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milk_and_orchids2010-04-17 04:12 pm
jest) wrote in milk_and_orchids2010-04-17 04:12 pm
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Book Club: The League of Frightened Men
Sorry to be sliding this in at the last minute. There was a volcano. It erupted.
League of Frightened Men continues the trend of Archie acting like a five year old. In this case, a five year old with attention deficit disorder. The story opens with Wolfe and Archie in the office. Archie is in the middle of an I'm BORED, Pay Attention to Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tantrum. I suspect that Archie Goodwin is every bit as high maintenance as Nero Wolfe himself.
While Archie throws pejoratives around like it is 1935, we are introduced to the antagonist, Paul Chapin, who became disabled during a hazing incident that took place at Harvard University. Paul Chapin is an Evil Cripple, with shades of Genius Cripple. I am really curious about how prevalent these tropes were when Rex Stout was writing this book. My familiarity with the Evil Cripple/Evil Wheelchair User comes mostly from Doctor Who; I'm not sure what sort of presence it had before that.
Anyway, enter Paul Chapin, psychopath. Enter the cowardly clients. Who exactly is intended to be the sympathetic character in this book? Evelyn Hibbard seemed like a good person, but she was only around for about five pages.
Which reminds me, although Wolfe is the character that is generally considered to be a misogynist I actually found Archie's attitude towards women the more offensive in this book. All his comments about women are along the lines of "…provided she's not just an item for the cleaners" or "nobody that knew merchandise would have put her on a bargain counter." It speaks volumes. Whereas Wolfe is "the only man I had ever met who used absolutely the same tone to a woman as to a man."
Archie's favorable opinion of other men seems to based on a combination of intelligence, competence, work ethic, nerve, and social class. He has a certain amount of contempt for college boys and the class privilege they represent. He obviously likes to think of himself as a working man. In Chapter 7 Archie refuses to let Fritz bring him his glass of milk in the evening, presumably because Archie doesn't like to think of himself as someone who needs to be waited on?
Wolfe's attitude towards Archie's intelligence is condescending, and who can blame him? Archie is more often in the role of man of action than man of intelligence. He claims that he has been working for Wolfe for seven years. This is easy to believe when they fight like an old married couple. At one point Archie is yelling at Wolfe when Orrie shows up with Paul Chapin's box, causing Archie to immediately break out the respectful tone and it's all, Honey, let's not fight in front of the company. *g*
But, seriously, what exactly has Archie been doing for seven years? Keeping orchid records? Body guarding? Nursing Wolfe through relapses?
Wolfe's agoraphobia and relapses are one of the most interesting features of the early books, and are something I like to keep track of.
In chapter 10:
Of course, we need to recognize the significance of Wolfe leaving the house to appreciate the scene where Archie has been drugged and is devastated at the thought that Wolfe might be murdered.
(Confession: every time I read it that scene makes me squeee so hard that I actually have to put the book down and pace around my flat enjoying it for a while before I can resume reading.)
In Chapter 11: "I have seen him, during a relapse, dispose completely of a ten-pound goose between eight o'clock and midnight."
That strikes me as a symptom of something other than eccentricity.
Thoughts? Opinions?
League of Frightened Men continues the trend of Archie acting like a five year old. In this case, a five year old with attention deficit disorder. The story opens with Wolfe and Archie in the office. Archie is in the middle of an I'm BORED, Pay Attention to Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tantrum. I suspect that Archie Goodwin is every bit as high maintenance as Nero Wolfe himself.
While Archie throws pejoratives around like it is 1935, we are introduced to the antagonist, Paul Chapin, who became disabled during a hazing incident that took place at Harvard University. Paul Chapin is an Evil Cripple, with shades of Genius Cripple. I am really curious about how prevalent these tropes were when Rex Stout was writing this book. My familiarity with the Evil Cripple/Evil Wheelchair User comes mostly from Doctor Who; I'm not sure what sort of presence it had before that.
Anyway, enter Paul Chapin, psychopath. Enter the cowardly clients. Who exactly is intended to be the sympathetic character in this book? Evelyn Hibbard seemed like a good person, but she was only around for about five pages.
Which reminds me, although Wolfe is the character that is generally considered to be a misogynist I actually found Archie's attitude towards women the more offensive in this book. All his comments about women are along the lines of "…provided she's not just an item for the cleaners" or "nobody that knew merchandise would have put her on a bargain counter." It speaks volumes. Whereas Wolfe is "the only man I had ever met who used absolutely the same tone to a woman as to a man."
Archie's favorable opinion of other men seems to based on a combination of intelligence, competence, work ethic, nerve, and social class. He has a certain amount of contempt for college boys and the class privilege they represent. He obviously likes to think of himself as a working man. In Chapter 7 Archie refuses to let Fritz bring him his glass of milk in the evening, presumably because Archie doesn't like to think of himself as someone who needs to be waited on?
Wolfe's attitude towards Archie's intelligence is condescending, and who can blame him? Archie is more often in the role of man of action than man of intelligence. He claims that he has been working for Wolfe for seven years. This is easy to believe when they fight like an old married couple. At one point Archie is yelling at Wolfe when Orrie shows up with Paul Chapin's box, causing Archie to immediately break out the respectful tone and it's all, Honey, let's not fight in front of the company. *g*
But, seriously, what exactly has Archie been doing for seven years? Keeping orchid records? Body guarding? Nursing Wolfe through relapses?
Wolfe's agoraphobia and relapses are one of the most interesting features of the early books, and are something I like to keep track of.
In chapter 10:
"…but I was thinking of suggesting that you go out and look at him."
"Out?" Wolfe raised his head at me. "Out and down the stoop?"
"Yeah, just on the sidewalk, you wouldn't have to step off the curb. He's right there."
Wolfe shut his eyes. "I don't know, Archie. I don't know why you persist in trying to badger me into frantic sorties. Dismiss the notion entirely. It is not feasible."
Of course, we need to recognize the significance of Wolfe leaving the house to appreciate the scene where Archie has been drugged and is devastated at the thought that Wolfe might be murdered.
(Confession: every time I read it that scene makes me squeee so hard that I actually have to put the book down and pace around my flat enjoying it for a while before I can resume reading.)
In Chapter 11: "I have seen him, during a relapse, dispose completely of a ten-pound goose between eight o'clock and midnight."
That strikes me as a symptom of something other than eccentricity.
Thoughts? Opinions?
no subject
"It seems as if I'm like a piece of antique furniture or a pedigreed dog, I'm in the luxury class. You keep me on for beauty."
......WHAT. *goes and looks at that part again* Oh my god, that's a real quote. I swear, there are little slash elves that go back and put these quotes in the book when I'm not looking.
(Speaking of "man of action" I totally already squee-d over on my lj about Archie calling himself that, but what I only noticed on a re-read is that it's actually a callback to something *Wolfe* says-- in Chapter 7 when Archie is theorizing about why Paul Chapin might go around with an unloaded gun: ".... As a man of action you are tolerable, you are even competent. But I will not for one moment put up with you as a psychologist. ...." So when Archie calls himself that later on, it's not only Archie being sort of endearingly self-deprecating and boasting at the same time, it's also a very personal sort of needle at Wolfe! And it also goes to show how much Archie *really listens*-- even putting aside his memory-- to the things Wolfe says to him.)
I enjoy fan stories that pick up this issue, from both angles--Archie chafing when he starts to feel like a kept boy, but also Wolfe's desire to surround himself with beauty.
Yeah, I wonder. You would certainly think that someone who is *as much of a genius* as Wolfe is, esp. in these early books, could figure out some way to make money that doesn't involve so much time and effort and people invading his house and creating deadly enemies and disrupting his meals and forcing him to take responsibility for sometimes making mistakes and getting innocent people killed, and so on. Seriously, after one of their more major jobs for a corporation, just take some capital and buy a chain of laundromats, or a sheep farm in New Zealand, and hire some people to run them, then sit back and live off the profits. Become a tycoon! They certainly have enough rich connections to help them start it off. And, sure, ok, they do need a LOT of money to run the brownstone, and maybe "start a new business!" isn't the first thing on anyone's mind during the Depression, and maybe Wolfe is a little too much of a control freak to sit back and let other people run, say, a hotel that he owns.... but also, maybe the main reason why that isn't an option? If Wolfe did that, he'd really have no reason to keep Archie around.
I mean, he'd still need a stenographer/secretary and possibly a bodyguard, but he wouldn't need a private detective of Archie's caliber. I wonder if that underlies, sometimes, Archie's push for them to *work*. If they don't take on private detection jobs, he's basically a pretty secretary! I can totally picture Archie having this faint subconscious fear that maybe Wolfe will just never accept a job again, and *what does that make him*? He would totally have to leave, his self-esteem couldn't take it.
no subject
Hell, yes!
There's another layer to that in that Archie's self-esteem doesn't allow him to have a boss unless he knows there is no question that his boss is more intelligent than he is (ie, a genius). If Wolfe became a tycoon and didn't do any work, there wouldn't be any opportunities to show off all his genius and, since the genius is one of the things that get Archie all hot and bothered, Wolfe needs an occupation that allows him show it off in order to keep Archie enraptured.