Power and Powerlessness

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Power and Powerlessness
Letter From an Unknown Woman
In Stefan Zweig’s Letter From an Unknown Woman, a mysterious woman sends a letter to an author identified as “R.” In the letter, the unknown woman informs the writer that her son has died. The woman goes ahead and confesses that she has been in love with him since childhood. The woman further indicates she loved R before he moved to his apartment in Vienna. Ever since seeing R for the first time, the mysterious woman has remained “a slave.” Unknown to R, the woman makes trips to Vienna to see him without his knowledge. Zweig uses the relationship between the author and the unknown woman to demonstrate the theme of power and powerlessness. Ever since the unknown woman fell in love, she has remained a slave, which has made her powerless, while allowing R to be her master and hence exercise power over her.
Heterosexual love gives power to males as opposed to females. A woman in love is powerless in the presence of the man she loves. The protagonist’s obsessive love for a man who never recognizes her demonstrates "not as some hysterical aberration,” but “the plight of woman in love” (Fisher 94). Love causes individuals to be powerless in the presence of the one they love. The unknown woman indicates, “There is nothing on earth like the love of a child that passes unnoticed in the dark because she has no hope: her love is submissive, so much a servant’s love, passionate and lying in wait...” (Zweig 8).
The relationship between R and the unknown woman is that of a master and a slave. In a love relationship, it is expected that the parties involved re equal partners. Such a relationship should not have one of the partners as superior or inferior in any way. However, in the story, the writer demonstrates a master-slave relationship between R and the unknown woman. R, being the master takes the dominant position that accords him power in the relationship. On the contrary, the unknown woman is the slave and allows R to dominate over her. The woman recalls the very first time she became a slave to the man. She says, “But I still remember, my beloved, the day and the hour when I lost my heart to you entirely and for ever” (Zweig 7). On seeing R for the first time, the unknown falls in love with him. Her love for the man became intense on the first day. “That was all, beloved, but from that moment on, after sensing that soft, tender look, was your slave” (Zweig 7). The unknown woman interpreters the gaze from R as a sign of love. She quickly falls for him and accepts to be his “slave.” Henceforth, the woman lives her life as a servant to R. The woman no longer has a say in the “relationship” since she is enslaved by the love of her life. R is not aware that the woman secretly loves him. Despite this, he still manages to have so much power over the life of the woman.
Since the unknown woman falls in love with R at a tender age, she has little control over her emotions. A minor cannot handle the emotions associated with love. The woman falls in love with R at the age of 13 years, while still in school. At such a tender age, the unknown woman is unable to make rational decisions about what is right and hence she is powerless. For instance, the woman describes the first encounter with R where he “…looked at [her] with a warm, soft, all-enveloping gaze that was like a caress, smiled at [her] tenderly” (Zweig 7). What the woman did not know that the look was not directed to her only. R would look at any other woman in the same way. Such an approach to love was major because the woman was minor and hence unable to determine what was right for her at that time. As a minor, the woman did not have the power to control her emotions appropriately. Hence, she made the wrong assumption that R was in love with her which was not the case. And even if R was to fall in love with her, he would be an adult abusing a minor. Being an adult would give him more power over her and hence an upper hand in the relationship.
Additionally, patriarchal heterosexuality places women at a disadvantage. Women are forced to offer unconditional love to men. The man, being powerful in society, must be loved and revered by his woman. Even when the man does not recognize the love of the woman towards him, the women must keep on “offering unconditional love” (Fisher 106). The society offers the traditional man a privileged position. Hence, the woman has no option except to love a man unconditionally. One would expect that the man would, in turn, love the woman back. At the same time, it is expected that a woman would stop loving a man who does not love her back. This is not the case with the unknown woman. Her powerlessness in society means that she is subservient to the man. She is expected to demonstrate love to someone who does not value her. Surprisingly, the man is free to decide whether or not to love such a woman. Being in a powerful position, a woman is supposed to do whatever possible to please the man.
The writing prowess gave R power over the unknown woman. The protagonist lived all her life through R. The woman bought all the books written by R. She also read all the newspapers that contained his name. The woman could remember every word that was written in R’s books. The unknown woman confesses that “…as if in a dream: every word of yours was my Gospel and prayer book” (Zweig 13). She would also go ahead and read Viennese newspapers to know about upcoming concerts and premiers. The woman would wonder which of them was more likely to interest R. While far away from him, the lady would imagine that R is attending one of the concerts. She would think of how he might be behaving in the concerts. Indeed, the lady is obsessed with what R has and that is why she is so much concerned about his life. Even while away, R appears to have so much power over the way the unknown woman lives her life.
Spoilt as R is, his charm gives him power over women. When women see him, they easily fall for him. As a result, he is free to take any woman he wants. The unknown woman falls in love with R knowing that he is spoilt. She says that she “…loved [him] from that second on.” She is aware that many women have said such words to him but that does not bother her. The unknown woman further asserts that “…no one ever loved you as slavishly, with such dog-like devotion, as the creature I was then and have always remained…” (Zweig 8). From the beginning, the unknown woman acknowledges that R loved many women. He would entertain many people, and especially girls in the house. The unknown woman would observe “…ladies who drove up in cars… then again young girls still at commercial college who scurried shyly in through your door, and women visitors, in particular, very, very many women” (Zweig 6-7). At the age of 13 years, the unknown woman noticed a veiled woman leaving R’s apartment in the morning. Despite the unknown woman knowing that R goes out with many women, she is powerless to detach herself from him. She lives all her life wanting to be with him, even when he has no idea what is happening. Even when the two eat together in a restaurant, the lady is not offended when R cannot remember him. She counts herself as “One among hundreds” of women whom R has encountered (Zweig 16).
The unknown woman battles with the loss of her child, but she is too powerless to deal with it. The woman had done anything possible for the child. “I sat for forty hours at his bedside while influenza racked his poor, hot body with fever” However, the boy dies leaving her lonely. In the absence of R, the boy has kept her company. The woman wonders how life will be without the boy. The flowers that friends will bring during the burial will mean nothing to her. She does not see how th...