Classics | Book Chatter

It’s Friday and the end of Week 3! Of Human Bondage has surprised me in many ways.

By now, you should have read the following but many of you have expressed some challenges in keeping up with the reading. No worries! I set a schedule because some readers like that, but you read what you can and I won’t spoil the story for you.

This week we are discussing this section:

Chapters XL-LI / 40-51 (82 pp.)
Chapters LII-LIII / 52-53 (13 pp.)
Chapters LIV-LV / 54-55 (12 pp.)
Chapters LVI-LXII / 56-62 (38 pp.)
Chapters LXIII-LXVIII / 63-68 (29 pp.)
Discuss/Read the above by 10/18 (174 pages total)

Click here for the full schedule.

Week 3 – Where Do I Start?

I won’t provide a complete re-cap because it would give some things away but goodness!! So much has happened.

Philip heads to Paris. Aunt Louisa is rather stricken by his departure but Philip hardly bats an eye. The way he handles the goodbye seems especially cruel and harsh.

While in Paris, Philip meets all sorts of characters:

Mrs. Otter

Clutton

Fanny Price – what a piece of work she is

Cronshaw – fave quote “Sobriety disturbs conversation.”

Lawson

Miss Chalice – a slutty art model who gets around

Dunsford

Mildred – now this one really IS a piece of work

Miss Nesbit

Griffiths – a good chap

Philip’s family suffers a terrible loss but his reaction to it is mild, because he is utterly distracted by the truth. He is a mediocre artist at best and will never be more. His two years in Paris was a total waste. Surprised?

Much time is spent with Mildred. An interesting creature characterized by the green pallor of her skin. Philip is quite taken with her but although she at times shows interest, she cares for him not and makes that pretty clear. But Philip seems to have his head in the clouds. His infatuation with her takes up much of his life. It’s pitiful.

Enter Miss Nesbit. Is she the beacon of hope he needs to find his way? What about Griffiths?

Things to ponder:

Why does Philip subject himself with masochistic obstinacy to Mildred’s cruelty?

Cronshaw implies that pleasure is the only motive for human action. Would you say that Philip follows this rule for his own life?

Philip has tried many vocations and headed down several career paths, what do you think he is searching for? Even with his relationships, what is he looking for that he has not found?

What do you personally think of Philip?

Mildred is just dreadful. Why is Philip obsessed with her? Possibly because she is something that he can never have and because of his low self esteem sets himself up for punishment each and every time. Is he that lonely? Probably.

Cronshaw and his belief that pleasure is the only motive for human action is not far off the path for many, but I don’t feel it applies to Philip at all. He sets out to find peace and happiness but he is also motivated by horrible behavior and impossible relationships. He appears to be drawn to them. Perhaps knowing that they have no permanence.

With this week’s reading, I am having a hard time understanding what Philip wants in life. He is so, so lonely and desperate for interaction that he’s willing to endure horrible treatment to get it. He wants what other, better dressed, smarter boys have but at the first inkling of getting it, he quickly puts himself in reverse and backs away. I still think that the right girl could do him a world of good. But who?

Philip can be a little $hit. Honestly. He frustrates me. On one hand he is charming and delightfully awkward and likable but he gives up way too easily and talks himself out of things. BUT, big but, I am still rooting for him. I want him to find happiness and I really hope he does as we head toward the end of the book. His views on the importance of reading put me on his team.

Interesting note:

A movie was made in 1934 and Bette Davis played Mildred. Oh boy!

Mildred from Of Human Bondage

Your turn! What do you think?

Beware of Pity
By Stefan Zweig
Actuel, 9781922491169, October 2020, 340pp.

The Short of It:

A strange, interesting read.

The Rest of It:

In 1913, Hofmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed at the edge of the empire, is invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner, a world away from the dreary routine of the barracks. The surroundings are glamorous, wine flows freely, and the exhilarated young Hofmiller asks his host’s lovely daughter for a dance, only to discover that sickness has left her painfully crippled. It is a minor blunder that will destroy his life, as pity and guilt gradually implicate him in a well-meaning but tragically wrongheaded plot to restore the unhappy invalid to health.

This delicate blunder completely ruins Hofmiller. His innocent invitation to dance is repeated in his head over and over again. He sees the stricken look of the girl as she reveals the current state of her legs. After such a faux pas, and his desire to be included in the lives these people lead, he finds himself trying to please Edith any way he can, until he realizes that her only reason for living, is the love she has for him. There is no reciprocation in this regard.

My club chose this book for this month’s meeting and it is indeed very interesting and I feel that there will be plenty to discuss. It reads like a high brow soap opera and I don’t mean that in a negative way. It’s very episodic and dramatic and Edith is quite the femme fatale. as well as Daddy’s “little” girl. She is a young woman who is not used to being told “No”. What she wants, she usually gets so the push/pull of Hofmiller’s relationship with her is one that completely absorbs his every thought.

How can Hofmiller remain in good standing with Edith’s father, and the good Dr. Condor when he cares not one iota for the girl? Why does he even feel it necessary?

Pity. It’s all about pity. The title of the book makes it very clear. Pity can cause you to do all sorts of foolish things. It affects the way you make decisions but others use it to manipulate those around them. Manipulation, guilt, pity, grief. All topics for discussion. Edith is a frustrating character, but in her defense, she is promised over and over again that the next treatment will do the trick. She hangs onto hope because those around her continue to stoke the fire.

I found this book to be rather entertaining, if not a tad exhausting. Much of it was very fast paced. Hofmiller running here, and there and then back again. His interactions with other soldiers, providing a much needed break. All of it interspersed with parties and gatherings and dinners.

I enjoyed the writing very much. We get to know each character’s intentions quite well. I will say also that one part of the story took me by surprise and it changed my outlook on many things. Lots of food for thought.

Source: Borrowed
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