particulars
Scottie Bowman (bowman@mail.indigo.ie)
Fri, 17 Jul 1998 11:07:50 +0000
I don't want to drive this universal thing into the ground
altogether. But. When Camille tells me we all know someone
like Falstaff or Hamlet, I don't think I agree with her.
Although I recognise the dismay of old age as it contemplates
the weakening of its powers & influence, the impending dissolution
of the self, the waning of libido, I wonder would I have felt them
in a `Falstaffian' way before I'd read the play ? I can feel
the obsessive jealousy of my mother as she lies between incestuous
sheets with my usurping uncle & my own indecisiveness in the face
of it all. But neither I nor any of my friends were ever remotely
like the Prince of Denmark.
It seems to me it's the very particularity of a great character
that makes him vital & memorable, not the universality of
his emotions or actions. We all `know' Holden because JD gave him
a highly configured personality - but did we ever actually encounter
him out there ?
And in this connection, I read Cheryl's strictures on racism, sexism
& agism with misgiving. I certainly hope she won't apply them to
her creative writing. If she does, her characters will be simply
inoffensive ciphers. It seems to me we come to convincing life
more through our prejudices & failings than our good intentions.
Scottie B.