Subject: Re: Moviegoer and despair
From: Ted B Atkinson (tatkin2@UNIX1.SNCC.LSU.EDU)
Date: Thu Nov 11 1999 - 15:47:37 EST
Hi, folks. I knew something was up when I checked my e-mail and found
numerous error messages. Ah, the plight of the listserv manager. Anyway,
glad we're talking about _The Moviegoer_. The novel was on my mind
recently after hearing a story about a guy who broke off a two-year
relationship when he discovered that his girlfriend didn't "get" TMG. It
seems that was the catalyst for other doubts.
Regarding the issue at hand, I would say that the worst form of despair is
the kind that exists in the aesthetic stage. Those who live in that realm
(or visit from time to time, as we all do) are aware of despair, I think,
but remain unwilling or unable to probe it. Binx has moved beyond that
with his search, thus becoming able to recognize the despair that
threatens him and those around him, even if he can't specifically name it.
This realization, in turn, comes with its own sense of despair, but surely
not as hopeless as the previous kind. The distinction can be illustrated
effectively, I think, by considering the difference between the person in
the audience of the _The Leeza Gibbons Show_, for instance, who takes
it seriously and the person watching at home who wonders in awe at the
magnitude of despair clearly evident but not acknowledged by Leeza, her
guests, or members of the audience. The former is left to wallow in
unnamed despair, while the latter is compelled to ponder its nature and
origin thus gaining at least a greater degree of authenticity.
Regards,
Ted Atkinson
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