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THE PLACE OF THE LION by Charles Williams
Aug. 11th, 2013 12:47 amLink
Platonic archetypes suddenly appear in ordinary nineteen-thirties England. Smug self-satisfaction permeates each page.
This novel is simllar to aspects of CS Lewis' work in several ways. (Both writers were Inklings.) For one, there's a female academic character, bearing the thematically related name of Damaris Tighe, who's written into the novel for the purpose of being brought down several pegs. In spite of all her work, she's selfish and shortsighted and doesn't comprehand her own academic discipline nearly as much as her boyfriend Anthony does, even though he apparently hasn't completed many formal qualifications. (Not all learning is done in school and academics shouldn't use their qualifications to denigrate other people - but Anthony is the one who constantly denigrates Damaris, not vice versa.)
The premise behind the romance is that Anthony is inexplicably in love with Damaris despite the way she's a selfish pig who doesn't understand her own studies. His innate superiority sees all her faults and will save her soul and make her a better person.
Someone who knows your faults and wants to help you overcome them and who'll always be superior to you might make a great mentor, but a very undesirable partner. And even then smug self-satisfaction is always difficult to swallow, even when the other person's earned some rights to self-satisfaction.
Honestly, this book showed me that I have many gaps in my knowledge; I'd also have much to learn from the author. (He died in 1945.) But if I were instructed by his characters, I'd loathe the learning process.
The theology and philosophy in this novel is also reminiscent of some of Lewis' preoccupations. This is a novel that depends on concept - and, as such, it depicts character with sparsity. Personality is revealed through dialogue and actions; physical descriptions are reserved for the fantastic elements, and character backgrounds are revealed only as necessary. Succintness can be a virtue, and in this particular novel the brevity improves the art. The concepts themselves are terrifically abstract and aimed at a certain level of reader - a background knowledge which I wish I possessed. I've read Abelard's and Heloise's correspondence, but I really must read more philosophy.
The novel's ending is somewhat redeemable, especially compared to some of CS Lewis' books, in that Damaris' academic work is finally acknowledged as valid. A step above "Have no more dreams. Have children instead"! Nonetheless, this is a smug, irksome novel. The attempt at high-concept art is the only notable thing about it.
To round this review off, I'll quote an excerpt to illustrate what I'm talking about - but this time, with a twist. This is mildly modified from the actual novel: Antonia and Darius take the places of Anthony and Damaris.
"I'm not sure whether you and I could make a success of marriage," Darius said. "And anyhow I won't think about anything of the kind till I've got my degree. Of course, if you think more of yourself than of me--"
"Well, naturally I do," Antonia interrupted. "Who doesn't? Am I a saint or an Alexandrian Gnostic? Don't let's ask rhetorical questions, darling."
"I'm not doing anything of the kind," Darius said, coldly. "But you must be willing to wait a little while. I'm not sure of myself."
"It's all you are sure of--besides Abelard," Antonia said. "And with you, that covers everything else."
"I think you're rather unkind," Darius answered.
"We both like each other--"
"Dearest, I don't like you a bit," Antonia interrupted again. "I think you're a very detestable, selfish pig and prig. But I'm often wildly in love with you, and so I see you're not. But I'm sure your only chance of salvation is to marry me."
"Really, Antonia!" Darius got up from the table. "Chance of salvation, indeed! And from what, I should like to know?"
"Nobody else," Antonia went on, "sees you as you are. Nobody else will give you such a difficult and unpleasant time as I do. You'll never be comfortable, but you may be glorious. You'd better think over it."
The take-home question is, exactly how insufferable is Antonia?
Platonic archetypes suddenly appear in ordinary nineteen-thirties England. Smug self-satisfaction permeates each page.
This novel is simllar to aspects of CS Lewis' work in several ways. (Both writers were Inklings.) For one, there's a female academic character, bearing the thematically related name of Damaris Tighe, who's written into the novel for the purpose of being brought down several pegs. In spite of all her work, she's selfish and shortsighted and doesn't comprehand her own academic discipline nearly as much as her boyfriend Anthony does, even though he apparently hasn't completed many formal qualifications. (Not all learning is done in school and academics shouldn't use their qualifications to denigrate other people - but Anthony is the one who constantly denigrates Damaris, not vice versa.)
The premise behind the romance is that Anthony is inexplicably in love with Damaris despite the way she's a selfish pig who doesn't understand her own studies. His innate superiority sees all her faults and will save her soul and make her a better person.
Someone who knows your faults and wants to help you overcome them and who'll always be superior to you might make a great mentor, but a very undesirable partner. And even then smug self-satisfaction is always difficult to swallow, even when the other person's earned some rights to self-satisfaction.
Honestly, this book showed me that I have many gaps in my knowledge; I'd also have much to learn from the author. (He died in 1945.) But if I were instructed by his characters, I'd loathe the learning process.
The theology and philosophy in this novel is also reminiscent of some of Lewis' preoccupations. This is a novel that depends on concept - and, as such, it depicts character with sparsity. Personality is revealed through dialogue and actions; physical descriptions are reserved for the fantastic elements, and character backgrounds are revealed only as necessary. Succintness can be a virtue, and in this particular novel the brevity improves the art. The concepts themselves are terrifically abstract and aimed at a certain level of reader - a background knowledge which I wish I possessed. I've read Abelard's and Heloise's correspondence, but I really must read more philosophy.
The novel's ending is somewhat redeemable, especially compared to some of CS Lewis' books, in that Damaris' academic work is finally acknowledged as valid. A step above "Have no more dreams. Have children instead"! Nonetheless, this is a smug, irksome novel. The attempt at high-concept art is the only notable thing about it.
To round this review off, I'll quote an excerpt to illustrate what I'm talking about - but this time, with a twist. This is mildly modified from the actual novel: Antonia and Darius take the places of Anthony and Damaris.
"I'm not sure whether you and I could make a success of marriage," Darius said. "And anyhow I won't think about anything of the kind till I've got my degree. Of course, if you think more of yourself than of me--"
"Well, naturally I do," Antonia interrupted. "Who doesn't? Am I a saint or an Alexandrian Gnostic? Don't let's ask rhetorical questions, darling."
"I'm not doing anything of the kind," Darius said, coldly. "But you must be willing to wait a little while. I'm not sure of myself."
"It's all you are sure of--besides Abelard," Antonia said. "And with you, that covers everything else."
"I think you're rather unkind," Darius answered.
"We both like each other--"
"Dearest, I don't like you a bit," Antonia interrupted again. "I think you're a very detestable, selfish pig and prig. But I'm often wildly in love with you, and so I see you're not. But I'm sure your only chance of salvation is to marry me."
"Really, Antonia!" Darius got up from the table. "Chance of salvation, indeed! And from what, I should like to know?"
"Nobody else," Antonia went on, "sees you as you are. Nobody else will give you such a difficult and unpleasant time as I do. You'll never be comfortable, but you may be glorious. You'd better think over it."
The take-home question is, exactly how insufferable is Antonia?
