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Rocco Monaco In Casanova's Chinese Restaurant, Maclintick and Moreland's friendship is lopsided; Moreland being Maclintick's best friend and Maclintick only being one of Moreland's friends. Moreland feels the need to take care of Maclintick, who often speaks of suicide, by visiting him at his home. He knows that Maclintick and Audrey, his wife, will fight in front of him when he visits, and he knows that it will make him uncomfortable, but he keeps going because he thinks knows how important his visits are. Moreland notices that suicide is an inevitability for Maclintick, but he does not take the threat as seriously as somebody would today. Maclintick is a better person than he appears, and Moreland is the only person that knows it. Moreland knows that Maclintick needs him. Maclintick almost never likes anybody, but Moreland looks past how he acts towards others and remains a loyal friend. Although they do not see each other regularly, with Moreland not even knowing that Carolo had moved into Maclintick's house, Maclintick values the time they get to spend together. Even within the midst of a fight with his wife "The prospect of enjoying Moreland's company for the rest of the evening evidently cheered him." (114). The first time Nick meets Maclintick, he recognizes that he likes Moreland more than most people. Nick says, "I never think Maclintick much likes me." "Likes you?" said Moreland. "What egotism on your part. Of course he doesn't like you. Maclintick doesn't like anybody." "He likes you." (105)" Moreland feels obligated to spend time with Maclintick. Even though they are friends, Moreland would not have dragged Nick along to Maclintick's house if he had not been worried that the night would be made awkward by an argument, and he would not have gone if he did not think Maclintick needed him. It is not that Moreland does not want to spend time with Maclintick; he just knows that his marriage is not strong and any companionship that Moreland can offer will help. Spending time with Maclintick is Moreland's way of helping. Moreland and Maclintick have a strong bond, even though they do not have much in common. Moreland is a well mannered musician, and Maclintick is an impolite music critic who constantly argues with his wife about trivial topics, making outsiders feel uneasy. It seems unlikely that a sociable musician and a grouchy music critic could become friends, but Moreland and Maclintick have a special connection. They are able to get along with each other because Maclintick's identity is not centered around his job. Maclintick speaks so little about his work that upon hearing that he got fired, Nick responds by saying "I never thought of him as having a job (203)". Maclintick is not as selfish as he seems. He is always getting into arguments with Audrey and never shows any signs of remorse for making a situation awkward, but he is not as self obsessed as it appears. The seemingly loveless marriage that he and his wife share leads him to alcohol, which alters his mind frame. He thinks that drinking will help make his problems go away but it only makes things worse, causing him to look like he is not in control of his life. Maclintick's own suicide is brought on by his being charitable and letting Carolo stay in his house. Maclintick does not like living with Carolo, but he lets him stay because it is what his wife wants. Even in killing himself he is considerate; not doing it the night he sees Nick and Moreland. He does not want to leave Moreland with the guilt that he was the last person to see him alive. Moreland does not know how depressed Maclintick actually is. Maclintick gives himself "five more years at the present rate (33)", when he is with Nick, Barnby and Moreland in the Mortimer but lasts "about eight or nine (218)", as noted by Moreland. He thinks that five years will give him enough time to finish his book, but losing his wife is what finally makes Maclintick commit suicide. He acts as though he cares more about his book than his wife, but that is not true. He tries to make people think that he does not love his wife, but he just does that to make others feel more comfortable with their fighting. If his wife leaving him makes him kill himself, then he must care for her, and if he cares for her he must be more upset about his marriage then he lets on. Moreland does not know how much Maclintick loves his wife, and that is his main problem. If Moreland knew that Maclintick actually cared so strongly for Audrey, he would have been able to help Maclintick through the divorce. Instead, Maclintick keeps his secret and winds up taking his own life. Moreland is Maclintick's only real friend, and it is because he is the only person that can see through the hate that arises as a result of his marriage. Moreland knows that Maclintick is actually a thoughtful, considerate person, but when he is with Audrey his attitude towards everything changes. Maclintick's depression causes him to be more hostile, and push people further away, leading to only having two friends to take care of his things when he dies. Moreland thinks he knows what type of person Maclintick is, but he only knows half the story. All of Maclintick's problems are a result of his feelings toward his wife, but Moreland does not know about those feelings, which makes it impossible for him to give Maclintick what he needs. Moreland did all he could for Maclintick, because he was able to look past his shortcomings and focus on friendship. |
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Cassidy Carpenter One of the many definitions of marriage in the Oxford English Dictionary states that marriage is, "an intimate union; a merging or blending of two things" (OED Online). As when dancing, two people twirl and spin together, blurring into one single soul. A song lasts all of five minutes, while a marriage is supposed to last forever. When the music stops, the intimate union ends. The struggle with marriage is to find a constant rhythm that keeps each member gripping one another as they spin, whirling into the future. Throughout Anthony's Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, Nick has been attempting to put the intricacies of this eternal dance into words. Some marriages are mere waltzes, a temporary upbeat with a quick crescendo into divorce, as seen with Maclintick and Matilda. Nick is able to objectively describe the intricacies of other marriages because he is merely an outsider. As Nick has now found his partner on the dance floor, he is struggling with the challenge of conveying the importance of his own marriage in writing. The lack of detail about Nick's married life is due to his deep love and respect for Isobel and the realization that marriage is something that, with or without objectivity, defies definition. Nick is upfront with the difficulty he has found writing about his marriage to Isobel saying, "it is doubtful whether an existing marriage can ever be described directly in the first person and convey a sense of reality. Even those writers, who suggest some sort of the substance of married life best, stylise heavily, losing the subtlety of the relationship at the price of a few accurately recorded, but isolated aspects" (CCR 97). As Nick is writing about his wife's miscarriage in the past, we know that he is still happily married to Isobel far into the future. Nick believes that his relationship is much more than words on paper. Even though writing is his profession, isolated events and comments do not do his loving marriage justice. Just as Nick fails to write directly about himself, he too is incapable of writing about a person who has become so intimate a part of him. Throughout A Dance to the Music of Time Nick tries desperately to maintain objectivity in his observations and descriptions of others, only relaying the perceived facts received from others. Other characters' marriages hold a substantial place in his novels: "To think at all objectively about one's own marriage is impossible, while a balanced view of other people's marriages is almost equally hard to achieve with so much information available, so little to be believed… even casting objectivity aside, the difficulties of presenting marriage are inordinate" (CCR 97). Nick is able to detail other marriages because of the plethora of information available to him. He never interprets it or passes serious judgment; he is simply retrospectively recounting events. Nick is still married to Isobel when he is writing this novel, just as Powell is still happily married to his wife, Lady Violet. This prevents an objective historical perspective which Powell has easily achieved for every other character and relationship in the book. Others' lives are much easier to talk about for Nick because he appreciates how his own life is "at once so varied, yet so constant, providing a kaleidoscope, the colours of which are always changing, always the same" (97). It is much easier to describe the "moods of a love affair," as with Jean Templer, "the contradictions of friendship," as with Stringham, and "the jealousy of business partners," such as between Members and Quiggin (97). These are all events which Nick has detailed ad nauseam, "these are all in their way to be charted" (97). To Nick marriage is infinitely more complicated, which is revealed by innumerable chapters through which Nick has attempted to grasp this topic. Now that Nick has found Isobel he has put his mind to rest, "Marriage, partaking of such-and a thousand more-dual antagonism and participations, finally defies definition." (97) At first I thought there was an underlying psychological reason for Powell's withholding the details of Nick's marriage, subconscious repression or marital troubles coming first to my mind. I was incorrect. Both Powell and Nick are deeply in love. Leaving out the most important part of his life in his fictional autobiography, Powell has performed a deep act of love and respect for his own wife. Powell cannot describe Nick's marriage to Isobel because he is still married to his own wife and cannot gain distance from his own situation. There is no way to objectively and wholly describe the complexities of marriage, let alone while he is still involved in it. In the intricacies of love the dictionary has failed us, for marriage can not be defined in three simple words: "an intimate union" (OED Online). Because the feeling and significance of matrimony cannot be described in literary terms, we must all take part in the Dance to find our partner for the symphony of life. Oxford English Dictionary: Online. Marriage, n. Oxford, Oxford University Press, Dec. 2007, http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00302422?single=1&query_type=word &queryword=marriage&first=1&max_to_show=10. |
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William Koven Death is a part of the natural order; wherever there is life, there must be death. Casanova's Chinese Restaurant is largely marriage, which bring with it new life. Powell, following the laws of nature, necessarily includes the death of several characters. St. John Clark, Moreland's baby, and McClintick all die during the book, and although they happen in other books, Mr. Deacon's and Moreland's deaths are also mentioned. Death can be unexpected, as is the case with several characters in Casanova's Chinese Restaurant , and tends to be a shocking event that will change people. Powell uses death throughout Casanova's Chinese Restaurant as both a means to send the plot in a new direction and to contrast and highlight the theme of marriage. Moreland's death is, in a way, the event that starts the book in motion. Although Moreland is Nick's best friend, he is not introduced until Casanova's Chinese Restaurant. Moreland is unique in that he is the only character introduced as already being dead. Nick's stories in the book begin because Nick is reminded of Moreland, and if Moreland were not dead, and his memory did not evoke strong emotions in Nick, then the story would not have come about. Nick's introduction to Moreland is also punctuated by a reference to death. Nick draws attention to his first meeting with Hugh by using Mr. Deacon's death to place that event in time. By tying death so thoroughly into the events that begin the book, Powell must, and does, use at least equally shocking events to change the direction of the plot. The death of Moreland's baby and the death of McClintick are clear turning points in Moreland's life and marriage, and thereby the plot of the book. Nick tells us that the death of the Morelands' baby was harder on the couple than outward appearances suggest. Indeed, the death of the baby is likely the event that starts to destabilize the Morelands' marriage. Looking for an escape from the stress and problems caused by his baby's death, Hugh begins an affair with Priscilla. In the end, though, it is another death, McClintick's this time, which brings Hugh Moreland to end his affair. Love, marriage, and death are intertwined endlessly. McClintick's suicide was itself the result of Audrey running off with Corolo. It is, however, the baby's death that opens chapter three and begins to move the story in a new direction. Moreland's marriage, in contrast, seems a natural consequence of the events leading up to it, and being married does not seem to change Moreland much. McClintick's death, on the other hand, has an even more direct and tangible impact on Hugh's life and behavior than either his marriage or the death of his child. St. John Clarke's death, which opens chapter four, also helps to further the story and once again punctuates a marriage. St. Johns Clarke is the only character who dies of natural causes, which of course emphasizes the premature nature of all the other deaths. After dying, St. John Clarke's will explains Quiqqin's behavior and solves Erridge's financial problems. The timing and manner in which St. John Clarke's will is revealed, however, rather than the content, brings marriage and death together. At the end of the book, Robert and Frederica show up to lunch with Nick, each bringing a piece of news. Robert, continuing the theme of marriage in the book, reveals that Priscillia is engaged to Chips Lovell (which of course can be tied back to McClintick's death). Frederica, at the same time, brings up St. John Clarke's death and speaks of the will. The contrast between Robert's news and Frederica's makes both pieces of news stand out. Frederica's revelation about St. John Clarke's will is also the final event of the book, thus framing the story; Moreland's death indirectly starts the book, and St. John Clarke's death closes it. The first, third, and fourth chapters of Casanova's Chinese Restaurant all begin with some sort of death and Powell closes the book, much as he started it, with events related to a death. Clearly death is a driving force behind the plot of the book. Much as Nick is fascinated by the book's namesake because of its contrasting qualities, Powell makes the marriage stand out to the reader by often pairing it with its polar opposite death. Although it is necessary for characters to die in a work as complex and detailed as A Dance to the Music of Time, Powell uses death as an affective tool in Casanova's Chinese Restaurant rather than just throwing characters away. |
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Kym Louie After Audrey left Maclintick for Carolo, Nick and Moreland are at Maclintick's house, trying to console him. The subject of relationships inevitably arises, reminding Moreland of Petrarch and Laura. Petrarch was an Italian poet, inventor of the Italian sonnet. Laura was the girl he fell in love with. Though there seem to be many differences between Maclintick's relationship with Audrey and Petrarch's relationship with Laura, both Maclintick and Petrarch thought that they had found their ideal. Differences in circumstance cause the two relationships to turn out distinctly. Many of Petrarch's poems were written to Laura, the love of his life. However, the two of them never were in any sort of relationship. Petrarch was born in 1304 in exile from Florence, into a family of small landholders. Laura was born around 1310 into the prominent de Noves family, feudal lords of the village of Noves. Around the age of fifteen she married into the de Sade family. When Petrarch first saw her, though she had been married two years, he fell in love. He respected her marriage and idolized her, writing hundreds of poems about his love for her. The Laura that Petrarch wrote about was his perfect lover: beautiful, rich, noble, prudent, modest, and loved to listen to him. To him, she was perfection; their relationship an ideal never realized. The real Laura differed from Petrarch's perfect image. The was only human and also carried the name de Sade, which became infamous because of Marquise de Sade's graphic books, which lead to the word "sadism" to develop from the family name. When Maclintick met Audrey, they didn't connect. Maclintick "took a fancy to her as soon as I set eyes on her (CCR, 208)" and said that Audrey was his ideal. While Maclintick could look at her from a removed position, like Petrarch, he could admire her and consider her perfect. Unlike Petrarch, however, "there must have been a moment when some agreement was reached (CCR, 209)" and he married her. As the phrasing of Maclintick's thought suggests, he and Audrey disagree on almost every point and fight throughout their marriage. Their sadistic relationship only provides each one with bait to bite at and no real pleasure. Like Laura was not interested in Petrarch, Audrey is disinterested in her relationship with Maclintick: she nearly goes out with Stringham, dismissing her husband to Stringham with "all the hatred of which she was capable (CCR, 168);" she finally runs off with Carolo. Maclintick says that "there is probably something wrong about thinking you've realized your ideal - in art or anywhere else. It is a conception that should remain in the mind (CCR, 211)." If he hadn't thought that he married his ideal match, he would not have realized how sadistic she was. Moreland states that "It wasn't for nothing that Petrarch's Laura was one of the de Sade family (CCR, 211)." She was only perfect because she was unattainable and he believes that, had Petrarch formed a relationship with Laura he would have found a darker, "de Sade" side to her. After Laura's death, Petrarch can still admire her, whereas when Audrey leaves, it is a relief to Maclintick. The comparison of Maclintick and Audrey to Petrarch and Laura is fitting in that both Maclintick and Petrarch believed that they had found their ideal girl. Laura was of the de Sade family and Audrey has a sadistic approach to relationships. The difference in one forming a relationship and the other writing sonnets becomes the difference between Maclintick being miserable and seeing Audrey as wretched, and Petrarch continuing to adore Laura. However, Laura was born into the de Noves family, not the de Sade family and was not malicious. It seems likely, therefore, that Moreland drew these parallels without actually knowing much about Laura aside from her family name and relation to Petrarch. Bibliography: Bishop, Morris. Petrarch and his World. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1963). |
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John Bukawyn Throughout Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time, characters and their roles evolve. Miss Weedon's place in the Foxe household changes from being Stringham's sister's governess to Stringham's babysitter. What remains constant, however, is the fact the Miss Weedon stays a stable source of backing for Stringham; he comments that she is, "a great supporter of mine" (59, QU). From when the reader first meets Tuffy in A Question of Upbringing to her entrance in Casanova's Chinese Restaurant, her notion of support towards Stringham completely transforms. During the summer after Eton lets out, Nick pays a visit to Stringham's on his way through London. On this stopover, Stringham introduces Tuffy to Nick and the reader. The moment she walks into the room, Stringham is rather pleased to see her and she is likewise delighted to see him: "her face took on a sudden look of intensity, almost of anxiety, the look that women's faces sometimes show at a moment of supreme pleasure" (58, QU). The fact that they are equally delight to see one another suggests that that their relationship is more mutual, rather than dominated by one. Indeed her pleasant feelings toward him are noticeable in her appearance, but also in her actions because it was her, not his parents, who remembered to purchase Stringham a ticket to the Russian ballet. In more of a friendly concern, Tuffy acts for Stringham's benefit, so that he may simply enjoy an evening with his family. Here Tuffy offers the support of a friend and colleague. The next point we see her is at Oxford, where she gives Stringham a different kind of encouragement. As Stringham prepares to go down from the University, he calls on Tuffy to help him in the matter. Sillery, a don at Oxford, is pushing very hard for Stringham to leave school and take a position with Sir Magnus Donners. When Stringham's mother can not be present, Tuffy replaces her. In this way, she acts maternally when discussing Stringham's future. As if she were defending her own child, Tuffy protects him from Sillery's manipulative ways. Sillery immediately tries to establish his importance at the table by name-dropping and trying to control the conversation. He mentions his own acquaintance with a, "Mr. Gladstone," obviously a man of importance. Tuffy counters this by congratulating Stringham on his lunch, saying, "Did you arrange all this lunch yourself...How wonderful of you" (214, QU). She talks solely about Stringham and his accomplishments, as if she is his proud mother, praising her child. Replacing Stringham's mother for that moment and acting as if she was actually that, Tuffy displays maternal instincts and in this way provides a new kind of support for Stringham. Finally, the reader finds Tuffy again in the fifth installment of The Dance. Her responsibility is, however, much different to anything prior. Rather than being affable and caring, she is cold and unreceptive when dealing with Stringham. Nick continually asserts this fact because with every movement Tuffy makes, Nick remarks on her character, such as, "her mysterious, equivocal presence [caste] a long, dark shadow over the scene," (180, CCR) and "her smile cut like a knife" (181, CCR). Her role, however, now has completely changed, and that is why she must carry this demeanor. Stringham's previous drinking habits, which were excessive, require him to have a stern chaperone, one who can make sure that he stays sober and abides by doctor's orders. Trying to get Stringham to leave a party early, especially one that he is the life of, must be a difficult endeavor, but with relative ease, Tuffy demonstrates her authority over Stringham by using her ingenuity. Despite her new personality changes, her cleverness has yet to escape her. She convinces Stringham to accept a ride home by expertly pointing out that he can not go anywhere else because he forgot his wallet, saying, "If I had only known ... I could have brought your notecase. It was lying on the table in your room" (184, CCR). Delivering the final blow, Tuffy finally convinces Stringham to ride home with her. Here, acting as if she is a babysitter and it is the child's bedtime, she supports Stringham in this way and it requires her to be firm and cold. As Stringham ages, Miss Weedon becomes more involved in his life. Now denoting times to return home, Tuffy's personality has changed: progressing from a family friend to a praising mother, and then finally to a strict caretaker. Whether or not Tuffy will continue to care for Stringham is unclear, but I feel that he will still need some looking after in the future. |
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James Yang In Casanova's Chinese Restaurant, we are introduced to a whole slew of new characters. Moreland, Gossage, Maclintick, and Carolo are just some of the many characters that Nick has met. Many of the old characters, such as Widmerpool, take a back seat in this book, however. One of the few characters that does return is Chips Lovell, Nick's friend and former co-worker, whom we met in At Lady Molly's. Though we have only known him since the last book, he has created a lasting impression on Nick's life, and through him, we can see a bit more about Nick himself. Chips has had quite an influence on Nick throughout the two books we have known him. Though we only meet Lovell himself on a few occasions, Nick quotes Chips' opinion of people anecdotally in a similar fashion to the way he compares them to Uncle Giles in previous books. Through At Lady Molly's and Casanova's Chinese Restaurant, Nick mentions bits and pieces of gossip that he has picked up from Chips. "Chips Lovell…was always prepared at a moment's notice to provide an a priori account of the personal history and problems of all his relations and acquaintances." (CCR, 59) Chips has a much greater contribution to Nick's life, however. "You might like Isobel. I believe she is a bit of a highbrow when she isn't going to night clubs." (LM, 19) Chips Lovell first introduces the name of Isobel Tolland to Nick. Though he did not know it then, he would fall in love with her, and they would be married by the end of the book. From the time we meet Chips, his life seems to follow that of Nick's. They are both employed writing movies for the Quota, and Lovell brings him along to Lady Molly's. It is at her house where Lovell seeks out Priscilla Tolland (whom we later learn that he will marry), and where Nick himself later holds his engagement party with Isobel. The two in general seemed, for a time, to move among the same social circles. They both seem to associate with well-placed friends, like as the type which they might meet at Lady Molly's. If we dig deeper, we can also find aspects of the personalities of these two characters that are similar. We know from our past experiences with Nick, that while he will tell us about events in other peoples' lives, he very rarely tells us about himself. Similarly, Lovell gossips about his relations and acquaintances, but the only information receive about his own life is his infatuation with Priscilla Tolland. Also like Nick, he rarely expresses his own opinion about things, preferring to present interesting stories or the opinions of others in a "he said ... she said" form. The one moment in which Nick actually meets Chips in Casanova's Chinese Restaurant happens as a chance meeting on the Underground. Nick has a restraint about him when he speaks to Chips. "Although I liked Lovell, I saw no reason to offer help so far as his investigation of the situation of Moreland and Priscilla." (194) It may be that Nick's primary motive for being so guarded around Chips his wish to protect Moreland from Lovell's gossip column (Constant Lambert's relationships, after all, were the subject of columns similar to Lovell's and it would stand to reason that Powell would want to avert a similar fate for the character he modeled). Another possibility is that Nick does not know Lovell's motive (whether for love or for his work), and he hopes to protect Priscilla from Lovell. However, it is also likely that Nick is uncomfortable with Chips' personality. Nick undoubtedly sees the similarity in their backgrounds and lines of work. Nick is more of an introvert, and seems to keep his information to himself, both about his friends, and about his own life. On the other hand Lovell indulges deeply in bits of news about his acquaintances, and bringing that information to others. Furthermore, Lovell seems dissatisfied with a common life, and is envious of people in high places. "Widmerpool ...always stuck in my mind because he managed to stay at Dogdene. I took my hat off to him for getting there." (194) In light of the tacit opposition that we have observed between Nick and Widmerpool from the beginning of the series, such reverence might be uncomfortable for Nick. Now that Chips has become a member of the Tolland family, we will most likely be seeing more of him in the future. Undoubtedly though, even if he gains a more significant role, the character of Chips Lovell is unlikely to change. Surely he will still be the gossip-monger that he has been up to this point, and, while Nick may associate more closely with him, and remain his friend, perhaps he will have to be even more guarded, lest gossip within the family make its way into Chips' column. Perhaps when Powell constructed the character of Chips Lovell, the similarities with Nick were intentional. Perhaps he meant Chips to be another, different aspect of himself. |
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Alex Svec Any fiction novel set in a nonfiction location and including nonfiction events has certain biases, unintentional or not, based on the author's political, religious, spiritual or personal beliefs. Anthony Powell's Casanova's Chinese Restaurant is no exception. While some authors have rather blatant hidden agendas, Powell's are somewhat buried in the thousands of pages of text. This is in part due to the unusual style of narration. One in which we receive excess information concerning the actions and ideas of others, while learning next to nothing about the person giving us the information. Nick is as close to a perfectly unbiased narrator as we will ever see, simply because we get no insight on his thoughts and beliefs. Because of his detachment, it would be easy to assume that Powell also feels impartial towards the events occurring within in his novel. The reactions of Erridge's friends, family and others, when he leaves for the Spanish civil war, allows us to see, subconsciously perhaps, Powell's conservative background. Erridge was never a character loved by all, certainly not by Powell, who undoubtedly had no fondness for the extreme liberals he encountered during his life. It isn't until chapter two of Casanova's Chinese Restaurant that a few characters express very transparent opinions on the Spanish Civil War; opinions most likely fueled by Powell's own political views. "He will certainly be on the opposite side to General Franco. I can't think that Erry would be any great help to any army he joined, can you?" This is the first time Nick hears of Erridge's departure for Spain, and it is as if Powell is speaking directly to him. There is a certain smugness in Robert Tolland's voice as he says that Erridge will likely do no good to the communist side of the Revolution. Roddy Cutt's comments on Erridge's position being anomalous and embarrassing to the government are backed by Powell himself when Nick says "Roddy had clear-cut, practical ideas how people behaved. Erridge did not at all fit in with these." Who is to say that Erridge doesn't behave in a practical way? He is by no means a completely average citizen, but by saying he doesn't act practically, there is an implication that there is right and wrong behavior and that Erridge falls in the wrong category. A British Tory, much like Powell, would certainly believe that. To his credit, Powell does not leave Erridge completely undefended against these blows to his character. Remarks such as "I asked them if they approved of shooting nuns" and "you will find an almost equally unbroken record of Royalism in Navarre" are countered by St John Clark's wisdom and liberal views. Of course as we all know, St John is not in the best health, and his ability to provide a second side to the argument will not always exist. The players in support of Erridge are sorely outnumbered, and those against them might as well be speaking directly for Powell. "I hope he will try to persuade his friends not to burn all the churches" and "he has never been strong," are two of many passages in which there leaves little doubt of Powell's true feelings on the war and liberalists in particular. Perhaps the most telling of all is the Maclintick's row. Maclintick, following Powell's own sentiment, wants absolutely nothing to do the communists. His wife playing the role of the idealist would like to see the government survive without communism, but would still take communism over fascism. Countering her argument Maclintick says four sentences, which in my opinion speak more about Powell than any others thus far. "Only because you think it is the done thing to be on the Left. There isn't a middle-brow in the country who isn't expressing the same sentiment. They should try a little practical Communism and see how they like it. You are no exception, I assure you." Powell lived in a time where it was becoming more and more popular to be liberal. That quote shows us just how frustrated he was to be conservative, hating fascism but hating communism even more. He was stuck trying to choose between two things he couldn't stand, while others around him simply did what was sociably acceptable. |
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Corey Simpson As a narrator, Nick Jenkins observes his acquaintances with a critical eye. Even when he does not offer an opinion, the specific anecdotes and dialogues he shares invite the readers to analyze the characters for themselves, and his choice of what information to provide subtly guides the reader to view people the same way that Nick does. However, Nick tends to neglect the topics that one would think would be the most important; anything the reader learns about Nick's personal life is the bare minimum of background information required to further the plot, and nothing more. It is almost as if Nick avoids all mention of his home life because he does not want the readers to analyze and judge it in the same way they do with the other characters; Nick's acquaintances are fair game, but his family is none of our business. The details of Nick's marriage to his wife, Isobel, are the most noticeable of all the information Nick withholds. Casanova's Chinese Restaurant marks the first time we see Nick as a married man, and yet his wife is hardly mentioned, and speaks only a few sentences in the course of the entire book. Although they have technically become a part of Nick's family, he continues to discuss the Tollands; he became interested in the eccentric clan long before he met Isobel, and is not close enough to any of them to warrant the kind of reticence that his immediate family inspires. In recounting his visit to their house in Chapter 2, Nick is forced to include their inquiries about Isobel's health, but he at first refuses to elaborate and gives far more attention to other, more trivial topics. Indeed, he responds to all the questions about Isobel with almost the exact same phrase; first "Pretty well all right now. She is emerging tomorrow. I am going to see her this afternoon" (62) and later "Pretty well all right now. I am going to see her this afternoon." (70) In the face of the curiosity sparked by the Tollands' concern, Nick's mechanical replies are maddening. Later, however, when Nick visits the nursing home, he grants us an insight into his reluctance to discuss his wife. He says, "...it is doubtful whether an existing marriage can ever be described directly in the first person and convey a sense of reality. Even those writers who suggest some of the substance of married life best, stylise heavily, losing the subtlety of the relationship at the price of a few accurately recorded, but isolated, aspects. To think at all objectively about one's own marriage is impossible, while a balanced view of other people's marriage is almost equally hard to achieve with so much information available, so little to be believed. Objectivity is not, of course, everything in writing; but even casting objectivity aside, the difficulties of presenting a marriage are inordinate.... Marriage ... defies definition." (97) Nick does not feel that writing is really sufficient to convey his feelings about Isobel, so he doesn't even try. He also reaffirms his reluctance to allow the readers to pass judgment on his personal relationships, fearing that they will not maintain a "balanced view" of his marriage. We have known from the beginning that finding love is deeply important to Nick, so much so that he is willing to overlook the most glaring faults if a girl happens to strike his fancy (see the Barbara Goring fiasco). All of his other relationships are different; Nick may like his friends, but he acknowledges their flaws. Nick's feelings for Isobel fit neither the pattern of blind adoration, nor of detached fondness-rather, Nick seems to assume that if he has introduced her as the only girl he has actually wanted to marry, then that should be the end of that. From this point in the series, we better understand Nick's desire to protect his privacy. It may occasionally be frustrating-we would like to know more about the woman who is so important to our narrator, after all-but the series is intended to be an observation of society set in the context of Nick's life, and from that perspective, his personal affairs really are "none of our business." And while the naturally curious among us would undoubtedly like to know more about the married life of Nick and Isobel, all we really need to know about their relationship is provided in the exchange at the end of their visit in the nursing home; "'I shan't be sorry to come home.' `I shan't be sorry for you to be home again.'" (97) |
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