The Mystery Around Lady Alroy In The Sphinx Without A Secret

A Sphinx is known to be secretive and have mystery surrounding it, many questions and wonderings revolve around it such as why and how it came to be. In this story, two old friends reconnect and Lord Murchison explains how he is trying to figure out a mysterious woman to his friend the unnamed narrator, both try to figure her out and discuss their objective as well as subjective perceptions of her. The Sphinx can be compared to Lady Alroy and how mystery surrounds her. In this story I will be analysing the objective as well as subjective views of Lady Alroy by Lord Murchison and the unnamed narrator. To be objective is to look from the outside in, to view from another perspective besides your own, based on facts and what is provided to you, it is not a bias view or influenced by emotions or feelings. To be subjective is the exact opposite, and there are two sides to every story, Lord Murchison tends to be objective at first but later subjective. The unnamed narrator is objective because he does not personally know Lady Alroy, only what information is provided to him by Lord Murchison and between them, there is a duality of interpretations in the story of who she really is.

Lord Murchison known as Gerald meets up with an old friend who went to Oxford with him, the unnamed narrator then starts to already paint an objective perception of Gerald mentioning how he has changed and the way he looks now ten years later. Gerald starts the conversation about Lady Alroy hoping to get guidance and advice from his old friend. Gerald says “I don’t understand women well enough” which proves he is being objective at first because in order to be subjective you would need to understand women deeply enough based on your personal experiences which he does not according to this statement. The unnamed narrator mentions that “women are meant to be loved not to be understood”, and this indicates that he is being objective because you can love something without understanding it, just like how Lord Murchison claims he loves Lady Alroy by simply just glimpsing at her. There is infatuation involved and how Gerald likes the way Lady Alroy looks and carries herself, he is falling for her based on what he sees which is why he says she looks strangely picturesque. Lord Murchison views her as a clairvoyant because she is so mysterious, serious and comes across as a supernatural being out that is out of this world. Lady Alroy can be described as ambiguous which is why Gerald is so confused and unclear about who she really is but is still intrigued by her beauty.

The unnamed narrator is unnamed for a reason which in a way makes it seem like the narrator is actually as mysterious as Lady Alroy is because we do not know the identity. The unnamed narrator has no connection with Lady Alroy which means her identity is given only through Gerald’s eyes and perception. Gerald then proceeds to show a photograph is Lady Alroy to the unnamed narrator, putting a face to the mystery he is intrigued by and asks “What do you think of that face? Is it truthful” giving the unnamed narrator the power to be objective by looking at the outer physical part of Lady Alroy. When one asks what you think about something, you base it off of what you see and what is provided right in front of your eyes, so when the photograph is shown, the unnamed narrator is now open to perceiving the face of Lady Alroy. The unnamed narrator closely examines the photograph of Lady Alroy and it reveals that she is tall; her hair hangs down and she has features that make her appear serious. The photograph is then closely looked at observed, and the narrator says she looks like someone that had a secret, but cannot tell what kind of secret is being kept. The narrator cannot assume what the secret is, because he does not have a personal connection or know anything about Lady Alroy so he cannot judge or assume anything about her. The only statements that can be made about Lady Alroy is what is perceived to the eye, they say you cannot judge a book by its cover but in this case, it is all that the narrator can do. The beauty of Lady Alroys physical features is always been mentioned, because it is clear, she holds beauty but also mystery.

The way Gerald talks about Lady Alroy, he portrays her beauty as out of this world and that she is a mystery he is determined to figure out, but in doing so, he makes assumptions and is convinced she holds a secret. However there is a switch of perspective and of views; he draws conclusions and assumes things about Lady Alroy based on how he feels about her. This is when he becomes subjective in a way; he is infatuated by her mysterious ways and the physical beauty which influences how he feels internally. Based off Lady Alroys appearance, Lord Murchison subconsciously paints a picture in his head to the unnamed narrator and to the readers of who she is without knowing who she truly is. He assumes and is persistent there is more to her than it seems, because of how he feels inside, there is no evidence or facts which prove Lady Alroy indeed has a secret and is mysterious.

In conclusion, Lord Murchison and the unnamed narrator were both objective and subjective but mostly objective because Lady Alroy was just a manifestation of art, she was a pleasure to look at, and her mystery made you want to know more. Lord Murchison is completely bewildered by her beauty and intrigued that he makes himself fall for the physical beauty of her and the idea that there is more to what meets the eye. In this instance, all Lady Alroy was is the Sphinx without a secret.