Arcadia
... beef.” Thomasina not accepting this as a satisfactory explanation continues to question Septimus “Is carnal embrace kissing?” Thomasina extremely adamant to gain sexual knowledge. In the 19th century sexual knowledge wasn’t as wide spread and as openly spoke about as it is in modern period. This illustrates that the relationship between Septimus and Thomasina is more than on between a tutor and his student but more along the lines of friends as they are able to discuss such issues including that of sex to a thirteen year old girl in that period. It appears that it is easier for Thomasina to talk of the issue rather than Septimus because he tries on several occasions to change the conversation topic “Carnal embrace is sexual congress … Fermat’s last theorem, by contrast, assets that when x, y, z are whole numbers each raised to power of n”. There are two reasons for this; one because Septimus is embarrassed, which he admits “ Yes, I am ashamed.” The other is because Septimus himself has committed a sin relating to carnal embrace “I am sorry that the seed fell on stony ground.” From this we are able to gather that Thomasina is more stable in the relationship as well as more dependent upon Septimus and she holds much trust in him “If you do not teach me the true meaning of things who will?” However it may be argued that Septimus is also reliant on Thomasina who keeps him informed of all the gossip of the estate, “No, Mr. Noakes told Mr. Chater, Jellaby was told by the groom, who overheard Mr. Noakes telling Mr. Chater in the stable yard.” Thomasina and Septimus seem to have trusting relationship because they are able to talk to each other about almost anything. Another reason to why Septimus and Thomasina have such a precious relationship is also due to their common interests. Thomasina is extremely clever and studying and thinking of issues much ahead of her time including Fermat’s last theorem and Newton’s laws of motion. However this doesn’t hide Thomasina’s naivety, in the aspect of her lack of knowledge of sexual issues, and her immature behaviour. For example when she believes she has solved Fermat’s last theorem “Oh! I see now! The answer is perfectly obvious,” which angers Septimus. Septimus is also extremely clever in a number of ways; one of which is his academic knowledge, which makes him confident enough to criticise Mr. Chater’s poem “He believes he has written a poem, yes. I can see that there might be more carnality in your algebra than in Mr. Chater’s ‘ Couch of Eros’. Septimus also seems to get offended if he is being proved wrong and uses his knowledge of the English language to play around with words, “ I never said that my definition was complete.” Between the two characters there is a 9 year age difference yet the couple have much to discuss and is probably due to the absurd theories that Thomasina comes up with, for example that you cannot stir things apart. So overall, there are a number of qualities in each character, which make them more compatible with each other. Thomasina’s naivety and immature behaviour as well as her academic knowledge gives her a good relationship with Septimus. Tensions and certain issues prevent them from having the ultimate relationship however from this passage the audience is given the idea that the relationship will progress further. Within this passage not only are we introduced to the two main characters but a number of themes and issues that are also introduced. The first is immediately introduced is that of sexual knowledge as the opening line of the play is “Septimus, what is carnal embrace?” Sexual attraction and carnal embrace would play a major part in the play. Sexual knowledge seems to hold great importance to Thomasina as she seems more eager to find out about. Sexual knowledge always acts in conflict with intellectual knowledge, and here it gets in the way of her lesson. Sex also persists as the anti- academic driving force in Arcadia. Academic knowledge is never separated far from carnal knowledge- academic knowledge somehow equates sexual prowess. Within this passage much academic ideas are illustrated, one of which is Fermat’s last theorem. The play opens with a problem of mathematical knowledge. Septimus has given Thomasina the challenge of finding a proof for Fermat’s theorem – more to keep her occupied than in hopes of her solving it. At the time the play was set Fermat’s theorem was, indeed, a great mathematical task. Thomasina’s proposes her own original solution to the theorem; Fermat’s marginal note was an eternally tormenting joke. But the quest for mathematical knowledge persist within the play. Thomasina is the genius girl who can miraculously understand the foundations of thermodynamics and chaos theory a century before their formal definition. One theory that Thomasina thinks of that relates and remains an issue further on in the play is regarding that you cannot stir things apart. “When you stir your rice pudding, Septimus, the spoonful of jam spreads itself round making red trails like the picture of a meteor in my astronomical atlas. But if you stir backwards, the jam will not come together again. Indeed, the pudding does not notice and continues to turn pink just as before. Do you think this is odd?” This quote reveals Thomasina’s scientific curiosity, even while eating her rice pudding. Thomasina attempts to find scientific explanations for the world around her and, quite successfully, see...