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I just finished reading The Charioteer, which, despite the name, is not set in the Classical world as with most of her novels, but in World War II England. I loved it, and I understood maybe three-fourths of it--and one part in particular is weighing on my mind. Can anyone who's read the book tell me what that whole discussion between Dave and Laurie was about at the end? He was going to start a relationship with Andrew, right? But then why did he change his mind?
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Okay, what I get from the conversation, which confuses me too, is: Dave was in love with Andrew's father, but it never came to anything, and he feels that acting on homosexual love is wrong. He had realized that Andrew and Laurie were falling in love, but had thought that neither of them realized it-- that they would think of it as just a friendship, without becoming sexual. Andrew has realized that he, Andrew, is in love with Laurie, and is hoping Laurie isn't gay, so Andrew can take himself off knowing that their friendship was "unsullied," at least on Laurie's side. Since Laurie is gay, and tells Dave that he is, Dave thinks it would be a very bad idea for them to meet again. Dave thinks that feelings are one thing, but acting on them would mess up Andrew's life. It seems like Dave's idea is that the only decent way for gay people to live their lives is as celibates or straight, and he's going to try to stop Laurie if Laurie tries to let there be anything more between him and Andrew. Laurie, I think, allows himself to be persuaded, as he has for most of the book, that Andrew's innocence should be untroubled.
I think.
This book is so... they struggle so hard to be decent, to live a clean, pure life, and it seems so hard for them to know what decency is. They know that love is good, they can't help knowing that, but they have nothing to support that except their own feelings and an old greek text... wah.
Would say lots more, but must run.
--R
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The part that really had me confused is when Dave says, "He came here with some doubt about you which he didn't want to discuss with me or anyone else, and I imagine you've come here partly to resolve it. Of course, if you can give him the answer he wants, you have every right to. Indeed, you should, in spite of the fact that it won't make things any easier for him at first." The doubt Andrew has, of course, is whether Laurie's been sexually involved with Ralph, so Laurie says, "I couldn't give him the answer he wants."
But Dave couldn't have been referring to that, since it's a fairly complex set of circumstances that Andrew refused to talk about. So what is he saying? Or, more precisely, what does he think "the answer [Andrew] wants" is? It could be read that Dave thinks Andrew wants Laurie to desire him, and "it won't make things any easier for him at first" if Andrew learned that Laurie did because...Andrew would have to reject the relationship? Or because the relationship itself would be difficult for him, morally and socially? (The second interpretation being almost a tacit acceptance of Andrew and Laurie's love.)
Or Dave might think that Andrew wants Laurie not to desire him, in which case it wouldn't "make things any easier for him" because Andrew would be hurt at the rejection, even though intellectually he would have gotten what he wanted.
The first and the third possibilities fit your explanation, but don't account for the "love is indivible" line, and the second accounts for the line better but doesn't fit the rest of the conversation as well.
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I adore this book, too
But heck if I know.
Sandy
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