Re: Mr. Antolini

Malcolm Lawrence (malcolm@wolfenet.com)
Wed, 03 Dec 1997 17:20:36 -0800

> << Is it not possible that Antolini's gesture is completely unsexual and
> innocent in itself, an act of humanity that does nothing but illustrate the
> depth of
>  Holden's confusion? Holden is genuinely unloved and unprepared. Naturally,
> he would react as he did. >>

I remember when I first read Catcher when I was a teenager and had no sexual
experience and a lot of naiveté about the world, that whole episode with
Antolini I felt was too vague for me to get a grasp on how my own emotional
reaction to it would have been. But now that I'm many years and much experience
removed from that time and place, I better understand Mr. Antolini, especially
because I've met people like him whom I knew in the bottom of my heart had pure
motives yet I could also sense that their expression of love was pretty much
inextricably entwined with a sexual expression of love. It's a very delicate
situation for an adult to love a child or minor with agape and not have it be
interpreted as eros. For all you Van Morrison fans, think of the song "Madame
George." I think Van was addressing these very issues in that song. I wonder if
this culture will ever understand the difference between those two forms of
love, especially since this nation was founded by (arguably) perverts: the
Puritans.

Malcolm