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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy
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Re: [percy-l] The Last Gentleman Discussion / Chapter 4.6 - Chapter 4.15
- From: lowry.charles AT gmail.com
- To: "and Philosophical Discussion Percy-L: Literary Religious Scientific" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [percy-l] The Last Gentleman Discussion / Chapter 4.6 - Chapter 4.15
- Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2025 20:59:44 -0400
Dear Percy friends,
A fortuitous Mets rainout in Charm City this evening (my palpitations from
last night’s game have only now receded) offers me the chance to comment on
the rich menu offered by Leonard, Janet and Tom. Let me offer two thoughts,
followed by a personal note.
Tom asks, in a very penetrating post, if it is possible still to have a
search. My thought is simply that ethereal searches may well be empty, but
Will’s search, indeed all his endeavors into the realm of higher thinking,
are grounded in the very hard practicalities of daily life. Let me cite only
two examples. When Will encourages David to embark on a search, how is he to
do it? “Watch and wait. Keep your eyes open. Meanwhile study how to make
enough money so you don’t have to worry about it.” An even more telling
example of this combination of high and low thoughts occurs as Will stops by
Sutter’s apartment to look for clues after Sutter and Jamie have left
together. What are the two literally tangible things in that scene? The
autopsy report that Will read moved pretty quickly from cause of death
details to meditations (assertions?) about lewdness, pornography, sacraments,
Platonic categories, women, science, the sexual revolution and similar. This
seizes upon Will so forcefully that he is able to rise to his feet only
“unsteadily.” The other tangible artifact from the stop was Sutter’s Esso
map. It was the perfect, practical antidote to the autopsy report: “Reading
Sutter’s casebook had a strange effect upon him. His mind, instead of
occupying itself with such subjects as ‘American women’ and ‘science’ and
‘sexuality,’ turned with relief to the most practical matters. He drove into
a filling station and while the motor was being serviced studied the Esso
map, calculating instantly and almost clairvoyantly the distance to Jackson,
New Orleans, and Shreveport.” In short, I think what Percy might say about
the possibility of a search or indeed “higher thought” generally is that it
is possible, but only if it is grounded in practical reality rather than
seeking to transcend it. This, I think, makes him a good Thomist, for as St.
Thomas tells us, Nil in intellectu quin prius fuerit in sensu—There is
nothing in the understanding that has not first been in the senses.
My second note is much briefer and touches upon the general tentativeness of
this novel, noted by both Leonard and Janet. It brought to mind an
observation by Camus, in The Myth of Sisyphus: “Like great works of art, deep
feelings always mean more than they are conscious of saying.” When I read
this book I generally try to keep in mind the deep love that marks the
characters, both between Will and Kitty and between Jamie and virtually all
the other characters. Plot developments and actions that seem
inconsequential or distracting take on new meaning when viewed through the
lens of “deep feelings.” Filtering the acts of the characters through their
“deep feelings” has given me new perspectives on individuals and on the novel
generally.
Finally, a personal note. Among the reasons I love this book is that in my
early twenties I had a serious and awkward crush on a young Chi Omega
sorority member. I am sure she knew, but she was always very kind, for which
I thank her, from the distance of a bit more than half a century.
Chuck Lowry
Brooklyn, New York
-
[percy-l] The Last Gentleman Discussion / Chapter 4.6 - Chapter 4.15,
Leonard, 07/04/2025
- Re: [percy-l] The Last Gentleman Discussion / Chapter 4.6 - Chapter 4.15, honeyjbc1, 07/04/2025
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- Re: [percy-l] The Last Gentleman Discussion / Chapter 4.6 - Chapter 4.15, lowry . charles, 07/09/2025
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