Andrew Sean Greer's novel, Less, follows Arthur Less, a self-doubting writer escaping the wedding of his former lover by traveling the globe. Throughout the novel, Less appears nostalgic as he analyzes past relationships searching for possible sources of failure. In each description, he attacks his failures as a boyfriend as he places the failure of the relationship on himself. Through interactions with other characters, his perception of his past relationships changes making Less more confident.
In his first formative relationship, Less is described as a young follower to his partner Robert, a famous poet surrounded by praise. In his time in Mexico, Less continuously declares that it is his first time in Mexico, yet he had travelled there in his youth with Robert (Greer 53). In this, Less shows that he still harbors trauma from this relationship as he cannot share the truth of his young affair with Robert. Less continues to be attached to this relationship, almost like a child attaches themself to their mentor. From this relationship, his childlike fear continues throughout the novel as he doubts his future relationships.
In Less's relationship with Freddy, Less's continuous doubt and inability to define the extent of this 9 year relationship cause him to lose hope in love. After his relationship with Robert, Less doubts his ability to be happy in this relationship as he continuously doubts their commitment. After Freddy ends the relationship, Less is left shattered in his inability to commit.
Through his travels, Less sees the reality of each past relationship and his self-doubt diminishes. As Less visits Robert after his stroke, Less admits to never letting himself be alone because of the trauma he faced (Greer 184). Less breaks out of his childish mentality in this moment, and he discovers the reason for his childish mannerisms. In the final moments of the novel, Freddy appears and confesses his love (Greer 256). In this, Less finds love. His childish mindset diminishes.
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ReplyDeleteI like your analysis of Less’ love story since the novel is about a gay man looking for love. Less travels the world to escape his love for Freddy because he does not want to think about Freddy’s wedding with another man. Less tries to fill his love for Freddy with other men such as Bastian. However, those other men do not make up for the connection with Freddy because they lacked a more meaningful relationship. In Freddy’s words, Less’ story is “Also mine” (260). However, Less does not know this for most of the novel. He travels the world seeking for what he already has. He is self-deprecating in the process because he does not believe he does anything well. He screwed up his relationship with Freddy because he did not end up with him, meaning he screwed up one of the most important things to him. To fill this gap in his life, he has relationships with other men for some weeks at a time, but he never ends up being with them because there is no story connection. This lack of love, connection, and self-love makes him seem loveless at first, but at the end of the novel, Freddy wants “Less” from life (261). So unknowingly, Less has true love. Freddy narrates the story because his story is intertwined with Less’, so this gay story has a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of love in Less is extremely interesting and intuitive. I really like the connection you make between the presence of love in the life of Arthur Less and his childish manners he displays throughout the entirety of the story. Arthur Less faces trauma from his relationship with Robert as a young man. This trauma heavily impacts the actions and behaviors that Arthur portrays as the story moves along. The time that Arthur spends in Mexico and does not recognize that he had ever been to the country before is an excellent example of this trauma. People with trauma tend to completely block out memories from their traumatic pasts. The presence of Robert in the past of Arthur and the trauma that is carried by that presence inhibits Arthur from being able to gain maturity. His story is essentially mirrored in his next long-term relationship in Freddy. When his relationship with Freddy ends, Arthur is completely lost. I agree with your perspective that Arthur is unable to act as a rational person without his love life being fulfilled. In the end of the story when Freddy confesses his love for him, Arthur is finally able to become the man he was lacking to be for the whole novel.
ReplyDeleteI really like your analysis about how Less is very doubtful in his relationships. Once Freddy sends him an invite, Less writes, speaks at conventions, and even travels the world in order to escape the crushing reality that Freddy is moving onto a new chapter in his life, yet Less seems to be stuck at the 50-year-old mark. He is his own worst critic, struggles to find what he wants out of his life, and how he defines himself. I believe the novel is a beautiful story about learning how to love yourself by forcing yourself to go out of your comfort zone and exploring the world. The irony in this novel is that Less is heartbroken by Freddy’s wedding, yet it is very evident to the reader that Less breaks his own heart more than someone else ever could. After travelling around the world, and turning 50, Less realizes that what he was ultimately looking for was in himself. "He asked me what I wanted, and though I did not answer then, because I did not know, and followed old conventions even to the altar, I know it now. It is long, past time to answer the question—and I see you, old Arthur, old love… what do I want from life? And I say: 'Less!'" (Greer, 261). I believe that Less is a romantic comedy that entails the joys and sorrows within a self-discovery journey. Once you love yourself first, you can then accept and realize the value within all of the other aspects of your life. Less learned to love himself before Freddy ultimately loved him back.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of Arthur Less. As time goes on, and Arthur works to complete his journey, he learns more about himself and what love entails in different relationships. Early on in the novel, he recognizes that “once you’ve actually been in love, you can’t live with ‘will do’” (15). He feels that he must pursue a relationship which will culminate in marriage because that’s the only way he will be able to feel a connection, and a love, similar to the one he shared with Freddy. To him, this love is the only love. He views it as extremely black and white; a Yes or No. As the novel progresses, he finds out that Lewis and Clark are no longer together. He is more surprised at the fact that Lewis “still has Clark” in his life even if they are no longer together romantically (181). At this moment, Arthur Less experiences clear growth - no longer does he view love as a yes or no, but he begins to see it as a complex culmination of emotions. Arthur Less realizes that you do not have to be in love with someone to still have them be a significant portion of your life. His relationship with Robert mirrors the relationship between Lewis and Clark - although they are no longer together, they share a form of love between them.
ReplyDeleteThis perspective of Arthur Less is very enlightening, it's as if, even though he is a full grown adult man, he is still very much a child in a lot of ways. I also think that for some reason he does not think he is deserving of love, so he is also self sabotaging. This is solely a reflection on how he feels about himself. Moreover, while he did not think he was deserving of it, he still was not able to cope with the fact that the "love" he found in Freddy was going to be taken from him when he heard of his marriage. Therefore, by traveling and going on all of these trips he is able to come to terms with not being with Freddy and was able to also see that he is not to blame for all of the "faults" in his life. By coming to terms with this, he is able to be more sure of himself. I think that this is the reason Less is able to find love after the fact. He did not love himself, therefore could not fully give himself over to love someone else. Therefore, it provides a much deserved ending for less when Freddy finally reunites with him after he had gone through the experiences he did. He was finally ready to be the partner he needed to be for Freddy.
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