Subject: Re: suicide
From: Robbie (shok@netcom.com)
Date: Sun Feb 27 2000 - 04:59:57 EST
Jim said:
<< If you want to talk about Seymour from Saligner's fiction, though, go
ahead. >>
Let me start all over again.
My objection is to the use of the word "cowardice." Suicide, as a
general thing, cannot be the result of cowardice. It takes an
infathomable stregth of will to deliberately end your own life in _ANY_
scenario. Cowards cannot kill themselves. When you're in room 507 with
your eyes gazing down at the girl lying aslep on one of the twin beds,
and you have the cold muzzle of an Ortgies calibre 7.65 automatic up
against your right temple, and you've just released the magazine, looked
at it, reinserted it, and cocked the piece, it takes an absolutely
unbelievable burst of courage to pull the trigger. Either that or
you're completely psychotic. Think about it.
Now, assuming that Seymour is not completely psychotic (and perhaps
we're making a mistake by doing that), his Final Act was certainly not
that of a coward. Don't get me wrong - I don't mean to be nasty - but
to call it one, I think, displays a rather immature understanding of the
nature of suicide. Maybe it was parallel to Franny's breakdown, maybe
it was an escape from the world in reaction to its oppressive banality,
maybe it was ultimately an act of failure, but an act of
<i>cowardice</i>? To call it <i>that</i> is a gross oversimplification
to the point of being downright silly. No dictionary <i>_I've_</i> ever
seen has a definition of cowardice that allows for shooting yourself in
the right temple with a large-calibre handgun. And I'm talking about
Seymour.
-robbie
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