Houdini’s Escape

To bring Houdini’s story to a close in Ragtime, Doctorow chooses to depict the spectacle of June 28, 1914, when Houdini performs an astonishing escape while suspended upside down in a straightjacket above Times Square in New York City. Coincidentally, this was the day that Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated and World War I was ignited. “It seemed to him awesome that someone embodying the power and panoply of an empire could be so easily brought down,” Doctorow explains of Houdini’s perspective of the occurrences (313). After mourning his mother’s death and striving to find satisfaction in his life, Houdini has finally begun to relish and enjoy his life as a magician. But now, with the thoughts of the impact of Ferdinand’s death, Houdini’s own impact on the world comes into question. He has questioned his life as a magician and the way he is received by the public and strived to build his career so that he is taken seriously. The theme of escape throughout Ragtime is not only depicted very literally through Houdini’s occupation, but also metaphorically in his constant search for meaning in his life. He is on a constant journey to find this significance in his life, trying to escape the restrictions of the public eye and the constraints of society. Doctorow depicts Houdini’s inner conflict throughout the novel and uses it to portray the greater theme throughout the book of dissatisfaction. Houdini, along with Father, Mother, Coalhouse, and Evelyn, struggles to find this satisfaction in his life. Houdini is able to move beyond the death of his mother and accept the fact that as a performer he will always have critics. Father and Coalhouse, however, died while on the path to satisfaction.

By Elizabeth Huebsch

Sources:

Houdini, Harry. Houdini; a Magician among the Spirits. New York: Arno, 1924. Print.

Houdini Great Escape. Perf. Harry Houdini. YouTube. 12 June 2007. Web. 09 May 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg2__0e2TJk>.

"Houdini to Perform in Times Square." The New York Times [New York City] 5 Nov. 1917. The New York Times. 05 Nov. 1917. Web. 09 May 2011. <http:// query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html? res=FA0F17FB395B11738DDDAC0894D9415B878DF1D3