Subject: Anna K., trains, Zooey
From: Catherine Marie (tangerineness@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Mar 10 2000 - 19:47:00 EST
Moby Dick, Anna K., the two major books I've read in the past few months for
school, (and loved both, anna k. more, though) both mentioned in one
message. I just finished MD monday or tuesday... something strange is going
on. Things keep coming together in strange ways. Even more than the fact
that both books were mentioned, I am amazed at Paul's mention of the train
station in Anna K. I wrote a paper on trains and Anna. I would have done all
the charactors, but it was too much, too detailed to get it all in. Paul,
you absolutly must tell about going to that train station... how much has it
changed? To stand where she stood... what a thought! I am in this train mood
right now. I've been thinking about trains in strange context a lot
lately... Trips for the sake of the voyage, not the destination, riding on
trains with people I love, riding the train around Chicago just because it's
something to do with an hour, to clear my head, to see the backs of all
those buildings, all the old brick in their age and reality more beautiful
than the clean fronts... and had actually thought of mentioning this a day
or two ago, and *now* it fits right in. (rumbling through backpack filled
with books, papers, "not hapworth, not that eggers book, not moby dick, oh!
here it is!) Zooey's answer to Bessie asking why he doesn't get married: "I
like to ride in trains too much. You never get to sit next to the window any
more when you're married," (p. 106 of Franny and Zooey). I don't know if
anyone else loves this half as much as I do, but it always catches me a
trifle off-guard, even when I'm expecting it. I'm trying to figure this out
and would love any other insite. I know that he's being sarcastic, of
course, but I think there's more. There's something there about "glass
walls," and the stuff we talked about for DDSBP, but there's a lot more I'm
not sure what to think of in that quote. I'm sort of thinking that maybe he
feels like there is nobody he could marry who would "let him sit in the
window seat" or give him some sort of freedom. But not that typical bachelor
freedom stuff, something else, maybe the freedom to simply observe the
world. I really don't know. Any ideas?
Catherine
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