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Jest in Literature - Where devils fear to tread ! Part 2
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Gunjan Saraf
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Oct 09, 2002 08:14 PDT
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JEST in LITERATURE
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7th October 2002 # 025
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IN THIS DIGEST :
A quick word
~ Gunjan
Where devils fear to tread ! (Part 2)
~ The Doc
Poetry Corner
~ The Doc
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---------------------------------------------------------
====> A quick word
This week's issue starts where The Doc left off with
Jurgen in Issue 24. If you're a new subscriber and
would like to have a quick look at issue #24 surf over
www.topica.com/lists/lit/read and check out the issue
which has a similar name to this one. (You may want
to wander around some of the other old issues too,
and to the best of my knowledge you can do that,
so far, without paying $ 3.99 a minute. ;-)
~ Gunjan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
====> Where devils fear to tread ! (Part 2)
Hello again. We continue a foray into the topsy-turvy world of
Jurgen, which contains an explanation of heaven and hell that is
quite as acceptable as any I've happened upon. In fact, it makes
more sense than most I've heard. In Jurgen's version (written
by James Branch Cabell), God is named Koshchei. I have not
yet determined why, but hope to soon, or would be grateful
if one of you readers would enlighten me.
In Chapter XXXV, Jurgen happens upon Satan himself, so we
can presume that the explanation of the reason for Hell's creation
is from an authoritative source. Old Grandfather Satan explains
it this way:
Then Satan, sitting erect and bleak in his tall marble chair,
explained how he, and all the domain and all the infernal
hierarchies he ruled, had been created extempore by Koshchei,
to humour the pride of Jurgen's forefathers. "For they were
exceedingly proud of their sins. And Koshchei happened to
notice Earth once upon a time, with your forefathers walking
about it exultant in the enormity of their sins and in the terrible
punishments they expected in requital. Now Koshchei will do
almost anything to humour pride, because to be proud is one
of the two things that are impossible to Koshchei. So he was
pleased, oh, very much pleased: and after he had had his laugh
out, he created Hell extempore, and made it just such a place as
your forefathers imagined it ought to be, in order to humour the
pride of your forefathers."
Jurgen understands how this came to be, and he sympathizes with
Satan for the terrible strain he is under to provide unique
punishments for newcomers, but he wants to get out of Hell now,
and find his lost wife. He feels he must probably forgo any further
of the delights of Hell and travel to Heaven instead.
He finds his father, and as proudful and unlikeable a figure, you're
not likely to meet often in literature. But, Satan has told Jurgen
that the only way out of Hell is for his father to imagine it, so
Jurgen has to trick his father into doing just that. The twists of
logic that he uses, and the way he prays on his father's vanity
are delightful, and he ends by not only getting imagined out of
Hell, but he is accompanied by a most comely traveling
companion to boot.
His escort lives, we are told, near a cleft, and the meaning of that
word, cleft, is battered and beaten thoroughly by our hero before
he is finished with her guidance.
Jurgen dreads Heaven because it is, he imagines, a place where
believers stand around all day and sing praises to God. Boring.
He prefers Hell with its honesty of labor and sexual delights, but
he is on a quest, and a quest must be finished.
Before leaving Hell, however, it is fruitful to remember that Satan
was cast out by God as a punishment. Many religions seem to
paint Satan as a character who delights in winning souls from
God, but Jurgen's perspective is much different. Satan is being
damned forever, so his damnation cannot cause him too much
glee. In fact, Satan, and all his devils, are in constant torment as
a result of man's pride, and their punishment is as enduring, and
much less enjoyable, than the sinners they punish.
A similar twist is put on vampirism when Jurgen meets a lovely
lady who turns out to be one:
I am spending my vacation peacefully in Hell, with none of my
ordinary annoyances to bother me."
"And what, madame, can they be?"
"Why, you must understand that it is little rest a vampire gets on
earth, with so many fine young fellows like yourself going about
everywhere eager to be destroyed."
Jurgen finally makes it to heaven, and there he finds himself
speaking to God and asking the whereabouts of his wife. God
cannot believe that Jurgen would actually want the woman back,
so disruptive has she been to the tranquility of Heaven. In fact,
he shows Jurgen three of heaven's finest women, and allows
that he can take his pick rather than return to his wife.
Jurgen considers the offer, then responds:
"...but you forget you are displaying them to a man of
forty-and-something."
"And does that make so great a difference?"
"Oh, a sad difference, Prince! For as a man gets on in life he
changes in many ways. He handles sword and lance less
creditably, and does not carry as heavy a staff as he once
flourished. He takes less interest in conversation, and his flow
of humour diminishes. He is not the tireless mathematician that he
was, if only because his faith in his personal endowments slackens.
He recognises his limitations, and in consequence the
unimportance of his opinions, and indeed he recognises the
probable unimportance of all fleshly matters. So he relinquishes
trying to figure out things, and sceptres and candles appear
to him about equivalent; and he is inclined to give up
philosophical experiments, and to let things pass unplumbed.
Oh, yes, it makes a difference." And Jurgen sighed. " And yet,
for all that, it is a relief, sir, in a way."
And thus do the ravishes of time show themselves on our hero.
His wife appears, and God releases her from the spell that has
kept her quiet for the sake of heaven's peace. She immediately
remonstrates God and banishes him from her presence. He
seems relieved to go, and she turns her wrath on Jurgen who
cannot get a word in edge-ways. She precedes him back to
their earthly home, talking the entire distance.
The following article appeared in The Times newspaper
in 1921:
THE younger generation of American writers has offended the
older arbiters of literary standards in that country, not only
by taking seriously things that the latter have condemned, but
still more by treating lightly subjects that to them have been
sacred, or at, least taboo. Retribution has been sure, if not
always swift ; the most sensational recent effort of the New York
Society for the Suppression of Vice was the suppression last
year of Mr. James Branch Cabell's medieval romance "Jurgen,"
then in its third edition, in which the author had committed the
heinous crime of treating sex as a joke and chronicling the
adventures and gallantries of his quite non-moral hero. The
sale of the book is now a legal offence in America, pending
the remote decision of the Courts on whether the book is
" obscene " --it took three years for Mademoiselle de Maupin
to pass through the Courts; all the publisher's stock was
attached by the society, but second-hand copies, clandestinely
sold, are said to have fetched high sums; the author has received
an extensive advertisement, which, however, he presumably
does not appreciate.
The book contains a clear enunciation of Mr. Cabell's
philosophy - the desire of his heroes, both medieval and
contemporary, for the dreams of their youth, the vanity of
desires achieved, and the folly of man's conceit
...an ape reft of his tail, and grown rusty at climbing, who yet
feels himself to be a symbol and the frail representative of
Omnipotence in a place that is not home.
But one feels that the old Puritan order in America must be
suffering more from the delightful and beautifully written works of
Mr. Cabell than from almost any other of the writers who have
dared to enter the lists against its traditions."
And thus ends a very rough attempt to summarize some of the
workings of Jurgen. This is the month of Banned Books, and it
seems only fitting to give tribute to one novel that has been banned
repeatedly for its humorous look at sex and religion and so many
things that are held sacred enough to force those who would do
such things to attempt to prevent us, the readers, from being
sullied.
In this most serious of times, we cannot forget that what seems
so serious may not be so to everyone, and what once seemed so
grand may be only a pimple on the sow's ass of time.
So much of our history and literature is written in the blood of
those who were sacrificed to the idea of what is right, it seems
only fitting to make sure that things are not right solely as a result
of might.
Comments or Questions :
mailto:li-@workinghumor.com?Subject=FeartoTread
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
===> Poetry Corner
Your POETRY
The following is a selection of poetry inspired by the word
"Indifference." The word inspired each poet in a different
fashion as you can see:
In der front
In der back
Who cares a damn
as long as it's in -
It's affront, it's in der back
I'm outta here - gonna go for a whack!!! :)))
~ Lanis
(Living proof that people in Zimbabwe have a great sense
of humor.)
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Dear Mr. President:
Of the last 200 letters I have sent you on my 'no war' stance,
you've answered none, and, I surmise you've given them not
a backward glance.
I feel so disenfranchised, sir, as
you petal-pick daisies:
This one's yes and this one's no,
and this goes in the pile of 'crazies.
Remember, though you took my vote and ran,
Could be It was my vote made you win ...'
(It was rather close you know; and
was a Florida fluke that you got in...)
So as a sign could you just wink
when next you're at the speakers' stand
So I will know my concerns have
reached the powerfullest person in the land.
PS If you would listen, too,
that would be a special plus
but I don't really think after you got our vote,
that you take note of the rest of us.
~ Lane
(Indifference as an understatement voicing a
political protest of fact. To clarify the line
about Florida, that is where Lane resides.)
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Oh, to be indifferent -- the
Ultimate Queen of "I don't care."
It would be the end of my craziness.
I could make any decision without a
Hint of hesitation.
"Whatever" would be my moniker.
I wouldn't have to worry about
What ifs? They'd be dismissed as
Totally irrelevant.
What peace of mind I would have.
Knowing with assurance that
"It" doesn't really matter, one way or another.
Wait, is this really possible?
Does someone teach a "how to" class?
Quick, where do I sign up?
~ Darling 2002
(Sign ups for a class with Jurgen are being
taken by Gunjan. Ah, who cares?)
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Spare me your stories eloquent,
About how this place is heaven sent,
Whether you plead or yell,
I won't stay in Bates Motel -
Gotta find me an inndifferent!
~ Gunjan 2002
(All those issues of Jest for Pun come in
handy at a time like this.)
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I'm looking for metaphors and similes. Along with the poetry.
I'm going to assume that a number of you have had occasion to
startle yourself at some point or other by creating a comparison
that caused you to react with pride, laughter, or some emotion
by coming out with a zinger.
While teaching, I've had a few come across my desk, and I've
happened across a few on the Internet. A couple of them were
worth remembering, like:
"He was as tall as a six-foot three-inch pine tree."
Or,
"He skimmed across the surface of the water
just like a bowling ball wouldn't."
If you've come across any memorable metaphors, or have
dazzled yourself with any of your own, send them to me. I'd like
to feature some of the better ones.
I'm thinking along these lines because one of my classes is going
to start creating settings tomorrow which means I get to
struggle with them to develop metaphors and similes that create
tone. Some of them really fight the process. I usually give, as
homework, an assignment where they have to describe the front
of their own house using metaphors and similes which use our five
senses of touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell.
I get some interesting ones when I force them to describe the
taste of their front door. Usually some wise guy comes up with
it tasting like chicken, but others are a bit more creative. Think
about your own home, and try to involve a reader in your mind
by describing the scene with sensuous comparisons. It's sort of
fun once you get started. Hey! What does your porch smell like,
anyway?
Metaphors and similes not only create tone, but they allow a
reader to understand some description better by relating it to
something he may have common knowledge of, or something
he may have experienced before. The ability to paint that mental
picture with words is what separates the writers from the also-rans.
If you have any desire to write, and if I could be so bold as to
suggest, I would say that developing a skill in describing by
comparing might be the most important thing you could do. It's
really no different than seeing a face in the clouds. You know,
"Hey, that looks like Kobe!" See, your first simile.
Simile and Metaphor Submissions
mailto:li-@workinghumor.com?Subject=SimMetTree
Sorry about that subject line.... I just couldn't resist,
you can send asymmetrical submissions too, using the
same link. ;-)
~ Gunjan
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==========**********O**********==========
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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'Jest in Literature' please forward this entire message to them.
Better still invite them to subscribe. Thank You!
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JD Lentz
Gunjan
gun-@workinghumor.com
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