“The ethical is that by which he becomes what he becomes.” - Kierkegaard, Either/Or
I’m torn now between whether or not Binx can focus and move forward, toward the ethical from the esthetic, and live with and be there for Kate. He is now starting medical school, however to draw a parallel to Binx’s father, he too, according to Binx’s mother was in the wrong medical field. And perhaps Binx will find himself going down the wrong path after all.
“You mean he wasn’t cut out to be an ordinary doctor, he really should have been in research.” “That’s right!”
As for their marriage, I hope Binx can settle into being Kate’s husband and learn what it means to cope with what will only become a different sort of malaise, one in which two people share and work through together. I think he’ll understand malaise better, and learn to live with it.
Binx himself needs a kick in the ass. He’s now lost Uncle Jules and Lonnie, and he hopefully will wake up and realize how fragile life is. And how fragile Kate is. She needs him, and to an extent and whether or not he knows it, he needs her.
Kierkegaard describes despair to be the sickness unto death. Inescapable, much like Binx’s malaise. But the married life will not deliver him from his malaise.
“Even that which, humanly speaking, is utterly beautiful and lovable- the womanly youthfulness that is perfect peace and harmony and joy- is nevertheless despair.” Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death
But to preface the quote above, Kierkegaard himself wrote from a chair of loneliness. He broke off what could have been a meaningful and life-long relationship with someone he admired, and for little understandable reason. A young lady, Regina Olsen. Much like Binx, Kierkegaard felt far too much melancholy to step into marriage. But therein is the difference- Thankfully, Binx has taken a giant leap in taking Kate’s hand in marriage. He’s facing his own loneliness. Kierkegaard’s choice in breaking off his engagement is very illusory, and Regina served him primarily but sadly as a muse for his many philosophical inquiries into loneliness, love, etc.
Despair, according to Kierkegaard, is not rare. It’s commonplace. It’s universal. We all go through it. We cope with it. Life is planned activities. Just add meaning. The final dialogue between Kate and Binx remind me of the simple niceties of a relationship. She wonders if he’ll be thinking of her sitting in the streetcar. He wonders if she’ll carry out the favor.
Twenty feet away and she turns around. “Mr. Klostermann?” “Mr. Klostermann.”
Kate’s quaint, fumbling insecurity about whom she is to ask for makes me think a search has ended.
The first sentence in the Epilogue refers to Dylan Thomas’ “A Poem in October.” Check him out. http://www.bigeye.com/october.htm
Your take on where Binx is in his life is quite interesting... Looking at it from a different perspective than my own I can see where you draw your understanding. But, for me, Binx seems to have understood by the end and made a pretty significant jump into the ethical stage. His lasting commitment to his Aunt shows that he is able to make decisions that better others. The Aesthetic Stage would be described as him being selfish and finding the joy in things only to benefit self. To me, by the end he has made ADULT decisions to, 1. keep Kate safe, 2. care for her, 3. go on to medical school so that he can take better care of Kate should her situation worsen or get better. Since the beginning of the novel he called periodically in order to check on Kate. Although it was not the typical situation and ideal relationship he still showed compassion. He tried to defy his predetermined destiny and he exposed the way in which he had grown throughout the novel by showing the things he went through. By the epilogue he was grounded in his beliefs. He wanted to be with Kate, he did not truly have a religious belief but he knew where he stood and he did not press that upon others, as shown in the way in which he handled the children.
ReplyDeleteI share your beliefs in that Binx has (hopefully) graduated to the Ethical state. You stress this conclusion on his nascent marriage, his relationship with Kate. I couldn't agree more. Your three points for what Binx is to do for Kate are right up my ally. You mentioned briefly in class Wednesday that you were searching for that Dylan Thomas reference in the Epilogue. Check him out at poetryfoundation.org.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I had forgotten that his father was a doctor in the wrong field. I was focusing more on “If she wants me too” while reading the passage, so I didn’t really see it as a possible foreshadowing of a negative future. I saw it more as he has come to grips with the fact that he cannot make a decision and will do whatever Aunt Emily asks of him. And while I still do not clearly see that Binx has found religion, I do feel he has found love. I think both characters are prone to depression and despair but are capable of making one another happy.
ReplyDeleteI like how you point out that both characters ask something of the other. Something I was thinking about (concerning the last passage where Binx asks Kate to pick up governments) is that even though Kate needs reassurance that Binx will think of her, Binx is the one who actually needs help. As she says earlier in the novel, he is worse than her. I think she assures him as well, takes his mind off searching, makes him love. Together, they are somebodies.
I also find it interesting that the author actually wants the conclusion of the novel to read as positive - that Binx actually finds religion - when it still seems quite possible Binx and Kate could lead one another deeper into depression instead of helping each other out of it. Another depressing thought: by choosing marriage, Binx is taking a conventional route and possibly coming to grips with “everydayness.” After all, you used the phrase “settle into being Kate’s husband.” Or maybe “everydayness” only holds an association with marriage in the aesthetic sphere?