It's really almost *sad* just how strange it is to be in that viewpoint and have it be just... *normal*, with no ISSUES of judging or shaming. Just: Wolfe is fat and that's normal for him. He's allowed to enjoy eating good food! He's allowed to enjoy wearing nice clothes! And he's not a stereotype, either, the fat person who ONLY cares about food-- he likes books! Maps! Orchids! Beauty! Drama! AND food, too, as part of the whole experience of life. And yeah, his fatness, affects certain aspects of his life, but it's not like a symbol or a sign of a fundamental character flaw. It's just so *refreshing*.
Oh god, THIS. It's really awful how it almost feels like that would be impossible today: Wolfe is completely allowed to be fat and still be a person in a way that is almost astonishing to read now. You are completely right on the allowed to like food thing in particular, and another one that sticks out for me is that when Wolfe does do something physical, there's never even the tiniest hint of "haha fat person trying to move" about it: Archie might say that something is impressive or whatever, but it's never something to mock in a way I as a modern reader almost expect to see. I love that.
(I also love that Wolfe doing physical exercise is almost always to do with Archie - omg Wolfe tries to catch fainting!Archie, and then lets Archie use his lap as a pillow all the way home! :D - and that Archie's reaction to Wolfe's only non-Zeck-inspired exercise regime is to freak the fuck out because OMG THAT CANNOT BE WOLFE MIGHT GET SENT TO THE FRONT AND GET HURT OMG OMG NO EMERGENCY EMERGENCY, but dude, seriously.)
I do wonder whether we're supposed to look back after the "twist" and say "oh my god, these guys are all assholes, idiots and/or totally projecting; he wasn't ACTUALLY that creepy," but it's still not going to win any awards.
It is totally, totally weird. I would agree that it seems likely we're supposed to think Archie overreacts: Archie seriously sees Chapin as almost not human, a lot of the time, as do the League, and then the ending does have that thing where suddenly he's a bit more human and leaving under his own steam. It doesn't make up for the utter wtf of earlier, but it does make me feel like the 'wow we were dumbasses, huh' might have been what was aimed at. Especially given that one of the big motivations Chapin does get to give on his own account is that he really hated the condescending kind of pity/charity he'd received from the League, and how glad he was when he could earn his own money and know he was supporting himself on his own terms. Especially on re-read, that comes over as quite sympathetic in a way Archie's OMG THIS GUY CREEPS ME OUT doesn't seem to really take in. It certainly doesn't do enough to rectify the problematic stuff, but it does I think lend credence to the idea that at least slightly less iffy stuff might have been intended.
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Oh god, THIS. It's really awful how it almost feels like that would be impossible today: Wolfe is completely allowed to be fat and still be a person in a way that is almost astonishing to read now. You are completely right on the allowed to like food thing in particular, and another one that sticks out for me is that when Wolfe does do something physical, there's never even the tiniest hint of "haha fat person trying to move" about it: Archie might say that something is impressive or whatever, but it's never something to mock in a way I as a modern reader almost expect to see. I love that.
(I also love that Wolfe doing physical exercise is almost always to do with Archie - omg Wolfe tries to catch fainting!Archie, and then lets Archie use his lap as a pillow all the way home! :D - and that Archie's reaction to Wolfe's only non-Zeck-inspired exercise regime is to freak the fuck out because OMG THAT CANNOT BE WOLFE MIGHT GET SENT TO THE FRONT AND GET HURT OMG OMG NO EMERGENCY EMERGENCY, but dude, seriously.)
I do wonder whether we're supposed to look back after the "twist" and say "oh my god, these guys are all assholes, idiots and/or totally projecting; he wasn't ACTUALLY that creepy," but it's still not going to win any awards.
It is totally, totally weird. I would agree that it seems likely we're supposed to think Archie overreacts: Archie seriously sees Chapin as almost not human, a lot of the time, as do the League, and then the ending does have that thing where suddenly he's a bit more human and leaving under his own steam. It doesn't make up for the utter wtf of earlier, but it does make me feel like the 'wow we were dumbasses, huh' might have been what was aimed at. Especially given that one of the big motivations Chapin does get to give on his own account is that he really hated the condescending kind of pity/charity he'd received from the League, and how glad he was when he could earn his own money and know he was supporting himself on his own terms. Especially on re-read, that comes over as quite sympathetic in a way Archie's OMG THIS GUY CREEPS ME OUT doesn't seem to really take in. It certainly doesn't do enough to rectify the problematic stuff, but it does I think lend credence to the idea that at least slightly less iffy stuff might have been intended.