I really like your point here about ptsd, it was a revelation for me--I can't believe I never really thought about this, it seems so incredibly obvious an issue for the older people like Wolfe, Fritz and even Saul (and perhaps Theodore, just based on his seemingly (or mainly) hermit-gardener life--his only company is Wolfe most of the time! It makes me wonder about him and what we don't see because Archie is the narrator.)
And I agree on the Fraser hist. fiction school; I think total realism is important, (it obvs shows us the different world they were living in), especially because it's part of their physical and psychological landscape. I mean obviously (to me) Archie has (and mentions in print) that picture of Sept. Morning for a reason--and I think often now we speak about this as some deliberate thing, macho mention or overaction etc, but to me it might not be. I think people often do whatever they're doing because they're 'performing' (as they say) their identity (and gender role) for themselves, not just for others.
I mean if I look at Wolfe this way, he has this enormous, unique, 'eccentric' life he lives out. It's like after the horror of WWI he creates this paradise fantasy where he recreates a luxurious aristocratic European/Montenegrean house in NYC, w/ expensive gardens (both the flowers and the gardener, Theo in this case), he has the best chef possible as a personal live in server, and then he gets a personal assistant. I think Wolfe also enjoys being admired, and getting to dole out largess to his pageboy Archie--a kind of personal enjoyment from this endless hospitality (not just the daily food, the car, having him live in his house, the expensive presents.) It's very Greek to me. LOL : )
I love the almost culture (and economic/social) clash of how Fritz and Wolfe see food, and how Archie does. And how Archie never wears his pretty and expensive pyjamas and dressing gown, because for him they are probably not only from an older era, they're not culturally/socially acceptable for his self-image etc. I would love to read a fic where he has to react to getting his presents LOL I guess it's interesting to me to think on how Wolfe is expressing his 'self-image'/psyche etc through his life/house/employees and how Archie expresses his psyche/image etc--they are very different, even beyond the obvious hermit/'man of action and women' duality.
And even looking at Fritz, Saul or Archie, they have their own vision of their lives--I think Archie loves being someone's confidant, as long as he can totally and fully admire/worship that person. He seems to enjoy being 'kept' but of course can justify it unconsciously w/ Wolfe's strange eccentricity/and his furniture owning lol. And Fritz seems to be totally happy getting to devote his time to cooking for someone who realllllly appreciates on many levels.
Also the constant 'insecurity' of Archie vis a vis his job/or being 'in' on a plan is to me more of an expression of wanting to always be 'in on it' w/ his bff/hero/partner Wolfe. If he didn't react that way I think it would imply to everyone involved that Archie wasn't possessive/cared/serious about Wolfe and his special place in his life. It's interesting to me to think of how aggressively Archie pursues working--he seems to almost always want to work. Unless he gets driven crazy by weeks of random food treasure hunts, he typically wants to do stuff constantly--this to me is very unique, I can't imagine any other guy being that obsessed with work. He seems to never act 'normally' in terms of slacking off, or getting out of work or whatever. I still haven't figured out what I think about this. It almost is like an obsessive desire to please, and the prideful desire to be able to do anything asked of him.
Anyway I love the discussions here and just wanted to respond to your great ptsd point : )!!!! <3<3
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Date: 2010-05-07 04:41 am (UTC)And I agree on the Fraser hist. fiction school; I think total realism is important, (it obvs shows us the different world they were living in), especially because it's part of their physical and psychological landscape. I mean obviously (to me) Archie has (and mentions in print) that picture of Sept. Morning for a reason--and I think often now we speak about this as some deliberate thing, macho mention or overaction etc, but to me it might not be. I think people often do whatever they're doing because they're 'performing' (as they say) their identity (and gender role) for themselves, not just for others.
I mean if I look at Wolfe this way, he has this enormous, unique, 'eccentric' life he lives out. It's like after the horror of WWI he creates this paradise fantasy where he recreates a luxurious aristocratic European/Montenegrean house in NYC, w/ expensive gardens (both the flowers and the gardener, Theo in this case), he has the best chef possible as a personal live in server, and then he gets a personal assistant. I think Wolfe also enjoys being admired, and getting to dole out largess to his pageboy Archie--a kind of personal enjoyment from this endless hospitality (not just the daily food, the car, having him live in his house, the expensive presents.) It's very Greek to me. LOL : )
I love the almost culture (and economic/social) clash of how Fritz and Wolfe see food, and how Archie does. And how Archie never wears his pretty and expensive pyjamas and dressing gown, because for him they are probably not only from an older era, they're not culturally/socially acceptable for his self-image etc. I would love to read a fic where he has to react to getting his presents LOL I guess it's interesting to me to think on how Wolfe is expressing his 'self-image'/psyche etc through his life/house/employees and how Archie expresses his psyche/image etc--they are very different, even beyond the obvious hermit/'man of action and women' duality.
And even looking at Fritz, Saul or Archie, they have their own vision of their lives--I think Archie loves being someone's confidant, as long as he can totally and fully admire/worship that person. He seems to enjoy being 'kept' but of course can justify it unconsciously w/ Wolfe's strange eccentricity/and his furniture owning lol. And Fritz seems to be totally happy getting to devote his time to cooking for someone who realllllly appreciates on many levels.
Also the constant 'insecurity' of Archie vis a vis his job/or being 'in' on a plan is to me more of an expression of wanting to always be 'in on it' w/ his bff/hero/partner Wolfe. If he didn't react that way I think it would imply to everyone involved that Archie wasn't possessive/cared/serious about Wolfe and his special place in his life. It's interesting to me to think of how aggressively Archie pursues working--he seems to almost always want to work. Unless he gets driven crazy by weeks of random food treasure hunts, he typically wants to do stuff constantly--this to me is very unique, I can't imagine any other guy being that obsessed with work. He seems to never act 'normally' in terms of slacking off, or getting out of work or whatever. I still haven't figured out what I think about this. It almost is like an obsessive desire to please, and the prideful desire to be able to do anything asked of him.
Anyway I love the discussions here and just wanted to respond to your great ptsd point : )!!!! <3<3