Thread by @Multifacetedfic

For the #MXTXLitLoveExchange, I am lucky to be doing a close-reading for @scarletwanlian. The following excerpt is from Chapter 9 of “take me home (where i belong)”

Here is the link to “take me home (where i belong): archiveofourown.org/works/34141909…

And, this is the link to Scarletwanlian’s Archive of Our Own profile: archiveofourown.org/users/scarletw…

In this passage, I really love how Scarletwanlian captures Lan Wangji’s mental state on a fundamental level by creating a sense of stillness through their use of repetition, simile, and oxymoron.

In particular, I like how the repetition of words serves to slow down the progression of the moment and invites the reader to take more time to reflect on Lan Wangji’s emotions.

For example, the opening line of this excerpt, “Somehow, he feels as if watching the world from behind a glass pane, and like the pane will only ever break if he breaks,” effectively uses this technique with the several instances of “pane” and “break.”

Additionally, this simile for Lan Wangji’s feelings is so powerful! First, the glass pane represents Lan Wangji’s separation from the rest of the world, his distance from everything else; Lan Wangji’s perception of the world is muted.

However, what is interesting is that Lan Wangji is also linked to this barrier between him and the rest of the world, as indicated by “like the pane will only ever break if he breaks.”

This detail suggests that this sense of isolation is to a degree, a self-imposed thing that has become an innate part of himself. In other words, he has some control over its existence.

Furthermore, by revealing the link between Lan Wangji and this figurative glass pane via the act of them both breaking, Scarletwanlian hints that this perception of the world also serves as a protective measure to ensure that he can continue living, ---

--- even if it is only in a muted capacity. I absolutely love how this first sentence captures so much!

In the second sentence, the oxymorons “unmoving body,” “unseeing eyes,” and “unfeeling pads of his fingers” make the stillness of the overall passage so much more visceral, highlighting how Lan Wangji is trapped in contradictions and limitations.

In particular, I really liked the use of these oxymorons because I thought it nicely set up the sense of stillness early on in the sentence that then gets further driven home with the phrase “his whole frozen being, like he himself is frozen in time.”

Significantly, this final phrase also links back to the first sentence with its use of repetition, specifically “frozen,” and it makes the whole first paragraph super cohesive and evocative!

Another cool part of this passage is the way the second paragraph demonstrates Lan Wangji’s internal search for the moment that has trapped him and makes the reader a participant in this inquiry.

In each sentence, Scarletwanlian offers the reader different impactful moments, letting them consider alongside Lan Wangji which one has trapped him the most. The repetitive use of “maybe” at the beginning of each sentence contributes to making this inquiry ultimately ---

--- open ended, giving the reader space to make their own determination. However, the first statement “Maybe he is” also has an underlying message of hope that subverts the idea that Lan Wangji is frozen in time because the use of “maybe” in this case implies that there is a ---

--- possibility that he might not be as stuck as he feels in this moment.

Finally, I just wanted to add that my absolute favorite line in this passage is “Maybe he hasn’t moved on from that moment at the hospital, when Wei Ying basically told him, ever beautiful and ever devastating, that his career is over” because I cannot get over the embedded ---

--- remark that Wei Ying is “ever beautiful and ever devastating.” I really love that description, and I think it is a good, subtle insight into Lan Wangji’s perception of Wei Ying.

Overall, I’m so glad that I got to read this passage! It was super cool, and I really adore how Scarletwanlian evokes emotion in their writing! 💚

Thank you so much to Sam and Lil for hosting this event! I really appreciate the chance to do some close reading, and it was a ton of fun! 💚

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