Tragic Consequences of Selfishness

“Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather and “To Room Nineteen” by Doris Lessing are two short

stories that illustrate how the selfishness of the protagonists affected their lives and

ultimately contributed to their tragic end. Although both of them showed similar self-

centered attitude towards other people, they had very different reasons for doing so. In

this essay I will compare and contrast the degree of their selfishness, the possible

reasons for it and how it contributed to their dire fate.

Selfishness was a significant trait of both characters. Paul, the main character depicted in

the story “Paul’s Case” has a self-centered personality and showed little consideration for his father and teachers: “In one class he habitually sat with his hand shading his eyes; in another he always looked out of the window during the recitation; in another he made a running

commentary on the lecture, with humorous intention"(Cather, 236). After he had stolen the money from his employer, he demonstrated no remorse or thought of how his father must feel: “How astonishingly easy it had all been; here he was, the thing done; and this time there

would be no awakening, no figure at the top of the stairs”(Cather, 245). Similarly Susan, the protagonist of “To Room Nineteen”, also concentrated a lot on her feelings and needs. She felt a growing need of freedom and being alone - “she resented the fact that she would never be alone” (Lessing, 873). She started to show more inconsideration for others: “she did not give a damn what Mrs. Parker did, or if she did it all” …did not care who telephoned or how often” (Lessing, 874). When her private room became another family room, “she dreamed of having a room or a place, anywhere, where she could sit, by herself, no one knowing where she was” (Lessing, 878). As the story progressed, she became more and more detached from her family, needing more freedom and time alone.

Although both of them were selfish, they demonstrated it in a...