Dancing Bear

Thestory culminates in Dieter 's death due to a stroke. A second significant statement made by Vanderhaeghe (173) thatidentifies the nature of this elderly man is attributed to his housekeeper,Mrs. He is at the mercy of a woman who can decidewhen or even if he will be allowed to eat bacon or to smoke a cigarette.While there is certainly some indication in the story that Dieter needs tobe monitored, Mrs. Hax clearly enjoys her responsibilities and takespleasure in thwarting the old man 's desires. Noting;except the bear was beaten and battered, humiliated, even spat upon"(Vanderhaeghe, 181). He is suggesting that a wild animal feelsor behaves in much the same way that a human does. They are no longer masters of their own fate or destiny. What went on in the oldbastard 's head if anything? Hismouth had opened as if he were about to speak. He has notsucceeded in being embraced by the bear but is embraced by the very womanwho torments him. What is significant about this quotation is that it links the longforgotten dancing bear to Dieter himself. Hax, "It was going to be one of those days. Lear is treated similarly by the daughters he gave the power tocontrol his kingdom. Again, in King Lear, the king is reduced to poverty by his daughtersand is humiliated by them, Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire are my daughters: I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness; I never gave you kingdom, called you children, you owe me no subscription.... Nevertheless, he knows himselfto be worthy of respect, which he does not receive from Mrs. Hax. Similarly, in Shakespeare 's (855) King Lear, his daughter, Goneril,says, "come, sir, I would have you make use of that good wisdom, whereof Iknow you are fraught; and put away these dispositions, that of latetransform you from what you rightly are." Just as Dieter Bethge, theelderly man in "The Dancing Bear" is subject to the domination of a womanwho finds him to be peculiar and difficult, so does Lear find that he hasplaced himself in the hands

Cited: hakespeare, William. This recollectionforeshadows an event - the falling of Dieter after his stroke into the openand waiting arms of Mrs. Hax. He says, "And when the music stopped, the bear hadopened his arms very wide in a gesture of friendship and welcome. In terms of the theme of thestory, this reflects the isolation of the elderly man and his acknowledgedloss of control over some of his behavior. The two old men are therefore in much the same position with respectto their children. However, if Lear 's tragedy is written on a grandand epic scale, Dieter 's tragedy is far more intimate, ordinary, andunderstandable. Dieter isabused when he asserts the right to eat corn flakes rather than porridgeand is made to feel that he is a dirty old man who has no authority in hisown home. He is truly abandoned by his son and left atthe mercy of a woman whom he knows to be careless with "his plates, hisfeelings" (Vanderhaeghe, 179). The shame he felt at watching "such an indignity, such completeindifference to the rightful pride of the bear" is like the shame he feelsin observing his own condition and his subjection to the whims and pettymeanness of a woman who is paid to care for him (Vanderhaeghe, 181). Dieter has not learned the special truththat the bear may have been able to confide only in him. Briefly, Vanderhaeghe 's story moves from the beginning of what seemsto be a fairly typical day in the life of Dieter Bethge, who is locked in abattle of wills with his petty and cruel housekeeper/caretaker, Mrs. Hax.Dieter is frail physically and given to moments in which his mentalfunctions are erratic or even disordered. "King Lear." Shakespeare. Running throughout "The Dancing Bear" is Dieter 's memory of a trainedbear that danced to the music of a violin in a market in Romania whenDieter was a child. A third significant quotation from "The Dancing Bear" (175) describesthe bear that the younger Dieter saw his father skin, "There had beenanother bear; he was sure of it. Hardin Craig. Thedancing bear can only dance when the violin is playing and is abused by hiskeeper when he chooses to dance alone for his own pleasure. In aparticularly telling statement, Dieter states that "his mind 's eye had seenthe bear suddenly strike, revenge himself. Vanderhaeghe 's short story catalogs the death of an old man who hasbeen all but abandoned by his only son and for whom life is by and large adaily struggle for some type of self-respect or dignity. Here I stand, your slave, a poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man (Shakespeare, 87 ).The bear, Dieter, and Lear are like one another in their dependence onothers. And that was exactly whatDieter had expected all along" (Vanderhaeghe, 185). Both of these older male characters have lostcontrol over the external realities of their lives and are thereforevulnerable to the dictates of others who may not have their best interestsat heart. Perhaps moresignificantly, this describes the feelings of the elderly man who himself,"lives in shame and impotence" because of the frailty of his body and mind(Vanderhaeghe, 175). Lear 's royal prerogatives are also treatedcarelessly by the very daughters whose flattery gained them adisproportionate share of his kingdom. On those occasions when Dieterattempts to rebel against Mrs. Hax 's harsh treatment, he is alsopsychologically beaten, battered, and humiliated in the same the way as wasthe bear. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1952. Thematically, the language of the two quotationslinks each of these actors. Inthis he is different from Dieter, whose death does not look like it willaffect his son and it will affect Mrs. Hax only to the degree that she willneed to find another job. As thestory progresses, a triggered memory of a trained dancing bear from hischildhood leads Dieter to rebel against Mrs. Hax and his situation. Dieter identifies with the bear whose only wrongdoingwas that he enjoyed dancing without the music provided by his keeper. Yet nothing happened.