Re: Muriel
AntiUtopia@aol.com
Mon, 29 Nov 1999 08:41:44 -0500 (EST)
In a message dated 11/28/99 10:53:24 PM Pacific Standard Time,
tim@roughdraft.org writes:
<< In the end, it's those damned nails, I think. I can't stomach the
presence of women like Muriel, with their nails and their "the world
can wait for me" attitudes and their self-help articles ("Sex Can Be
Fun -- or Hell"). I can't help wondering whether the Seymour of
1948, who smells the rich-ness (purposely hyphenated) of that hotel
room, wonders whether he's made a deal with the devil. And these
things are not mutually exclusive: you can hate the circumstances and
still love the person, and although it's not until later stories that
we learn more about Muriel, certainly this Muriel, with her obsession
with clothes and nails, is one to possibly drive an unstable fellow
over the edge, no matter how he feels about her more tender moments.
--tim >>
Come on, admit it, You Just Don't Like Her :)
Here I'd have to refer back to Lucy's misdirected post -- and redirect it
toward you (which you did yourself anyhow). She still married the guy. And
he still married her. (Ok, yeah, but he shot himself). She is everything
you describe, I won't argue with that. It's just that even in Bananafish
she's more than that.
I'd say Muriel's mother is the true archtype and Muriel is walking out of
that, especially by marrying Seymour.
Jim