Re: Rambling on Seymour(s)
David L. White (d-white@nwu.edu)
Tue, 15 Jul 1997 14:20:30 -0500
>Add Suicide: I was re-reading short stories yesterday (PMGME, Wiggly)
>and I was re-impressed with the darkish cloud of self-doubt and futility
>that seems to hang over the adults. Seymour in "Bananfish" is a marked
>departure, ostensibly "younger" and "brighter" than other adults. I
>have always thought that Seymour somehow slipped through the cracks into
>an adult world that opposes, or even defiles, his nature and values.
>With that in mind, it is then easier to justify his cavilier suicide.
Bingo! I've always thought that Seymours relationship with the little girl
had far less to do with anything dangerous or sexual and more to do with
the fact that he relates to a young girl better than his adult wife. When
examined with "Hapworth", you've got a person who, in childhood, tries
desperately to be an adult and, later in life, can only relate to children.
David W.