Hi Lithien and everybody,
I'm relatively new to the listserv and this is my first posting, so be
kind!
> >Donald H. Crawford said:
> >
> > ... The Romantic/Classic dichotomy (in ZMM) seemed
> >a stretch to me, although I was fascinated by the motorcycle travelogue
> >and the identity crisis of Phaedrus. I was bothered by what I perceived
> >as low quality responses by Phaedrus to his son and his traveling
> >partners.
>
>Lithien responded:
>
> yes, don, i felt the same way about his seeming inability to interact
> intimately with his son. however, i thought the son was also suffering from
> manic-depression and saw it as a two way street. ...
--------------
My impression is that the narrator in most of ZMM was not Phaedrus, but
the persona Phaedrus (unconsciously) constructed to get out of the
asylum. The persona is of a nice guy, very even keeled and placid--and
static. He says he has not had an original thought in years; the
thoughts he expresses are all from Phaedrus. The price of maintaining
this persona is that the narrator has to condemn and deny the dynamic
part of himself--Phaedrus. Phaedrus is extreme--very talented and
driven intellectually, but not at all gifted or motivated emotionally or
socially.
Of course the narrator was not able to interact intimately with his
son--he is alienated from himself and so cannot be intimate with anyone
else. He did not want to become Phaedrus again--it was too dangerous.
Also, Chris was pressing the issue. He sensed that his father was not
himself and he wanted his real father back. At one point in ZMM Chris
shouts at his father that he talks and talks, but he doesn't DO anything
anymore. It was less threatening for the narrator to think that his son
was mentally ill than that the problem was within himself. At the end
of ZMM the narrator finally accepts Phaedrus as a part of himself and so
is able to accept his son.
I think the pre-asylum Phaedrus was trying to live purely by Dynamic
Quality, without conventions, pre-conceptions, authority, etc. But
Static Quality in the form of his wife and medical profession brought
him back down to earth with a crash. Being an extremist, Phaedrus then
'decided' to live a persona entirely within the dictates of Static
Quality. That didn't work either, because the dynamic aspect of
Phaedrus would not be denied.
In Lila Phaedrus is himself again, doing what he feels passionate about
(MoQ) but mindful of the biological, social and intellectual
conventions. It did not bother me that Phaedrus in Lila was not very
socially adept; his passion lies in intellectual, not social pursuits.
Living according to DQ (aka the Tao) does not make you good at
everything, but it does drive you in the direction that is most
fulfilling for you. I guess that puts me in the 'DQ as purpose' camp,
although I don't know if there is a goal, only a direction.
Pat
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