Brain Pain discussion

This discussion covers Part III, Chapter 5 & 6 “Aux Clients”


Part III, Chapter 5

Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
- II Kings 4:26


The distinguished novelist waits patiently for revelation, but the tall woman disturbs his reverie. Stephen admonishes Ludy, “we all studied . . . with Titian”. The ugly Americans break bread with the brothers. Stephen bids farewell to Ludy on a hillside while a bird tries to deliver the message.



Part III, Chapter 6 (Aux Clients)

Aux Clients
Reconnus Malades
L’ARGENT
ne sera pas
Remboursé

[To Clients
Recognized as sick
MONEY
will not be
Repaid]

- Notices posted in brothels, Rue de l’Aqueduct, Oran


Stanley meets Mrs. Deigh in Rome and she introduces him around town. In a Roman café, Stanley runs into the village people again, but Esme slips away.

Loose ends in Paris…

In the Church of Fenestrula, Stanley’s Requiem brings down the house.

What did you all think of these two final chapters? Did the "tying up loose ends in Paris" part seem necessary? rushed? tacked on?

I liked that Stanley, the one essentially "original" artist, was given the last scene to close out the book.

"brings down the house"-LOL

Is Stanley the "stand-in" (sorry) for Gaddis? Not Wyatt? Or are they different aspects of him? The pure, dedicated, authentic artist and the despairing/angry/self-pitying one.

Ellie wrote: ""brings down the house"-LOL

Is Stanley the "stand-in" (sorry) for Gaddis? Not Wyatt? Or are they different aspects of him? The pure, dedicated, authentic artist and the despairing/angry/self-pityi..."

In Gaddis' Paris Review interview, he said the different characters like Otto, Esme, Stanley, and Max, were intended to represent different facets of the artistic personality of Wyatt, and artists in general. To my eyes, Stanley was maybe the only artist trying to create original, or at least his own art. Everyone else is a counterfeiter, although Esme is an original too, I suppose.

Gaddis has MUCH to say about artists and writers - most of it fairly insightful, but a bit bitter. On this first read, I didn't take any notes other than the weekly summaries, but the next time through, I'm going to capture a few quotable quotes...

It's interesting to think of Esme as an aspect of Wyatt or "the artist." Is she the feminine self? The mentally ill, self-destructive self? And is the feminine in some way allied with that unstable self (although there are certainly unstable male figures in the book.