Mermaids

T.S. Eliot's "Prufrock" character IS just the way that he sounds, prude. He seems to be afraid of female sexuality, though he wants to experience it. In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," Prufrock seems to be speaking of or to a prospective lover. But unfortunately he feels too inadequate to make the relationship work or at least to go through with consummation (with the woman). The poem is about women and his uncertainity about them.

Prufrock feels isolated from the so-called normal feelings of society and as a result the poem is actually a tragedy (Ironic that "Love song" is in the title of the poem). I do like the lines,
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each./ I do not think that they will sing to me."
Despite my adoration of the line and the beautiful metaphors, it is a sad comment on the harsh reality of the modern world.

It is ironic that Eliot chose mermaids as the ending image, because Prufrock feels insignificant enough for human women and mermaids are known to be one of the most beautiful mythical creatures. Along with the mermaids, is the presence of the sea and dark waters (though a bit disorientated). Because Prufrock is isolated he places himself in the "chambers of the sea" due to the lonely isolation that he feels from society. The ending of the poem is quite dreamlike however at the end of the dream he ends up drowning.