Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum
Indeed, Greene does seem to have been the real protagonist. The dedication of the book is to "C", a married woman called Catherine (I forget her surname) with whom Greene had a long affair.
The book is also described as one of his Catholic novels. I understand he had converted to Catholicism when he married, but that he described himself as a Catholic agnostic because clearly he struggled with the teachings of the church.
I can't agree that the people are caricatures, which suggests they are simplified sketches. I think the characters are rounded and nuanced. They might not be likeable, but for me they are convincing as real people.
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Interesting
Bookpossum. The book certainly has unresolved issues with the the Catholic Church. “C” must have had mixed feelings about having the book dedicated to her. It was a very ambivalent portrayal of a paramour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
And speaking of caricatures, what about the second-
runner up, the literally two-faced "rationalist", Richard Smythe?
This felt to me like a very cheap shot at rationalism by Greene ... but then the minor miracle of Sarah healing Richard's second/ugly face (apparently removing rational thought forever) seemed like a pretty cheap shot at religion too.
The whole thing with the Smythes felt quite tacky. We knew it was going to turn out to be innocent (to the extent Sarah was not having yet another affair), but the interactions there don't paint Sarah in a very flattering light. I realise it was supposed to be yet another demonstration of her struggle to believe in God, but to invert that such that Richard is converted by his "love" of Sarah seems to suggest things about gardens and apples and women being temptresses - in this case the temptation goes the other way, but only because Sarah is dead, seemingly in the service of God. It's a messy mass of mixed messages. (Say that five times quickly.  ) |
Gmw I thought there was a messy mix of roles too. We did know from the beginning that Smythe protested too much and would flip. Maurice starts as a moaning, suffering Job in the first half, and becomes Jonas fleeing God, the Hound of Heaven, in the last section. Sarah begins as temptress Eve for Maurice; evolves into Mary Magdalene for the Priest, and finishes as a miracle performing saint. Creepy Mr. Parkis seemed a bit like a Hydra - Maurice just couldn’t get rid of him.
There didn’t seem to be a coherent picture or message in the book. At the risk of over analyzing things, Greene seemed to be grasping rather wildly at archetypes to try and sort out his own religious beliefs. He says at the beginning of the book that the story has no beginning or end. And by the way Maurice behaved at the end, it seemed that Greene wasn’t any closer to a personal resolution by the time he finished writing the book. It makes me a bit curious about his other Catholic novels, and wonder if he ever found a comfortable landing zone.