The Coming of Bill · Theme
Class and Bohemianism
How The Coming of Bill develops Class and Bohemianism.
The narrative contrasts the rigid, moneyed world of the Bannisters with the free-spirited, bohemian artist community Kirk inhabits, exploring themes of snobbery, belonging, and the value of unconventional lifestyles.
Where it surfaces
- I: A Pawn of Fate
Kirk is an artist with a private income, living in a studio with a servant, representing a bohemian yet comfortable lifestyle.
- III: The Mates Meet
Kirk's studio serves as a gathering place for a bohemian crowd, including impecunious artists and friends like Hank Jardine and Steve Dingle, contrasting with conventional married life.
- IV: Troubled Waters
The contrast between the Bannisters' wealthy, conventional lifestyle and Kirk's bohemian artist circle is highlighted, with Bailey viewing Kirk as a 'scrubby dauber' unworthy of his sister.
- Wherein Opposites Agree
Bailey's outrage at Ruth marrying a 'nobody' contrasts with the bohemian world of Kirk's studio and Mrs. Porter's intellectualism.
- VI: Breaking the News
John Bannister dismisses Kirk as a loafer, highlighting the clash between bourgeois values and bohemian artistry.
- IX: The White Hope Is Turned Down
The clash between the bohemian studio life of Kirk and Steve and the rigid, wealthy formality of John Bannister's Fifth Avenue household.
- The Misadventure of Steve
Steve's discomfort in the formal Fifth Avenue home versus his ease at the bohemian studio highlights the clash between wealth and artistic simplicity.