Paul's Case

Turn out was light, but lively for our discussion of Paul's Case. Apparently Thanksgiving interfered with several member's schedules. Linda Loveless supplied us with warm gingerbread cake with lemon butter sauce and whip cream--delicious. We began our discussion with a "What about Paul?" question. Was there any kind of intervention that might have prevented Paul's suicide? One member pointed out that it can be a failure to grasp the opportunities that exist in the Arts. Paul might have channeled his appreciation for the arts into a satisfying career. Kids like Paul often just can't plug into the traditional path offered through the normal curriculum. At the same time, we noted that Paul really didn't seem interested in participating in the arts, rather, they were his fix--his escape from the glum reality of his surroundings. Another member suggested that if he had one person in his life that related to him, and nourished his interests, this might have made a difference. This lead to a probe of Paul's mental state. Was this just a sensitive boy in an insensitive world, or did he have a mental illness? One member mentioned his problem with authority. His Dad came off as cold, but perhaps was doing the best he could as a single parent and did provide the basic trapping of live for Paul, as well as paying off the employer for Paul's embezzlement. The school staff were pretty harsh, while at the same time, Paul did nothing himself to meet them half way. In short, Paul was about Paul and really didn't relate well to any of the groups around him. We added in the scene where Paul returns late from the theater and enters the home through a basement window and fantasizes about being mistaken for a burglar. Would his father kill him, or just wound him and he would die later? Odd musings. It was noted that Paul also felt no remorse for taking the money, or that his Dad had to repay it. Then we looked at the fact that just before the train hit, Paul flashed to the things he hadn't done, hadn't seen in his short life. For most suicides, no future possibilities can be entertained, and this leads to their action. In short, a case could be made for a mental illness, but we really don't have the information to draw that conclusion for certain. We wondered if things would have been different for Paul now, rather than in the early 1900s. We discussed how arts are the first thing to go when there are budget cuts and the disportionate attention given to athletics. It can still be difficult for someone who has an artistic bent. Next, I played amateur English teacher, armed with critical essays that exposed such things as the "case study" style of writing. At the time Paul's case was written, psychology was a budding science, and this "just the facts" style of writing was experimental. We seemed to agree that Cather had failed to be completely objective, as we felt that she was sympathetic to Paul, however, she did leave us to draw our own conclusions. Another theme in the story is determinism vs free will. Was Paul destined for this ending? The picture of a Calvinist leader in his bedroom exposes this train of thought as they hold that you are either saved or damned from birth. Related to this is the idea that social expectations insured that Paul could not succeed in living a "normal" life. The young bookkeeper that Paul's Dad held up to him as an example represented the American Dream ideal. You get married, have children, and settle into a routine life at a routine job. A fate worse than jail, or death, for Paul. For such a short little story, there were a lot of interesting ideas to discuss. One member not at the meeting mentioned the reference Paul made to the yellowed wallpaperin his room back home. Does that bring a fond recollection of a former holiday book selection featuring depression and madness? Keep Tuesday, December 5th, 7 pm open. We will watch the movie version of Paul's Case and do our annual bookmark and Christmas goodie exchange. Well touch on anything I might have left out then.