Re: Antolini: Life Imprisonment
Emily Friedman (bananafish_9@yahoo.com)
Mon, 01 Mar 1999 12:49:04 -0800 (PST)
> I've often wondered about child abuse or sexual assault in TCIR. I
even
> wonder if JDS might have been a victim of it himself, although I
don't want
> to view it as a facile attempt to explain away his various
eccentricities.
> However, to me, Holden and Jane Gallager seem to communicate in the
mutual
> unspoken language of the survivor - it's hinted at very strongly in
the
> passage where Jane begins crying as they play checkers. And when you
think
> about it, keeping her Kings in the back row is a perfect symbol of
opting
> out of society - `the game' - to protect oneself - with two solid
rows of
> `Kings' - Jane and Holden have thus stalemated themselves, unable to
go
> backward or forward, unable to utilise the power inherent in their
Kings.
> He is constantly on guard, which could be why he reacts so instantly
and
> violently to what may have been Antolini's innocent gestures. I
mean, he
> says `this has happened about twenty times since I was a kid' - that's
> pretty unambiguous - but he seems reluctant to discuss it any
further but
> instead represses it from his narrative.
>
> However, as you said, it's ultimately pretty obtuse, as are a lot of
things
> in
> TCIR which is why we get such good mileage out of discussing it (:
>
> Camille
That could quite possibly be true. I would not say that Holden was a
victim of physical abuse, but he was neglected by his parents which
kind of is a form of abuse.
-Liz Friedman
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