Louder & Funnier

Being a huge P.G. Wodehouse fan, I picked this book up last week and was surprised to find out that this was a collection of essays or 'non-fictional mumbo jumbo' as I like to refer to works like these. The very first few pages of the book - the dedication and author's introduction to the book strong-armed me into fits of laughter - I was giggling in spite of my inherent distaste for non-fiction. But honestly, the first few pages are the most humorous. For me, it was a downhill ride from then on with a couple of chapters that tried salvaging the reputation that the introductory pages had built. The chapters on Hollywood and Income Tax were hysterically witty. Same for the chapter on Butlers - and one would expect Wodehouse to take a write-up on butlers to its riotous hilarity considering the magic he has woven using butlers before. But on the other hand a few chapters were quite a drag, which I did not expect at all.

Different reviews suggested that this book incorporates quintessential Wodehouse humor. I would have to both agree and disagree on that. Sure the style in which the jokes unfolded was characteristically Wodehouse but they were sparse when compared to his fictional works. Some parts of the book droned on and on in such a muted manner that it almost seemed like I was back in high school, trying to go through a textbook but not registering anything substantial. The modus operandi is the same but the literary affect is not. This is not an easy read like his other works - half the time it seemed like he was using common, everyday props to talk about a grander philosophy, which is really what I wasn't looking for in this book. Sure, there's a wealth of knowledge and references in there but that isn't something that I want to learn from a Wodehouse book.

Chapters to look out for: The Hollywood Scandal, Thoughts on the Income Tax, Butlers and the Butted, Fashionable Weddings and Smart Divorces.

Chapters you can skip: Sports and Pastimes, Round and About the Theatre, Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year, Photographs and Photographers.

I realize that this book probably doesn't deserve the criticism that I'm levying on it right now, but that's just my prejudices and biases talking. If one has never read a Wodehouse before and isn't averse to the idea of non-fiction then this book isn't a bad read at all.

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Herzog- a crazy pilgrimage

The past week I have been grappling with the temporally complex prose of Saul Bellow's Herzog. It is no Joyce but that does not mean it is an easy read. The narrative is like a cauldron of water on stove- it wafts out tiny tendrils of questions in the beginning which progress into full-blown, steaming philosophies as the account advances.  Difficult as it may be, there is no denying that the book possesses a disarming charm that made it such a commercial success. The real depth of this work lies in its characters-the flawed characters.All characters have sometimes baffling fixations. From the half-crazy and puerile Herzog to the steadfast and practical Ramona, all of them have their own inexplicable propensities. At times we see them behaving in a manner that borders on the self-destructive. But they have to behave in that manner because they are never fully in control of their decisions and actions- there are much larger forces of events and situations of their past that has molded their thought process in a specific manner and enslaved them at the mercy of their subconscious. The characters are the way they are because they really can’t help it. My analysis would focus on the three major characters in the novel- Herzog, Madeleine and Ramona. Each character’s actions are governed by his or her life experiences and psyche, leading them to take decisions at times that seem impractical and bizarre.

Let us, first, look at Madeleine- the charming, beautiful woman in the prime of her youth and married to a man almost old enough to be her father. Bellow has clearly insinuated that Madeleine was searching for a father figure in her potential husband- a caretaker and a guardian. And it is this role that Herzog is required to fill- that of a benign father. A father who would make her the center of his universe, unlike her own father who was a famous celebrity of his time and must not have enough time to devote to his daughter. However, trouble starts when she starts seeing too much of her father in him. 

            …..she said I resembled her father in too many ways. That when we were in a room together I seemed to swallow and gulp up all the air and left nothing for her to breathe. I was overbearing, infantile, demanding, sardonic, and a psychosomatic bully.

Here, one must remember the status of Madeleine’s parents’ marriage. She “violently” hates her father, and justifiably so. Her parents had separated and yet her mother was filling the shoes of an obedient, subservient wife to Madeleine’s father and this very status is etched on Madeleine’s conscience. Her mother’s fate is one which Madeleine hopes to avoid, consciously or unconsciously. She is looking for someone who would value and appreciate her and her presence in his life- and when Herzog proves unwilling to provide her with this appreciation, she goes looking elsewhere. I see a pattern in the choice of her lovers- a forty something academician and a cripple- both of whom would, in my opinion, celebrate their good fortune at having managed to gain the affections of a beautiful, intelligent young woman in her early twenties as a wife or a lover. I believe that both these choices stem from a desire to be appreciated and cherished by her husband or lover. It is quite natural to appreciate a possession if one feels that one doesn’t deserve it and that possession might be snatched away from their undeserving grasp one day. Not just the choice of lovers, Madeleine is quite the opposite of her mother even in the way she approaches her relationship with her husband. She took on a domineering role between the two when her mother was the meeker one and that got her mother into a fix which she herself wants to avoid. On the other hand, as much as she hates her father, she seems to have absorbed his quirks quite extensively. Her theatricality is one such quirk. For example, the scene where she is informing Moses of her demand for a divorce is quite theatrical. When it should have emanated pathos and helplessness, it evoked a sense of glamour and majesty from her character- she had set up the scene in such an evocative manner- a scene fit for a theatre with an audience to witness the spectacular shattering of Herzog’s ego.

In a relationship, she would rather be her father than her mother and that is precisely how her relationship with Herzog progressed and then terminated. Herzog made it easy for her, by being meek, self-absorbed and disillusioned, and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands, almost mirroring her father’s behavior.

 

            Then I'd sit in your parlor being nice, while bursting with the wrongs your daughter did me. The same wrongs you have accepted from Pontritter, and forgiven him.

  

Let us now come to Moses. Born and brought up in a state of penury, Moses is exposed to the concept of frugality and economy. With six mouths to feed and no steady income- the Herzog family must have learnt the virtues of an economical lifestyle. And it is this virtue, ingrained in Moses Herzog’s consciousness that becomes a point of disagreement and later quarrels between him and Madeleine. In sharp contrast to Madeleine, Herzog seems to have no harsh feelings towards either of his parents and remembers them with affection and respect. He was raised in family where the father was the king, where his mother stood devotedly by his father’s side in the face of all tragedies. And it is this sort of marriage that Herzog subconsciously desires. The following excerpt aptly showcases how Herzog is trying to teach Madeleine to be frugal while she is upset over his attitude of mapping his parents’ lifestyle to their present arrangement.

….Well, you're being trusted now and the checks are bouncing. The dress shop just phoned-Milly Crozier. Five hundred bucks on a maternity outfit. Who's going to be born-Louis Quatorze?"

"Yes, I know, your darling mother wore flour sacks."

"You don't need a Park Avenue obstetrician. Phoebe Gersbach used the Pittsfield hospital. How can I get you to New York from here? It's three and a half hours."

"Can't you add! There's not a damn reason in the world for these checks to come back." Moses glared at her.

"Oh-here we go with this same petty stuff."

"It's not petty. It's damn serious...."

"I suppose you'll start on my upbringing now-my lousy, free-loading bohemian family, all chiselers. And you gave me your good name. I know this routine backwards."

"Do I repeat myself? Well, so do you, Madeleine, with these checks."

"Spending your dead father's money. Dear Daddy! That's what you choke on. Well, he was your father. I don't ask you to share my horrible father. So don't try to force your old man down my throat."

"We've got to have a little order in these surroundings." Madeleine said quickly, firmly, and accurately, "You'll never get the surroundings you want. Those are in the twelfth century somewhere. Always crying for the old home and the kitchen table with the oilcloth on it and your Latin book. Okay-let's hear your sad old story. Tell me about your poor mother. And your father. And your boarder, the drunkard. And the old synagogue, and the bootlegging, and your Aunt Zipporah... Oh, what balls!"

With Daisy, Herzog did not have to pay attention to bouncing checks or expensive maternity outfits. Herzog is looking for his mother- his prudent, frugal mother, something which Madeleine cannot be. At one level, Herzog is aware of Madeleine’s flair for the dramatic but he can’t help instructing her in economy.

 Another internalized concept that his character exhibits is his patriarchy. He thinks nothing of his treatment of Daisy and even Sono, till he is cuckolded by Madeleine. Daisy didn’t want a divorce, he did. And therefore he should naturally get the divorce. Sono didn’t want the relationship to end, he did and therefore he should naturally have his way and move on. But when the tables are turned, it becomes unbearable for Herzog to the extent that it threatens his sanity. He is an intellectual, a scholar who felt that Madeleine should be bound by domesticity- cooking and cleaning- and sometimes to be his intellectual assistant, assistant being the keyword here. What rankled Herzog the most was that Madeleine outsmarted him- she made sure that she would be financially stable, at his expense and without needing his presence in her life. Her rise to the status of an independent intellectual is another thing that Herzog is really bitter about. It is very clear that he blames Madeleine more for the adulterous affair than Valentine Gersbach although both were equal partners. This, in my opinion is because he can’t wrap his brain around the fact that a woman was capable of outsmarting him and cuckolding him- a result of a patriarchal system that Herzog has internalized.

Let us now look at Ramona. She is an independent woman who lives with an aunt who is dependent on her. And in my opinion having this arrangement with her aunt has had an impact on her perspective of life. Herzog believes that Ramona is expecting a sort of permanent commitment or a marriage from their relationship. Although, Herzog’s opinions are the ramblings of a somewhat insane man, there is always an illuminating truth involved that hits home. He may not be justified in calling Madeleine a bitch- but she had in fact exploited him at one level. She may have been justified in doing so but the fact of the matter is that she had. The way his relationship with Madeleine ended may have made him suspicious of Ramona’s intentions but I think it is quite natural for her to expect stability from this relationship or from any relationship for that matter. Her aunt has her (Ramona) to depend upon but who does Ramona have? Who will Ramona depend on when she gets old? Maybe Ramona has a generous niece? But will she have to move to relative’s place each night her niece is entertaining a guest just like her aunt has to? These are the questions that are bound to crop up in the mind of anyone in Ramona’s place. It is quite natural to look for companionship. And that is precisely what Ramona is doing. She isn’t out to deliberately snag Herzog- she does like him and is quite attracted to him. But maybe at a subconscious level she desires this relationship to work out. She is the one who is telephoning him, sending him messages and seeking him out. Herzog, on the other hand, is shown to be wary of her advances, sometimes running away from her, disillusioning her into believing he is in Chicago and not a three hour ride away from her.  She is somewhat aware of his reticence- for she does question him whether he is running away from her

            "Perhaps you feel a natural superiority because of your education."

"Education! But I don't know anything..."

"Your accomplishments. You're in Who's Who. I'm only a merchant-a petit-bourgeois type."

"You don't really believe this. Ramona."

"Then why do you keep aloof, and make me chase you? I realize you want to play the field. After great disappointments, I've done it myself, for ego-reinforcement."

So yes, Ramona is aware of the imbalance in affection and attachment in their relationship. And yet she continues to treat him with the same warmth. Maybe she is attracted enough to dismiss this imbalance in their relationship or maybe she feels that she is slowly running out of time to find a companion for life- a companion whose presence would help overcome the boredom of everyday life and the vagaries of old age.

So we see that the characters aren’t really in control of their own faculties all the time. They make perplexing decisions- like expecting a personality like Madeleine to behave like Mother Herzog and clinging to a doubly-divorced professor who seems reluctant to return your regard and affection. But these are mere characters. In my opinion, Bellow, the man himself is not fully in control of his faculties either. He is a man cuckolded who is announcing to the world his shame. But he used this betrayal as a fuel and turned it into a multi-million dollar, award-winning affair- that is his revenge and his catharsis. He has lent such an autobiographical tinge to this novel that it seems as if it is his way of dealing with his grief and exacting revenge- by publicizing it, by making a mockery of it. In a way his characters are behaving exactly like him- he really can’t help it- he has to let it all out. 

 

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