Re: Franny & Section Men
Camille Scaysbrook (c_scaysbrook@yahoo.com)
Mon, 02 Aug 1999 10:26:34 +1000
Jim wrote:
> Anna...the question you have to ask yourself is, "What possible relevance
> could Franny's pregnancy have to the story?" Her discussion with Zooey
> at the end of "Zooey" makes it clear that she's falling apart because of
> some spiritual crisis, and her conversation with Lane pretty much
> revolved around her disillusionment with the pretenses of everyone around
> her. You'll notice in their conversation that her physical discomfort
> during her conversation with Lane corresponded to her disillusionment
> with Lane.
I think these are good questions to ask - what would Franny's pregnancy
actually add to the story? To me, what could pregnancy possibly have to do
with Franny's bother about phonyism? It's a little like the Holden is Crazy
arguments - why would Salinger choose to make his protagonist crazy (and
for that topic we at least have Salinger's assurance that he did not see
Holden as crazy - he vetoed the first offer of publication because the
publishers just assumed he was) The Franny Pregnant view point has simply
never seemed a productive way of looking at the story for me.
P.S. I loved Anna's anecdote about the author in his/her own class. I
personally am delighted most of the time when people find new meanings in
my work. I guess it's the job of the author, if you want to be picky, to
make sure your interpretation matches that of your readers as nearly as
possible, inserting nuances and hidden directions.
Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
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