Jane Gallagher is what Holden Caulfield’s dreams are made of. In the entirety of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden goes back and forth, flipflopping between wanting to call Jane and making excuses for why he doesn’t. She is to Holden what Daisy Buchanan and the green light represents to Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. Her omnipresence throughout the novel is a physical representation of Holden’s endless chase for something he can never achieve. To him, she is the one connection he has left to the idea of innocence. Today is the 71st anniversary of one of the most iconic bildungsroman novels of all time. And so, in a very Unrequited Scene fashion, we take a look at Holden Caulfield chasing Jane Gallagher.
The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age novel that explores teenage rebellion in the context of 1950s America. Holden, the main character, is infamous for his hypocrisy, unreliable narration, and depression. He’s the model bad boy type of the 1950s with his disdain for society and affinity for smoking. Holden may well be the basis for characters like Hardin Scott in After and Conrad Fisher in The Summer I Turned Pretty. His character arc focuses mostly on his inability to accept adulthood. To him, growing up is a means of losing innocence and everything that’s pure in the world. He abhors everything to do with maturity; sex, money, expletives and violence. As a teenager on the cusp of young adulthood, Holden stands in the epoch of everything he hates and everything he wants to hold dear to himself. Because of this, a lot of hypocrisy arise in Holden’s actions.
In comes Jane; Holden’s ideal image of the ‘angel in the house’. As previously discussed in Peter And Wendy, An Unrequited Cycle, the ‘angel in the house’ is a sexless figure that meets everyone’s needs but her own. She is pretty and innocent, and completely removed of any sexual desires. This is evident in Holden’s interaction with Jane during their game of checkers. He kisses her all over her face except for her mouth. This momentary pause emphasizes Holden’s refusal to stain something he sees as pure and innocent. His aversion to the thought of her and Stradlater doing anything sexual further emphasizes this point. It’s not because of jealousy – it’s because Holden simply cannot acknowledge Jane partaking in explicit activities. To Holden, her purpose is to remain the girl he remembers from his memories. This is why he constantly badgers Stradlater about mundane details he once knew about her.
Which circles back to Holden and his constant hypocrisy. He hates everything associated with adulthood, but he actively participates in it. Holden smokes, swears and even hires a prostitute. All of these are things he considers as impure yet he does them anyway. He also claims to be a pacifist and hates the movies. But in his delirious state of mind, he envisions a cinematic exchange between he and Maurice where Maurice shoots him and he shoots Maurice back six times. In his stream of consciousness, he imagines himself bleeding out and instead of seeking medical help, he calls up Jane. He thinks of how she’ll bandage him up and hold a cigarette to his lips. It’s all very Robbers by The 1975. While Holden dislikes adulthood, there are parts of himself that romanticizes the idea of it.
Still, even in his wildest imagination, there’s a line there that Holden refuses to cross with Jane. Instead, he envisions her taking care of him. It’s very much in line with the ‘angel in the house’ role assigned to her; someone chaste, loving, and just there for him. Unfortunately, he is chasing a Jane of his past – someone he no longer knows. In a way, Holden is aware of this and that’s why he delays calling Jane. He knows that if he calls her up, it’ll confirm everything he refuses to confront. That’s why he makes up excuses. But he’s still constantly drawn to the idea of her. He can’t help but wonder what it would be like to pick up that phone and just talk to her; “I got old Jane Gallagher on the brain again. I got her on, and I couldn’t get her off’.
This all ties back to Holden’s affinity for innocence. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden actually remains a virgin. His virginity parallels with his inability to call up Jane. Jane is the physical embodiment of the innocence Holden is constantly chasing. His inability to kiss her mouth that night of checkers is a very visual representation of Holden’s inability to move forward with calling Jane, and accept growing up. Jane is a part of his childhood; someone he’s desperate to preserve. In his efforts to preserve that image – regardless of his yearning to check-up on her, he stops himself from doing so. While Holden desires Jane Gallagher, he does not desire to have sex with her. Because he fears he might tear down the very pedestal he has built for her. That’s why like with innocence, Holden Caulfield will always be forever chasing Jane Gallagher.
And that’s another couple added to our long unrequited list of what ifs and what could’ve beens. What do you think of Holden’s constant chase for Jane? Do you agree with Holden’s social protest? Would you have liked them to actually meet? Tell us some of your other favorite unrequited love stories and be sure to let us know your thoughts on Instagram or Twitter! Don’t forget to stop by and checkout our previous article, 6 People Deku Has Saved.
