RE: Mr. Antolini
PODESTA,Lesley (Lesley.PODESTA@deetya.gov.au)
Wed, 03 Dec 1997 13:15:29 +1000
Brendan wrote:
>Seymour seems a little bit interested in his little friend. I don't mean to
>say
>that he's a child molester, but I do think that he's idealized children so
>much that
he's sort of fallen in love with them, in a very adult way.
This is an aspect of Salinger's work that I've always wondered about
too.
Last year I read an amazing novel about a paedophile and I was struck by
some of the similarities between this character and some of "our"
characters.
(In the novel, the main character was very isolated within society,
constantly disappointed with people and found his only connections that
were not "phony" were with kids. He didn't have physical contact with
the children he formed relationships with until one of the young people
fell in love with him, they both get drunk and end up kissing. He is
accused of being a child molester, admits his - "I love children" - is
run out of town and commits suicide. The novel is not written by a
paedophile but by a woman who worked with offenders.)
I was struck by the feelings the novel invoked in me - sadness,
outrage and confusion. I kept thinking about it but felt embarrassed to
"admit" to anyone that I felt sympathy for a character that was based on
a "child molester".
I don't mean to imply that Salinger is a closet child molester or
anything.It's just that some of his stories echo the same types of
feelings the "child molster" described. I do think that there is a real
relationship between some adults and children that is unacknowledged by
most people or is regarded as sexual abuse. I don't mean sex and I don't
mean love but something like "connection". And because we're not allowed
to feel those things (apart from in a very sick way), characters like Mr
Antolini are incredibly confusing to us.
Don't know where this is all heading (it feels very dangerous to even
talk about it) but I want to know what other people think.
Lesley P.
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