The Vulgar Eclectic

Vulgar: of the usual, typical, or ordinary kind
Eclectic: composed of elements drawn from various sources

definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster

recent blog posts

• The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy

  I finished reading The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy. This novel was first serialized in 1892 and published in book-form in 1987. Although it was his second to last novel written, it felt fresh and somewhat experimental to me as the reader and as if it had come from earlier in his literary career.

  The novel focuses on a character named Jocelyn Pierston and his evolving sentiments of love and attachment. The story passes through three large jumps in time in roughly twenty year increments. This feature of the narrative combined with the ways in which the object of Pierston’s love changes makes me think, as I am considering what to say about reading this book, about the theory of evolution and two common ways of speaking about how species may travel along an evolutionary path. 

  One avenue is the “leaps and bounds” mode of evolution, in which a species exists in a state of punctuated equilibrium, characterized by stretches of stable stasis which periodically undergo upheaval in response to specific environmental and biological scenarios. This framework of evolutionary theory can be contrasted with what is sometimes referred to as evolution by “dribs and drabs,” or change characterized by a slow and steady, incremental series of responses.

  As I think about Pierston’s life and the structure of the novel, I am reminded of the leaps and bounds conceptual framework of evolution. Pierston seems to move through life in periods of relative calm and stasis, only to be upended by the arrival of a new object of his attention and love. These relationships do not tend to evolve through the small, incremental attentions of daily life the way a long-term loving companionship may transform throughout one’s lifetime. Likewise, the narrative jumps along in two-decade leaps, reflecting this tendency in Pierston’s emotional life. Only near the end of the book does the reader see a changing emotional and relational landscape. It is this change that highlights the preceding 60 years of Pierston’s life and the ways in which he pursued love and human connection.

  The Well-Beloved, although set as so many of his stories in his fictionalized Wessex County, feels different than the other Wessex books I’ve read. I’m finding it difficult to put my finger on it…the writing style and the characterization felt perhaps lighter and stripped a little of some of the idiosyncratic convulsions of his early works. The perspective is slightly more withdrawn and less intensely focused on the interior world of the main character, making the book feel more like a parable.

  After looking into the chronology of his novels’ publications, I realized there are still several of his books I haven’t read and this was cause for happiness. I love reading his books, and The Well-Beloved was another example of this.

  ‘You cannot live your life and keep it, Jocelyn,’ he said. Time was against him and love, and time would probably win.

  

• Sometimes a man stands up during supper

  Sometimes a man stands up during supper
  and walks outdoors, and keeps on walking,
  because of a church that stands somewhere in the East.
  
  And his children say blessings on him as if he were dead.
  
  And another man, who remains inside his own house,
  dies there, inside the dishes and in the glasses,
  so that his children have to go far out into the world
  toward that same church, which he forgot.

  -Rainer Maria Rilke
  

  Translated by Robert Bly

• R.U.R. by Karel Čapek

  I just finished reading R.U.R., a three-act play written by Karel Čapek and published in 1920. Originally written in Czech, it was quickly translated into many languages. I read the translation done by Claudia Novack in 1989 and published by Penguin. The first English translation omitted significant lines from the play; as such, I recommend reading Novack’s unabridged translation or one of a few that have appeared since.

  I found this science fiction play moving and compelling as a piece of drama, with profound ideas and beautiful language. It is also very interesting as a foundational text in science fiction, one that has had a surprisingly substantial influence on the genre and culture in general. I hear echoes of it in everything from Philip K. Dick to The Terminator to current discussions around AI.

  I had long heard of the play but, for some reason, felt it would likely be unable to live up to its reputation and perhaps pale in comparison to other works of drama I’ve enjoyed. I was wrong, and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of reading R.U.R. It was refreshing, thought-provoking, evocative, and a perfect example of why I love reading plays.

  “A human being. That’s something that feels joy, plays the violin, wants to go for a walk, in general requires a lot of things that — that are, in effect, superfluous.”

  

• The pathos of the Hulk

  

• Ninja

  

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