The fascination with death, darkness, and moral corruption seems intrinsic to the human experience. Macabre areas of life attract substantial attention, especially in works of fiction – Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” belong to this category. The explanations for the phenomenon could be found in the need to confront one’s fears and gain control over them or the euphoric relief experienced after the story is finished (Penfold-Mounce 14). The absence of a clear explication does not negate the ubiquity which the phenomenon possesses. Even though Oates’s work, seemingly, cannot be classified as a horror story, it unravels fears of a different kind. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” investigates the notion of danger that the unknown can bring embodied in Arnold Friend’s character, who, with the protagonist, Connie, experience the closeness of death, although from opposite perspectives.
The origin of the short story is closely related to the Death and the Maiden trope. As Oates is known for finding ideas for her fiction in the news, Arnold Friend could be based on a real-life murderer, operating in the Southwest, approximately in the middle of the last century (Tromble 1). Being grounded in real events, the piece of fiction produces additional emotional impact. The similarities between the murderer from Arizona and the character from the short story are numerous, including their age, the type of victims that they chose, and the geographical location of the crimes. Pending violence is one of the multiple links connecting “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” and Death and the Maiden trope. The text contains the threat of abuse, which increases gradually with the progression of the plot and culminates when Connie finally leaves with the antagonist. Although the short story is not explicit, its intensity is conveyed through the growing despair and the realization that death may be inevitable for the heroine after readers turn the last pages.
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” has elements of tales encountered in folklore and Death and the Maiden itself stems from mythological world perception. The interactions and plot points of the short story seem to imply otherworldliness. This quality is expressed the most in Arnold’s character and how he relates to Connie. Arnold does not physically force the heroine into leaving with him; the methods used for this purpose are designed to pressure her psychologically. Nevertheless, when relatively non-violent devices cease to work, the character tries a different strategy. He threatens Connie’s family, who, at that moment, recognizes the extent of love that she has for them. At one point, Arnold says, “this is your day set aside for a ride with me and you know it” (Oates 42). The words allude to Connie’s presumed preparedness for the situation or that she has to recognize that the encounter was destined to happen, like death. On closer inspection, Arnold Friend’s full name contains “an old friend,” supporting the suggestion that the meeting between the two was not entirely incidental.
The character of Arnold Friend is an ambiguous one – readers cannot be sure if he is real or someone, whom Connie dreamt of. Even his appearance reminds Connie of a boy she met before. Sartika insists that “Connie discovers her “other,” but rejects its existence. In the end, she accepts Arnold as being part of her psyche, and decides to walk out to join him” (48). Besides being Connie’s psychopathic projection, the character may be interpreted as a representation of death in the story. Initially like Death in the trope, Arnold intends to seduce the heroine, but she promptly recognizes his deceit. The type of information the character possesses about Connie – from details of her personal life to how appeals to her, and his ability to anticipate her thoughts and actions – may suggest unearthly power. Furthermore, several instances describing Arnold’s appearance imply that he tries to disguise himself; for example, the character wears a wig and not very dexterously tries to copy teenagers’ fashion. The ambiance of mystery and danger surrounding the antagonist connects him to Death’s character.
Whereas Arnold Friend could be viewed as an incarnation of evil and mortality, Connie’s side of the story signifies a transition from carelessness and a certain amount of infantilism to readiness for sacrifice and adulthood. The heroine may appear superficial, self-centered, and manipulative towards those who surround her at the very beginning. Such behavior can be partially explained by familial relationships – unresponsiveness of Connie’s father, rivalry with her sister, and the desire to gain mother’s attention. When the readers begin the story, they see Connie in the intermediate stage of her transition, and even though its events occur over a short time, the character matures significantly, prompted by the meeting with Arnold. Similar to the maiden in the trope, Connie could represent youthfulness that intrigues Death initially. The heroine undergoes adolescence – a time in one’s life typically associated with spring. Therefore, the principal semblance between Connie and the maiden is their immaturity and juvenility.
The trope in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” has a strong presence but is limited to the application of its specific elements. Even though the author states that she was partially inspired by gothic art depicting Death and the Maiden, certain features that seem essential for the trope in other pieces of fiction or figurative art are absent from this short story (Tromble 1). Eroticism may be deemed an integral part of the trope since female nudity repeatedly appears in paintings and gravures incorporating it; nevertheless, the fatal attraction is one-sided in Oates’s work (Welch 400). In addition, Arnold’s reality in relation to the fictional world of the short story is also debatable. A reader cannot be sure whether events occur only in Connie’s mind, which may reduce the extent to which the text can be interpreted using this trope. However, such contradictions do not hinder the analysis of the text but enrich it.
The short story under consideration provides extensive opportunities for its potential readings and search for intertextual connections. One of the possible ways to view the main characters is through the prism of Death and the Maiden trope. Due to the nature of events that form its plot, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a text that creates an atmosphere of anxiousness and apprehension combined with a feeling of otherworldliness. Arnold Fiend is an obscure character who could be a projection of the heroine’s subconscious self as well as an embodiment of death. On the other hand, Connie represents a regular suburban teenager, not entirely ready to face adulthood. The interactions between these characters may resemble a struggle between a predator and its prey, which warrants the short-story its intensity.
Works Cited
Oates, J. Carol. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been??: Selected Early Stories. Ontario Review Pr, 1993.
Penfold-Mounce, Ruth. “Corpses, Popular Culture and Forensic Science: Public Obsession with Death.” Mortality, vol. 21, no. 1, 2016, pp. 19–35.
Sartika, Yustin. “Parental Role and Narcissicm in Constructing Self-image in Joyce Carol Oates’s Short Story.” Humanus: Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu-ilmu Humaniora, vol. 16, no. 1, 2017, pp. 41-49.
Tromble, Tanya L. “Fiction in Fact and Fact in Fiction in the Writing of Joyce Carol Oates.” Bearing Witness: Joyce Carol Oates Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, 2015, pp. 1–13.
Welch, C. (2017). Death and the erotic woman: the European gendering of mortality in times of major religious change. Journal of Gender Studies, 24(4), 399–418.