Gigolo and Gigolette by Somerset Maugham – author of The Verger https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-verger-by-somerset-maugham-another.html and other spectacular stories - 10 out of 10

 

Gigolo and Gigolette by Somerset Maugham – author of The Verger https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-verger-by-somerset-maugham-another.html and other spectacular stories

 

10 out of 10

 

Gigolo and Gigolette is another tale from Magister Ludi Somerset Maugham, one in which human tragedy is expected, might happen, but – spoiler alert – we will not know, for the dénouement is left for after the ending, maybe she will take the plunge and win, something else could happen, another solution to their problem could be found

 

Gigolette is Stella, and she has a daring, life threatening act, in which she jumps from a dizzying height into a small pool of water, which is set on fire, and the fact that she survives is a miracle Sandy Westcott is a personage that comes to the ‘show’ every night, because ‘he does not want to miss it, when she dies’ or maybe if she dies

Syd Cotman is Gigolo, the two are married, furthermore, they love each other, we even find that she loves her even more than when they first met, which seems somewhat paradoxical – not an oxymoron though – because he insists at one point that she continues with this unbelievable risky act, after she declares that it would be impossible

 

People come to see this stunning performance, and that brings revenue to the restaurant, which pays them and the owner would like to continue the arrangement, notwithstanding the fact that it looks sadistic, and the voyeurs who crowd the place expect something tragic to happen, while some doubt if it is genuine

There is a trick some say, it could not be done, so there is a scheme somewhere – incidentally, conspiracy theories are so popular these days – they must have been in the past, only now they spread like wild fire, with the help of the internet, and propaganda machines like the ones in Russia, and idiots like those in the cult of Orange Jesus aka Trump, fools who believe the elections have been stolen, and their guy is any good

 

Nay, they believe him to be the best, he keeps repeating that he is ‘a very stable genius…the best president ever, he has a big brain, and so on’ when in reality, he is lamentable, ludicrous, monstrous, sick, and we could go on https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/confidence-man-making-of-donald-trump.html

Mr. Penezzi and Countess Penezzi are present in the audience, and because they seem so colorful, passe, with clothes that belong to a different, past age, they get some attention – they talk to Stella, they came to see her jump in that terrifying event, and then the countess (if she can really claim the title) speaks of her past

 

She says she was ‘as famous as The Tower of London’ and had had her own fantastic performance, as ‘The Human Cannon Ball’ – the woman used to be thrown out of…well, a cannon, that was so famous for some time – nonetheless, the interlocutors have not heard of her and the once célèbre spectacle, which seems odd

However, the point is that though at the top of the game, with people crowding to see the ‘Human Cannon Ball’ but then, they get bored with it, there is The Hedonic Adaptation Effect – which is explained in the psychology classic Stumbling On Happiness https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/06/stumbling-on-happiness-by-david-gilbert.html

 

Harvard Professor Daniel gilbert is the author of that stunning book, which looks at happiness, as the title suggests, and the various myths people believe in – we say we would be happy, if only we would move to California, a Pacific or Caribbean Island, or this fellow becomes president, that team wins the title…

In fact, we adapt to all these scenarios, when they take place, just as we get used with negative aspects, unhappy events – this morning, a cat took away a chick from a magpie nest, maybe the same I had saved a few days back, I will get over this – expect for unemployment, loss of a dear one, loud noise https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-power-of-habit-by-charles-duhigg.html there is also The Power of Habit

 

Gigolo and Gigolette appears to be very relevant for the present – just like most, or all of Somerset Maugham’s magnum opera – because it is a meditation on celebrity, fame, we have so many Instagram, TikTok stars – even I tried to get that fame, because of the money that could be involved, but without any success

There is a link in the standard ending, a few lines below, to a video which shows how I sit on my head, in the lotus position, and I have invented, added to that abdomens, and I think this is unique – sure, ten thousand may be doing it right now, I just do not know – and deserving millions of views and thus a good deal of money

 

Nevertheless, there was no penny coming from that – I have not reached the status of the Human Cannon Ball, or Gigolette, but, as this fabulous, sad tale proves, one can do something outstanding, death defying, and yet, after some time, humans lose their interest, nobody knows about the ‘cannibal woman’

Gigolette makes that joke, but she is really terrified now, she cannot plunge for the second time this evening, as she is supposed to do, for the clients come and spend, eat, drink, but they want to see her near death really, only now she does not have the confidence, not anymore, and she tells her husband she has to stop, although she might change her mind, when thinking of the past, the dramatic alternatives (or lack thereof) they had been down this road, hungry and destitute, dancing for money, and then having nothing to live on

 

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.”