Mary Renault

[jain]

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?

Comments

[jain]

Sorry it took me so long to respond to this, but I was waiting for the library to reshelve the book so I could reread the scene, and they take forever to do that. Anyway, your explanation's plausible, but then why does Dave say, after apologizing for not discussing the situation with Laurie earlier, as soon as he'd started having suspicions about them, that "love is indivisible"?

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.