Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

James Ingram Merrill's poem "Candid Decorator" offers a compelling exploration of self-perception, solitude, and the poignant recognition of one's inner state through the seemingly mundane act of contemplating home redecoration. At first glance, the poem's narrative seems simple: the speaker, discontented with their surroundings, calls in a decorator to rejuvenate their space. However, as the poem unfolds, it becomes clear that this desire for change reflects deeper, more existential concerns.

The poem begins with the speaker's dissatisfaction: "I thought I would do over / All of it. I was tired / Of scars and stains, of bleared / Panes, tinge of the liver." These opening lines suggest a weariness not only with the physical aspects of the home but also with life itself—its blemishes, its inevitable decay. The "scars and stains" are not just marks on the walls but symbols of the accumulated disappointments and emotional burdens that have taken their toll on the speaker.

The introduction of the fuchsia plant as "positively weird" and "dry as paper" adds to the atmosphere of lifelessness and dissatisfaction. The plant, often a symbol of life and growth, here seems desiccated and unnatural, reflecting the speaker's internal barrenness. This prompts the speaker to call for a decorator, someone who can offer a fresh perspective and perhaps inject some vitality into the space.

The arrival of the decorator is a pivotal moment in the poem. Described as a "nice young man" who listens "dreamily" and combs "his golden hair," the decorator seems almost ethereal, a figure who embodies youth, beauty, and an easy, untroubled existence. His presence contrasts sharply with the speaker's own state of mind, underscoring the gap between the life the speaker longs for and the reality they inhabit.

The speaker’s vision of change is ambitious: "Fresh colors, pinks and whites / That one would want to touch; / The windows redesigned; / The plant thrown out in favor, / Say, of a small tree, / An orange or a pear . . ." These desires suggest a yearning for simplicity, freshness, and fruitfulness—qualities that the speaker feels are missing from their current life. The orange or pear tree represents not just aesthetic pleasure but also a return to something more natural and nourishing.

However, the decorator's response is both pragmatic and brutally honest. He acknowledges the possibility of transformation but frames it as an "extravagance," requiring "carte blanche and an untold sum." This statement reflects the enormous effort and cost—both emotional and financial—required to achieve the kind of change the speaker seeks. Yet, it is what the decorator says next that delivers the real blow: "But to be frank, my dear, / Living here quite alone / (Oh, I have seen it, true, / But me you needn’t fear) / You’ve one thing to the good: / While not exactly smart, / Your wee place, on the whole / It couldn’t be more ‘you.’"

With these words, the decorator reveals that the home, with all its imperfections, is an accurate reflection of the speaker's soul. The speaker's attempt to externalize and fix what is wrong on the surface is undermined by the decorator's observation that the place "couldn’t be more ‘you.’" This statement forces the speaker to confront the reality that no amount of superficial change can alter the deeper, underlying truths of who they are and what they have become.

The poem culminates in the speaker’s visceral reaction: "I could / Not speak. He had seen my soul, / Had said what I dreaded to hear. / Ending the interview / I rose, blindly. I swept / To show him to the door, / And knelt, when he had left, / By my Grand Rapids chair, / And wept until I laughed / And laughed until I wept." The decorator’s insight leaves the speaker speechless, their composure shattered. The act of sweeping to the door and then collapsing by the "Grand Rapids chair" suggests a return to the familiar, the old, the unchangeable. The emotional outpouring—first weeping, then laughing, then weeping again—captures the turmoil of coming face to face with an uncomfortable truth about oneself.

Merrill's poem is a profound meditation on the intersection of the external and internal worlds. The speaker's desire to transform their physical space is revealed to be an attempt to escape from their own deeper anxieties and dissatisfaction. The candid decorator, by exposing the futility of such efforts, forces the speaker to acknowledge the intimate connection between their environment and their inner life. In the end, the poem suggests that true change requires more than just a new coat of paint—it demands a reckoning with the self, an acceptance of the scars and stains that define us.

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