level of intimacy to exist that does not in her sexual relationships.
It is in these two ways that Capote uses the narrator to show the strength and selflessness of ethereal
love.
'Breakfast at Tiffany's' breaks almost every convention and goes against the formulae of a love
story. In many ways the heroine is fickle and false, the ending could not be described as 'happy' or
even conclusive and the central love is not one based on romance or attraction. In spite of, or
because of, all these things the novella explores what love really is. It is not based on desire, it is not
superficial, it can be uncomfortably intimate and it is based on deep mutual understanding. Capote
presents ethereal love as a superior form by creating an exceptional character who has an
exceptional relationship that embodies all these things.

By Eleanor Pickering 13GD