Victoria Rosania
2016
MATTHEW SWAIN AS THE OPPOSITION OF PEYTON PLACE
Peyton Place paints the picture of a small town during a socially oppressive time period. Many of Grace Metalious' characters fall in line with the strict orders of society, while others, most notably Doctor Matthew Swain, do not. Where the personified Peyton Place cries judgments or disbelief, Matthew Swain is a clear opposite. Throughout the novel, Matt Swain serves as the opposition to the voice of Peyton Place. The doctor is an opposing force on many issues that arise within the town. He argues with the elderly men who are rude to all who pass with judgmental and crude comments to all who pass, he fights the town as a whole by rejecting its dated ideals and helping Selena Cross and refuses to be unhelpful, no matter who his patient is. Matthew Swain is, perhaps, the character most pure of heart living in Peyton Place. His placement at the forefront of many of the novel's important plot points makes him serve as an important catalyst and a representation of the opposition to the dated voice that serves as the mouthpiece of Peyton Place.
Metalious, quite interestingly, gives Peyton Place a voice of its own. Often, especially in a dire situation, this voice flits into the dialogue as a representation of the citizens of the town. By reducing the hundreds of voices in Peyton Place to just one, Metalious solidifies the idea of small town mentalities and keeps it as an important theme. The people of Peyton Place are an important representation of the now dated mindset of the nineteen forties and fifties are written in such a way that the reader cannot help but find them disdainful and aggravating. The personification of the town is a direct representation of this. This voice is often exclaiming accusations towards Lucas cross and the men from the cellar, or expressing disbelief at Selena's trial from echoes "whispered by Peyton Place" (343) across the courtroom. This voice serves to show the single-minded nature of the town's people and provide an insight into a consciousness that seems to exist for the whole of Peyton Place.
Peyton Place is written from multiple points of view. Metalious allows many characters to take the reign of the plot and gives audiences many viewpoints to view the novel. Critically, many of these characters serve as a tool to symbolize the nature of Peyton Place. Metalious places the old men on the bench in front of the courthouse to patronize and openly criticize, Constance as a very real reminder of the oppression of women from society's ideals who worries that "…worst of all: [Allison will] get herself talked about!" (50) and finally Marion, a hateful image of the judgmental housewife who "liked her comfortable life, uncomplicated as it was either by children or lack of money" and, when she felt guilt, it "was short lived and easily forgotten"(44). These characters aid the voice of Peyton Place, as they are very obviously the characters that Metalious wishes to challenge.
By showing what is wrong with a single-minded mentality instead of only speaking about it, Metalious forces her readers to dislike many of the ideals that her characters, including the personified Peyton Place, voice. She is empowering readers to grasp the dire nature of an oppressive, small community by using their voices only. Which, when criticized, is another great tool, as the people of Peyton Place are notorious for talking about one another. The people of the town are not kind but are clear followers and enforcers of the conservative nature of their times. Easily scandalized, the people of Peyton Place love to talk and "a man can't have so much as a gas pain without the whole town wondering who, why, when, where and what he's going to do about it" (145). Peyton Place, filled with so many like-minded individuals, has become its own personified entity that, to an outsider, would be as ludicrous as to concern itself with the smallest of problems of its citizens.
By building a society that challenges individuality and mirrors oppressive nineteen-fifty oppression, Metalious has also constructed a stark opponent to these ideals. Doctor Matthew Swain is an extremely respected man in the eyes of Peyton Place. He is viewed as "a twinkling, determinedly good-natured creature who devoted his life to Doing Good" (184) and is a great asset within the small town. Also, quite importantly, Matt Swain is a powerful opposition to the voice of Peyton Place. He is not afraid to tell the truth ("'You're a liar, Marion. You're over forty'"(45)) and finds himself angry with the older men of the town who snicker at those around them. Matt Swain often disputes the intolerant and distains those of ill character. The doctor is an incredible parallel to the shortsighted Peyton Place and serves as a weapon for the novel's fight against plaguing ideals and lack of individuality.
Doctor Matthew Swain is head of the Peyton Place hospital, makes house calls all hours of the day still at the age of sixty, and willingly admits his own crimes in court to save another. There is hardly any dispute of a "kindness [that] was legend in the town" (42) or the "one face in this godforsaken town that looked human" (103) that was comforting to an outsider. His hair, serving as "his only vanity" (41) was pure silver, and was the awe of many upon seeing him for the first time. Swain's beautiful hair is Metalious' symbolism for his good character—pure as snow with no streaks of yellow to break the perfection. The use of the purity symbolism with the doctor's hair as his most noted characteristic allows insight into the Doctor's true nature. Matthew Swain is truthfully pure of heart, and is a beacon of light within the cesspool of the gossiping Peyton Place.
The most notable of the Doctor's actions is marked with his own deep troubles. After Selena Cross had come for help with her pregnancy from her sexual abuse from Lucas Cross, Matthew Swain is forced to decide between the law and his own morals. Readers watch as he struggles with his own decision, but finally, Swain decides "I am protesting life, this life, the one already being lived by Selena Cross" (145) and swears to the young girl that he would fix her. This is an astronomical decision, especially due to the fact that in that time abortion was illegal, and was viewed by all as unethical and evil. The Doctor, though, decided to turn against it all and help Selena.
Matt Swain, not only with words but with action, fights against the norms of his own time. By performing the abortion he distances himself permanently from the normal society of the time. Although he is guilty, the Doctor believes he is right in helping Selena, and goes to do so once more to save her in court for the murder of Lucas Cross. He "took care of her trouble in the way [he] thought best" (347) and admits to the abortion. By defending Selena, he may have ended his own career as a practicing doctor. Driven by his own great morals, Matt Swain puts himself in compromising positions to help others, his legendary kindness finding no bounds. It is within these moments that readers see Matthew Swain's pure character and find him a great opposition to the cold-hearted people of Peyton Place.
By placing the merits of Matthew Swain next to the voice of Peyton Place, the marginal difference is obvious. The voice given to the town is an embodiment of the voices of its people and directly challenges the single-minded nature of the town and a lack of individualism. On the opposite side of the spectrum sits Matthew Swain, who is unafraid to speak the truth, even if it goes against what everyone else seems to be saying. His opposition allows readers to grasp the terrible nature of Peyton Place by seeing a truthfully pure of heart opponent.
Grace Metalious challenges society without having to directly say she intended to do so. By writing characters with depth and reliability, readers can connect to them and see their flaws easily. Metalious writes the people of Peyton Place sharply and obviously flawed in their judgments and gossiping conversations that it is hard to ignore their wrongdoings, and it is these people that make up the voice of Peyton Place itself. She provides these sour characters with the important parallel of Doctor Matthew Swain, who opposes them in almost every way. Matt Swain is unafraid to disagree and scorn Peyton Place and shows his good nature all the way to the end of the novel. Metalious built a battlefield around society's standards by making Doctor Matthew Swain a fighting force against the seemingly over-powerful voice of Peyton Place.