The Pool by William Somerset Maugham one of the greatest writers, author of Rain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/06/rain-by-william-somerset-maugham-i-have.html and other magnum opera - 10 out of 10

 

The Pool by William Somerset Maugham one of the greatest writers, author of Rain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/06/rain-by-william-somerset-maugham-i-have.html and other magnum opera

 

10 out of 10

 

Lawson and Ethel are arguably the main characters of this short story, unless we count The Pool, which gives the title to the narrative, and could possibly represent magic, the myths of The South Seas, the native mystery, the force of attraction that will drag the local woman away, and would bring about the tragedy

 

Speaking of which, let us put a spoiler alert here, so that we can proceed without qualms, that is you better stop here, but if you carry on, then details of the plot would probably (what am I saying, it is a sure thing) be revealed, and besides, I will ramble, move off tangents, just like in the recent debate between Biden and OJ

Orange Jesus lied, was as always contemptible, disgusting, vile, a monster, and yet, he won, because the good and old man lost his way, could not give a straight answer, went off subject, just what I am doing here…surely, that explains in part why I say Joe Biden is a million times better than the alternative, I identify with him

 

Lawson is a white man who is the manager of the Central Bank in Samoa, in the period when he is flourishing – incidentally, you find a formula for happiness in Flourish https://realini.blogspot.com/2013/11/flourish-by-martin-seligman-i-ii.html by Martin Seligman, co-founder of positive psychology

When he arrives at The Pool, he is enchanted, exhilarated by the sight of Ethel, a half caste that is so beautiful that the man falls in love at first sight – we have a book here, Adam and Eve by Liviu Rebreanu, that explains love at first sight as based on experience, we see hair, eyes, skin that we like and then, suddenly, a stranger has all of these together

 

Eventually, Lawson courts the girl, and speaks with her father, Brevald, who is a Norwegian that has settled in the Far East, and would agree with the union – we have a lot about caste, racism, the old customs that were so loathsome a century (and before that) ago, and are still in effect in parts of the world…

The natives looked in something like awe at the white people, ion the case of the main character, at least until ‘he becomes one of them’, by marrying Ethel, that was a steep decline in social order in the eyes of the Western men and women- we see that in other stories of Somerset Maugham, such as The Force of Circumstance

In this marvelous tale https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-force-of-circumstance-by-somerset.html we have a white woman, Doris, marrying Guy, who works as a representative of the British government in a remote post, in the Malay archipelago, and soon there is trouble with a local woman, who arrives on the scene

 

We gradually find that the native is within her rights – we will feel compassion for her, and she will seek justice in court, though not in places like Saudi Arabia – and she has (three I think it was) children with this white colonizer, who had abandoned them, because he could not marry a ‘lower caste’, he needed a white partner

Ironically, Doris appears to be racist as well, she could not stand the approach of her spouse, once she will have learned about the previous commitment, and in part it is jealousy and disgust for the man, but it also looks as if she feels superior, nevertheless, she first stays with Guy, but then she leaves him, and so he brings back the native and their children

 

Lawson does marry Ethel, and furthermore he appears to love her, but this is not the noble feeling that makes one ‘want to be a better man’ -this is considered the best declaration of love by Harvard Professor Tal Ben Shahar  https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/04/choose-life-you-want-by-tal-ben-shahar.html and it is remarkable

it is said by Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets – as for Lawson, his admiration, veneration is of the intoxicating kind, his affection does not make him do noble things -well, for some time, yes – and we have a descent into Hades, because the man is jealous, it is not entirely his fault, if I may say that…well, I do

 

if there were people, women in particular, reading all the way to these lines, they would protest that this man (men in general maybe) is awful, and it brings it all upon himself, and I would agree, but devil’s advocate, I would say that it is also incompatibility that does not rest on his shoulders alone, she has a share of the blame

that is if we appropriate guilt, responsibility, it could all be in the stars, ‘the ways of god are unknown’, after they marry, they move to Scotland, where it looks as if it will work, they will adapt and then it starts to deteriorate, the woman is not feeling well in that climate, The Pool makes it clear it is one of the three personages of importance

 

Ethel needs something like the pool back home, she is missing the bathing, the atmosphere, and the local doctor talks to Lawson, telling him he is worried about the cold water and what effect it will have on his spouse, eventually, she takes their son, and tells the servant that they will go to Edinburgh, and come late

When the husband waits for the late train and they do not arrive, he is worried, then he panics for he sees that she must be on the way to London, and then Samoa, after the first impulse ‘he will be better off without her, he travels to the South Seas, they live together, but then she wants to move in the house of her father, where there are too many people, all crowded together, Lawson starts drinking too much and enters in a potential terminal decline…

 

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.”