Discussion Summaries 2024
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf
Most of us were unfamiliar with Gotthelf's writings, which are both classics and school reading in Swiss literature. In this novella, a masterfully told horror story, the author combines a framing story (the baptism) with myths from the past (the black spider as punishment for a pact with the devil). There were contrasting opinions about the characters among us: Was Christine a courageous woman who acted pragmatically in contrast to the cowardly men or was she an unethical heroine? By whom was the punishment (the plague, i.e. the Black Spider) inflicted on the people: was it sent by God or by the devil? Throughout the story, Gotthelf's moral view becomes clear. The tale serves as a reminder to respect God: he who is pious will conquer evil.
The customs, beliefs and superstitions of the people, which Gotthelf describes in great color and detail, were noted with interest. It was remarkable that the two women responsible for the emergence and ravages of the spider are both foreigners, who did not come from the local farming community.
Some of the group read the book in the original language to better understand the peculiarities of the story and the character of the peasant way of life. Indeed, some details typical of this culture are lost in the modern translation. UA
Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
We all liked this story. In part, the description of the working environment and the main characters is seen as humorous, although Bartleby's lonely end is sad. Bartleby's behavior itself was incomprehensible in some way. Where did the sudden refusal to work come from after he had initially worked dutifully? Was it to do with the fact that he had previously worked in a dead letters bureau? We were able to sympathize with Bartleby's employer's behavior, which alternated from annoyance to pity and ended in helplessness: How are you supposed to help someone who doesn't want to be helped? In any case, we will always remember Bartleby's sentence "I would prefer not to": passive resistance directed against the futility of work. UA
Wednesday, February 14, 2024: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Considered one of the great American novels, Wharton writes about the New York high society of her youth in America’s gilded age, the late 19th century. The hypocrisy, cynicism and snobbery of the epoch makes the title ironic. It may also refer to the way young girls were deliberately kept from knowledge of anything that would make them independent or dynamic, so it is also a term for ignorance. But there is a slightly nostalgic element to it, a lament for this lost America of her youth.
Did Newland Archer have free choice or was he a puppet whose actions are forced upon him by others of his “tribe”? This led one participant to interject into the discussion the modernist idea of the autonomy of the individual according to the philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas. Archer’s children display this more modern way of thinking.
The reader might pity Archer for being forced to give up Countess Olenska and settle for a comparatively dull but respectable life with May and his children. But might not this be the morally decent path in the end?
So, this is a novel of manners which, even though winning the Pulitzer Prize, was rather trivialized at the time of its publication in 1920, the author being a woman. But its brilliance in depicting a lost way of life in dazzling prose has long been recognised and appreciated. As did our group. MH
Wednesday, January 11, 2024: The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
De Botton is an author and public speaker. His studies in philosophy have influenced his non-fiction books, which feature a deeper inquiry into lived experience, such as religion, love, work, therapy, art, architecture. De Botton lives in London and is one of the founders of the worldwide School of Life, which offers an emotional education to give people a sense of direction and wisdom for their lives with the help of culture.
The Art of Travel isn’t a travel guide on where to travel or what to do when you get there. Instead, the book explores why we choose to travel in the first place. The Art of Travel is presented in five parts – Departure, Motives, Landscape, Art, Return – with two chapters in each of the first four parts. In addition to his own observations, de Botton references specific places and writers, explorers or artists as “guides” to these places. For example, in the chapter On Possessing Beauty, de Botton writes about John Ruskin’s program to teach people to draw – not to become artists, rather so that people would take a closer look, to experience the world around them more deeply. Multiple photographs of the places and relevant art add to the charm of the structure of the book.
Overall, the Book Group enjoyed the book and its tone, especially the author’s succinct and often humorous observations from his own travels. The book confirmed for many of us that the simplest excursions can turn into a life enhancing adventure, especially when we are encouraged to explore and look closer into the details of what we see. Though we agreed that the book was well written and interesting, it could feel a bit elitist in that the negative aspects of mass tourism weren’t covered.
One member could not get into the book after reading the first page. In order to join the discussion, she watched (and enjoyed) the YouTube video (Alain de Botton: The Art of Travel 26 Feb 2014) before our meeting. She found that the ideas in the 49-minute video matched her experiences with travel.
Most of us would recommend The Art of Travel to others; some would recommend it only to select people because it may not appeal to a wider travel audience. KS