Re: franny pregnant?
Jennifer Freeman (jdf@mcc.cc.tx.us)
Wed, 27 Aug 1997 09:25:58 -0500
> This interpretation has long been around. When "Franny & Zooey" was
> published in 1961, debate raged on college campuses, especially at
> Dartmouth (not far from Salinger's residence). Parents got wind of the
> book and immediately made that speculation, which apparently annoyed
> Salinger. Given the obvious spiritual backdrop of the story, especially
> with Franny's choice of reading material, "The Way of a Pilgrim", I can
> understand why Salinger would be a little miffed. The book is about
> Franny's spiritual quest and Seymour's influence on her and the rest of
> the Glass family. It has been my interpretation to say that she is
> overwhelming exhausted by these influences and her life in general that
> causes the collapse. Pregnancy has always been way down the list of my
> explanations. Having seem my wife go through 2 pregnancies, I'd like to
> think my powers of observation about women have improved, and Franny, to
> me, seems anything but pregnant.
>
> D.
At Amazon.com,
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0316769495/1807-3807959-892852
I read the following and suddenly had this terrible feeling in the pit
of my stomach that I might have been misreading my favorite book all
these years...
"...she's the youngest of seven children, all famous for brilliant
performances on the radio quiz program "It's a Wise Child," with a
brother Zooey who continually reminds her of how she "should" be. When
Franny discovers she's pregnant, her conflict heightens as she looks at
friends who seem to have resigned themselves to lives as housewives and
compares that to the life she'd always thought she'd lead. "
I guess nobody knows what Salinger was thinking except Salinger, but it
doesn't fit with my interpretation of Franny.
Any other thoughts?
J