The shady and tragic life that Prufrock has lived has .
invoked a huge loss of conviction within himself and the secret chambers of his mind.
Sadly, Prufrock has never met a woman that he could fall in love with and spend the rest of his life with. He has always lingered on the outside of the social circles of high society, and now, he has come to a crossroads in his life. Should he continue to live a shady, unrespectable life, or should he overcome his fear of rejection and loss of conviction and make a proposal to a woman of prestigious stature in society? Prufrock answers this question when he reveals that he has glimpsedthe moment of his greatness flicker,? (L.84) and theeternal Footman? (L.85) eagerly awaiting Prufrock's demise. At this particular point in the poem the reader realizes that Prufrock has absolutely no conviction, and that he is willing to accept the bleak social world that surrounds him.
Prufrock's struggle to find peace within himself has forced him to become a neurotic, self-absorbed individual. He has participated in the sordid events of the city while lingering on the outskirts of high society, yearning to escape what can only be described as a living hell. However, his neurotic indecisiveness has left him an abandoned, insignificant man. .
Prufrock's neurotic self-absorption is most strongly portrayed through T.S. Eliot's use of the phraseLet us go then you and I? (L.1). Prufrock faces an inner struggle between the man that he is and the man that he wants to be. He despises the fact the he has become comfortable with himself because he knows that he has not been a decent, honest individual. On the other hand, Prufrock also longs to leave his past mistakes behind him and become a better man. IfI? (L.1) wins the struggle, Prufrock continues to live a dark,insidious? (L.9) life, but ifyou? (L.1) wins, he will be accepted into a higher place in society, and thus, become a more reputable person.
