"It is that our lives are half comedy and half tragedy... Arthur, I changed my mind. You have the luck of a comedian." (225 - 226) Why does the story of Arthur must be a comedy as Carlos Pelu said above? The author Andrew Sean Greer has mentioned in one of the interviews about the book that, the book Less was started as a sad story, like many other gay stories, like the sad story that Arthur Less wrote himself in his first novel Kalipso. Greer eventually change it into a comedy. However, the core of comedy is always a tragedy, so does the core of Less.
Less is a sad character. He is surrounded by a lot of insecurities. He is worried about losing love, gaining weight, aging, being spoony, etc. His worries never end, yet they are not understood nor appreciated by those around him. His life is a miniature of the character in his latest book that got rejected by his publisher, the book about "a middle-aged gay man walking around San Francisco. And... his sorrows" (170). All he got in response was: "It is a little hard to feel sorry for a guy like that... Even gay" (170). His lover Freddy did not understand how deeply Less loved and needed him that he even chose to marry another man. Less is a highly sensitive individual, he is reluctant to reveal or even face his true thoughts, that in some degree, made him so deep in his mid-life crisis.
Less is also always innocent, that is what makes his actions comical. I would not like to use the word childish or mature because both of them have a degree of social construction. Being childish is associated with irrational decisions and being mature is associated with doing things perfectly. If described this way, Less is indeed very childish and nowhere near maturity. When he failed to get a tax refund at Paris airport, he kept telling himself that it's not about the money but the principle, but in the end, he admitted that it was because of the money. It was definitely not only because of the money, but this contrast he made on himself is very comical. However, there is nothing wrong with being innocent. He understands the rules of life, he is not willing to settle for those rules, for the gay cannon of literature rewards, for giving up love and happiness, for accepting loss and death. His innocence is one of the most valuable characteristics in him, is what attracts everyone to love him. Why do people ever want to be a pond of dead water? Be lively, be colorful, my friend.
It is incredibly interesting to ask the question of why it is critical for the novel Less to be a comedy. I think you make several key connections that tie in to why the novel is written in the fashion of a comedy, as well as a tragedy. The expressions of sadness from Arthur Less display much of the comedy throughout the story in an ironic manner. Oftentimes, Arthur will make a joke after something unfortunate happens, offering a light-hearted mood and also an ironic tone for the bulk of the book. I like the evidence you provide to prove your point in the cruciality of the book possessing comedic tones and moods, but perhaps finding an example that best explains why the book needs to be comedic. Providing examples of how the topic of homosexuality is easy to discuss in comedic ways in this book would strengthen your argument, albeit your argument is valid already.
ReplyDeleteYou discuss the insecurities as a reason the book needs comedic relief, which I definitely agree with. Arthur uses comedy to ironically comment on his circumstances. Without the use of comedy, the book becomes overwhelmingly sad.
I think you bring up some interesting points about Less' maturity, which I don't hesitate to use despite its social connotations. Less is very much childish in his refusal to accept the reality of life's rule, in his stubbornness and denial. He goes so far out of his way to avoid confronting an ex-lover—literally leaving the country to do so (Greer 18) — and I struggle to identify this behavior as anything other than childish. Less is a man who never learned to deal with unpleasant situations with any amount of grace or couth. But I think there's a very strong difference between childishness and innocence, though, and I do agree that his innocence is what endears people to him. Less expresses himself to others in a very pure way, as we see in his encounters described on pages 113-114. It is not childish of him to be soft or loving, and I’m honestly not sure I’d consider those things to be innocent either. Despite his pessimisms about love after many trials and tribulations, I think Less is, more than anything, a hopeless romantic. Despite all of the heartbreak, including Freddy (Greer 15), he hasn’t quite had that romanticism knocked out of him. And, of course, people love him for his ability to love.
ReplyDeleteI think asking a question about the genre of the entire book itself is interesting and pretty important to our understanding of the key themes of the novel. Why does this book have to be a comedy? Why didn't Greer just leave it as a more tragic tale of a man consumed by insecurity? The beginning premise of the novel is absurd in its own right and just as easily could have remained a sad reflection of an aging man watching the love of his life get married. Less boxes himself in without provocation early into the novel simply to avoid the most minor ridicule from his rival: "Yet Less could not simply decline the invitation. To sit at home [...] the thought was unbearable; he could, under no circumstances decline. Tricky, tricky, this life" (Greer 17). This is... ridiculous, obviously, that he could not simply decline and accept that sometimes life hurts a little bit and people will laugh when you take a tumble. His choice to travel around the world simply to have an excuse to leave the country while the wedding is happening is so ridiculous that you can't help but laugh. And that's life, isn't it? Sometimes it sucks and you fall. You can either choose to curl in on yourself and writhe in pain or you can choose to laugh and pull yourself back up, muddy and all. Greer decided that both Arthur and the reader needed to be reminded that you have to be able to laugh once in a while at your own misfortune. Because, ultimately, that's life.
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