The Treasure by Somerset Maugham – one of my favorite writers, author of Human Bondage https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/06/of-human-bondage-by-somerset-maugham.html and other magnum opera - 10 out of 10

 

The Treasure by Somerset Maugham – one of my favorite writers, author of Human Bondage https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/06/of-human-bondage-by-somerset-maugham.html and other magnum opera

 

10 out of 10

 

‘Richard Harenger was a happy man’ – this is the introduction to this short story, in which we get the recipe for happiness, as proposed by Seneca https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/06/despre-viata-fericita-aka-on-happy-life.html and other Stoics, and tested by Maugham, since ‘wish for what you already have’  appears to be the winning formula

 

‘The golden mean which the ancients proposed is out of fashion’ – this is what we get in the second phrase, and it might well be true for the period of the narrative, and indeed, for the age of the author, but although excess is common, what Aristotle said is paramount https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/aristotle-in-ninety-minutes-by-paul.html

If you ask me, his analysis (Aristotle’s) is spot on, for ‘virtue is in the middle’, and moderation is crucial, the one who speeds on a bike with two hundred miles per hour, on ice, is not brave, just as the one who stays indoors, to avoid any nuisance is not reasonable, bravery is given by the Golden Mean, and virtues come as a package

 

Furthermore ‘the happy man is a virtuous man, you need to be prudent, wise and so on, and then you could not but be felicitous’ – Richard Harenger needs a new parlor maid – we may see here that he is a man of privilege, but at that time, only the destitute did not have a servant – and this will be The Treasure, maybe

One more thing about his merriment – and a spoiler alert here – the character did not envy others, and ‘Happiness Activity No 3: Avoid Over thinking and Social Comparison- using strategies such as distraction to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself with others’ is one quintessential rule

 

It is listed in the classic The How of Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-how-of-happiness-by-sonja.html by Sonja Lyubomirsky, and the subject of a wonderful quote from Mencken “A wealthy man is one who earns $100 a year more than his wife's sister's husband” because we do look at what the other has

One recent discovery made me feel wonderful, and had to do with the fact that ‘we are separated from others as much by the number of books read, as we are by wealth, status’, an that comes from According to Mark https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/02/according-to-mark-by-penelope-lively.html by Penelope Lively

Richard Harenger was well read, tall, interesting, he needs a new servant, but the ones he has recommended are not suitable, for he is demanding, wants quite a few skills, and eventually, the cook has some suggestion, and that is wonderful, because a servant would not vouch for somebody who would be a nuisance

 

just like in my case, the protagonist drifts away from his spouse, but they do not divorce, in his case, it would not be well seen in his position – there were different standards at the time – while in my situation, it is mainly because there is this house, which if cut in two would just send us down the ladder, and then there are the boys, Balzac and Puccini…

they are two macaws, and they need more care than five years old boys, I guess…Richard Harenger offers good wages, liberties, vacations, but in exchange he wants ironing, presence of spirit, a proper age, not too old, or young, and with patience, he reaches the woman recommended by the cook, and she is special, and…handsome

 

with time, she comes to know everything about the master, what he needs to wear, the tie, shirt, time of meeting, he does not need to consult a book for that, even in situations where she had done wrong, apparently, like when he finds the dust off his books, which he dislikes and tells her, well, he is still wrong and she is right

because she returned everything in the proper place, and that was the objection, he did not want the books removed and cleaned, because he wanted them where he knew he could find them, and all other servants would just mix them, when taken out, but she did not, she was so famous, that all the friends envied Harenger

 

indeed, she was offered more, to change jobs, but she would not abandon her master, she knew his guests, and had some preferences and Offred a special wine, when those were present, making the host remark ‘Pritchett has a thing for you’…people predicted she would leave soon, because she is so good looking…

indeed, this could be the reason for a split, because one day, he invites her out, to see a movie with him, and then they go for a dance, and on the way back, she is not using the other entrance, but the elevator with the master, and that leads to an intimacy that we are to believe is sexual in nature, at least that is what I think

 

remember, there was a spoiler alert included, a long time ago, and chances are there is nobody here to resent the inclusion of what happens at the end of what is anyway a very short story, only 32 minutes long, in audiobook format, but the main character is very worried and ‘unhappy’ after the night with his maid…

he is sure she has to go, and she must know it, because he would not tolerate the expected change, have her sleep late, not do her duties – or anyway, be sloppy about it, because they are so ‘close now’ – and he fears what will happen this morning after’

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

 

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

 

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”