Transformation of Arrogance to Compassion: A Literary and Ethical Analysis of Vivian Bearing's Character Development
Overview
This paper analyzes Vivian Bearing's transformation from an arrogant, knowledge-focused professor to a compassionate individual through examination of the play/film Wit. The essay explores themes of empathy, nursing ethics, and human kindness, drawing connections between literary analysis and practical healthcare principles including the importance of transparent communication and self-compassion in medical practice.
What this essay covers
- Analysis of Vivian's character arrogance and lack of empathy as a professor, demonstrated through fourth-wall breaking dialogue
- Examination of Vivian's emotional transformation and recognition of past cruelty toward students
- Discussion of healthcare ethics, nursing errors, and the importance of communication and compassion in patient care
- Integration of developmental psychology (Piaget's stages) and connections to emotional maturity and learning
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Psychology
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Wit Analysis
Vivian's transformation from a life devoted only to knowledge to one devoted to human kindness. When Vivian Bearing is a professor, her arrogance, lack of empathy, and quest for knowledge are displayed. Jason needs to understand that Vivian's arrogance is through in the way she engages with the audience, breaking the fourth wall with lines like "Donne's wit is...a method to see how amazing you are" (Nichols, 2013). After twenty years, I can confidently state that no one is as good as I am. She does admit, though, that she, as the senior scholar, mercilessly denied her wailing students the human kindness she now seeks. She has worked with a student who has requested an extension on a paper due to the death of the student's grandma. Bearing's teacher's death scene moved me in the film. According to Monica, the emotional impact of this other body returning to the stage for that scene is amplified. Jason should be aware of the power of language itself, which is essential to the main character's worldview as a highly theoretical literary intellectual but is only fully realized on stage, where things are best told and partly lost in the film.
I give Nichols credit for incorporating visual appeals. While reading the text, I was reminded of Nichols' early work, and I believe him a master of droll sight gags.