Tamar by Robinson Jeffers
"Tamar" by Robinson Jeffers is a complex narrative poem that explores intense themes of familial relationships, love, and moral conflict through the story of Lee and Tamar Cauldwell. Set against the backdrop of California, the poem begins with Lee recovering from a near-fatal accident, cared for by his devoted sister, Tamar. As Lee vows to abandon his reckless lifestyle, their bond deepens, leading to unsettling dynamics that reveal their isolation and latent desires. The narrative takes a dark turn as Tamar becomes pregnant under ambiguous circumstances and grapples with her feelings of shame and betrayal, particularly concerning her relationships with Lee and her former suitor, Will.
The poem intricately weaves elements of incest, alcoholism, and the supernatural, particularly through the character of Aunt Stella, who serves as a medium connecting Tamar to familial ghosts and unresolved traumas. As familial tensions escalate, the story culminates in tragedy, marked by a series of violent confrontations and ultimately, a catastrophic fire that consumes the family. Jeffers' work invites readers to reflect on the psychological and societal implications of the characters’ actions, presenting a haunting exploration of love, identity, and the destructive potential of human relationships.
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Tamar by Robinson Jeffers
First published: 1924
Type of work: Poetry
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of plot: World War I
Locale: Near Carmel, California
Principal characters
Tamar Cauldwell , a young womanLee Cauldwell , her brotherDavid Cauldwell , her fatherJinny Cauldwell , David’s sisterStella Moreland , the sister of David’s dead wifeWill Andrews , Tamar’s suitor
The Poem:
Injured when his horse stumbles and falls over a sea cliff, young Lee Cauldwell is nursed back to health by his sister, Tamar. Lee, who has lived a wild and dissolute life, vows to give up his drinking and debauchery. He and Tamar become devoted to each other during his convalescence, so much so that Lee jealously warns a former suitor of his sister to stay away from her. Old David Cauldwell, Lee and Tamar’s father, fears what might result from the isolation of his family. His fears are confirmed when the brother and sister, after swimming in the river, are drawn to each other.
The Cauldwell family members are a peculiar group. In addition to David and his two children, the family includes two old women: Jinny Cauldwell and Stella Moreland. Aunt Jinny, the mentally disabled sister of David, is cared for by Aunt Stella, the sister of David’s dead wife. Through the confused mumblings of Jinny, Tamar realizes that an incestuous relationship occurred years before between David and his sister Helen.
A short time later, Tamar discovers that she is pregnant. Rather than admit that Lee is the father of her child, she deliberately seeks out and seduces her former suitor, Will Andrews. Disgust and revulsion grow in her until she hates her two lovers and, most of all, herself. She feels that she will lose her mind if she does not talk to someone.
Aunt Stella is a medium through whom the voices of the dead sometimes speak. In desperation, Tamar appeals to Stella to let her speak to Helen. That evening she and Stella, with Jinny between them, steal down to the seashore so that they will not be discovered by the men. Stella gradually falls into a trance, and through her lips Tamar hears the voice of a man who tells her that the coastline country was once the land of the Indians, where their gods used to come to them. He orders Tamar to strip and dance so that the gods will come again. Against her will, Tamar dances to strange guttural chants from the lips of the entranced woman. After a while the chanting ceases, and Tamar returns slowly to her senses. Then through the lips of Stella she hears the voice of Helen taunting her for the shameful display. The voice, after warning Tamar that she will lose her child, tells her that a fire Tamar set earlier in the family’s cabin will be quenched before it fulfills its purpose of destroying the corruption of the Cauldwell family. Then, in a mournful voice, Helen tells Tamar of the horror of death, of her longing for life, and of her need to haunt Tamar as long as she lives, because Tamar possesses life. On the shore, unassisted by anyone and in great pain, Tamar suffers a miscarriage.
Back in the cabin once more, Tamar can scarcely restrain the hatred she feels for her family. All pity has left her, and all love. In order to revenge herself on Helen, she tempts her old father with her beauty. Through the medium of Stella, Helen curses Tamar and pleads with her not to commit that ultimate folly.
Lee, who has returned to his drinking, enlists in the army, but Tamar is determined not to let him go. She tells him that the child she had carried was not his; rather, the father was Will Andrews, who had visited her late at night after she set a lighted lamp in her window as a signal. Tamar taunts Lee until he lashes her with a whip.
When Will Andrews comes to the cabin that night, Tamar tells him that Lee is to leave the following day for the army and would like to say good-bye to him. The meeting between the two men is cool but amiable. While Lee is out of the room, Tamar shows Will her lash wounds and tells him that she has lost his child through the outrages that both her father and Lee have perpetrated upon her. When Lee returns with his father, Will accuses him of those atrocities. In turn, Lee accuses Will of having attempted to set fire to their home. Tamar, who herself is responsible, says nothing but goads the men on to fight with her smiles and wordless encouragement to Will. As they struggle, Lee stabs Will with a knife.
Helen, through the person of Stella, tries to save old David Cauldwell from the destroying forces of hate and evil, but he refuses to heed her warnings. Downstairs, the simpleminded Jinny, alone and disturbed, is attracted by the light of a candle. She carries it to the window, where the flame sets fire to the blowing curtains. Her dying shrieks attract the attention of those upstairs. Lee tries to run to her, but Tamar clings to him and will not let him go. Will, dying, drags himself as far as the window. Stella rushes out into the flaming hall and perishes. The old man prays brokenly, groveling on the floor. Lee makes one last effort to escape, but Tamar, glorying in the destruction of her three lovers, embraces him until the flames consume them all.
Bibliography
Brophy, Robert J. Robinson Jeffers: Myth, Ritual, and Symbol in His Narrative Poems. Cleveland, Ohio: Case Western Reserve University Press, 1973. Shows Jeffers’s use of Greek myth and world mythology to establish his view of humankind as fated to endure pain and suffering. Includes a chapter devoted to discussion of Tamar.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “Tamar, The Cenci, and Incest.” American Literature 42, no. 2 (May, 1970): 241-244. Investigates the connections between Jeffers and the Romantics through the incest theme as it appears in both Tamar and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s drama The Cenci.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗, ed. Robinson Jeffers: Dimensions of a Poet. New York: Fordham University Press, 1995. Collection of essays offers various interpretations of Jeffers’s poems, including Tamar. Topics addressed include Jeffers’s uses of history, the female archetype in his work, and his relationship to Carmel and Big Sur, California.
Carpenter, Frederic I. “The Poetry of Myth: The Long Poems.” In Robinson Jeffers. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1962. Analyzes all Jeffers’s long narratives, with particular focus on Tamar. Offers an excellent short introduction to Jeffers’s work.
Hunt, Tim. “The Problematic Nature of Tamar, and Other Poems.” In Centennial Essays for Robinson Jeffers, edited by Robert Zaller. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1991. Shows how Jeffers’s poetic concerns are reflected in his revision of Tamar and the other poems in the volume in which it was first collected.
McClintock, Scott. “The Poetics of Fission in Robinson Jeffers.” CLIO: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History 37, no. 2 (Spring, 2008): 171-191. Analyzes the transformation of Jeffers’s poetics from a metaphysical philosophy of inhumanism to his use of more violent imagery influenced by the development of nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
Zaller, Robert. “The Birth of the Hero.” In The Cliffs of Solitude. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Presents a psychological reading of the character of Tamar as well as discussion of Jeffers’s other major protagonists.