While in Berlin, Arthur Less, a man who speaks much poorer German than he believes, agrees to teach a seminar at the local university. This sequence, to me, demonstrates the power and abilities of Arthur Less, and shows how despite constantly doubting himself, he holds a blind confidence that leads him to having great success in his life.
Less starts his tenure in typical Less fashion, bumbling his way through an unusual situation. He expresses that he must "kill most of [his students]" (103), causing all but the 30 who are mandated to take the course to leave. Having experienced his previous mishaps, and being exposed to his awful German, Greer allows the reader to make what should be a fairly obvious assumption, this is going to be a very bad time for Arthur Less. However, as Less' time in Germany progresses, the assumptions the reader has built up towards Less begin to get challenged. He enters a semi-stable relationship with one of his students, Bastian, and as the class progresses, the students that survived his death threat experience Less' style of teaching. He has them translate passages from English to German, in some sort of Telephone-style game, something that teaches them nothing about literature. Despite that, the students love it. "Did they learn anything about literature? Doubtful. But they learn to love language again, something that has faded like sex in a long marriage. Because of this, they learn to love their teacher." (109).
Arthur Less does not understand why people like him. As much is stated in the Germany chapter, where the narrator explains how every man he has touched has fallen in love with him, every person he interacts with, he leaves a part of himself with. Arthur Less does not do this on purpose, in fact he doesn't understand why this happens. But experiencing Less is experiencing a man who puts all of himself on the line at every situation, which might be why Freddy expressed that Less was the bravest man he knew. Through his teaching escapades, you begin to understand why Arthur Less is beloved by so many, even though he feels the exact opposite. He is authentic in a world where so few are, and he cares so heavily about every action he takes, ensuring that his students will always remember him. Arthur Less, in the words of Carlos Pelu, has "Bad luck in the things that don't matter. Good luck in the thing in the things that do." (226) Arthur Less seems to attract people who love him, despite the fact he is unable to do that for himself.
I think you have a good analysis of Less’ character. Throughout the novel, Less is self-deprecating and does not think he is good at anything. In the previous chapter, Less says “I don’t think I have a chance of winning” (90). He does not think that he can do anything well, such as winning that writing competition nor teaching that class, as you mentioned. However, both times, he does well. He wins the writing competition, and the class enjoys his style of teaching. Even succeeding in doing things, he finds a way to downplay his achievements. After winning the competition in Italy, he “rolls his eyes and stalks off to smoke” (91). Less is not as bad at doing things as he believes he is. He can write and teach well, but because he screwed up his relationship with Freddy, he is self-deprecating. He screwed up one of the most important things in his life, which was his love life with Freddy. He ended it, but he did not realize how much he would miss Freddy. I believe Less’ brilliance and his love life are related to each other. At the end of the novel, Freddy says that he wants “Less” (261). Less did not know that throughout the novel, but Freddy’s love was there in the background, much like Less’ brilliance. His brilliance was in the background of his life. He does not realize it is there, but it is. I believe that that shows the brilliance and love lives that gay people can have. They may not know it, but they have skills and talents and can have love. They just need to acknowledge it themselves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis that Arthur's earnest and authentic nature is what makes him stand out from the crowd. The way he conducts himself is riddled with self-doubt, but when you look at him from a different set of eyes you find a man underneath that spends every waking moment trying to make each memory special. His anxiety and self-conscious nature come full circle to help him in the end by instilling the way he moves about the world with a special sense of care. Arthur cares so deeply about everything he does that there's a sense of magic about him. He's unaware of this, like most of his best traits, but that almost makes it better in a sense because he doesn't think of his authenticity enough to be self-conscious about it: "And yet-- just as a flightless bird will evolve other tactics for survival, Arthur Less has developed other traits. Like the bird, he is unaware of these" (Greer 113). The following passage describes his earnest nature (in a sexual context, but this carries outside the bedroom too) in a way that makes us understand why Arthur Less is treasured by those around him despite his deep-rooted anxieties. He does not have the ability to walk the world with unfiltered confidence, and in its place become someone who cares so deeply that it makes him special.
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