Invisibly in Tandem Anonymous 12th Grade

The battle between the logical mind and the emotional heart presents itself in an infinite array of iterations. Only through acceptance of both logic and feeling can a person discover resolution. In “Arcadia”, Tom Stoppard presents this truth in a variety of fashions, but most clearly through the characters of Hannah Jarvis and Thomasina. Because Hannah refuses to consider the chaos that arises in human relationships, she is unable to arrive at a comprehensive conclusion to her research until she accepts the importance of emotion in her own life. Likewise, Thomasina experiences conflicts between intellectual knowledge and the knowledge of feeling, as both propel her forward. Through his development of Hannah and Thomasina, Tom Stoppard argues the necessity of balance between emotion and intellect. Chaos seems to incessantly, subliminally weave its way into patterns of apparent order in “Arcadia” through conflicts between ideas, people, and feelings.

In Hannah, Tom Stoppard develops a complicated representation of the logic-oriented classicist. Hannah's academic pursuits reveal her to be exceptionally fond of discovering order and pattern, often disregarding of the complexities of human relationships. This leaves her without a...