When we discussed the idea of possessing something versus being possessed by something. I found a parallel in the Byrd and Gates biography of Toomer and our class discussion. In the biography and our class discussion, I found it interesting that people were so entranced by Cane that literary groups tried to “claim” him as one of their own, the New Critics for example. As I thought about this some more, I realized that the frenzy around the novel was moving Toomer’s relationship with Cane outside the realm of Toomer possessing Cane and into Cane possessing Toomer. People became entranced or intoxicated with the novel, wanting Toomer to write a novel comparable to Cane. This related to our class discussion on the dangers of becoming intoxicated. Much like The Bacchae, Pentheus The public intoxication with Cane was so great that it ended up affecting individuals who were not even a part of the “intoxicated frenzy”, ironically this was mainly Toomer.
Taking this a step further, we talked about The Bacchae’s influence on Cane, but I found it interesting how Toomer’s life was a living retelling of the play. Toomer is akin to Pentheus- both take action that eventually results in their demise: Toomer writing Cane and Pentheus not worshipping Dionysus. The people obsessed with Toomer and Cane are similar to the Bacchants, driven crazy by an obsession. Both are interconnected, which also demonstrates the intertextuality of both writings, despite Toomer’s new critical approach to literature. This connected well with what Moran argues in Interdisciplinarity about writing and specifically the English language as a whole. In Chapter 1: Interdisciplinary English, Moran quotes Harold Rosen saying, “[English is] the least subject-like of subjects, the least susceptible to definition by reference to the accumulation of wisdom within a single academic discipline. No single set of informing ideas dominate its heartland.” This quote holds significance because, even though Toomer possibly wanted Cane to stand as an independent work through New Criticism, it is nearly impossible to do so, given Harold Rosen’s idea of the English language. I find this interesting because did Toomer know that his life and Cane appear to interconnect with the Bacchae, a play written long before Toomer’s time?