This is Anais Nin's "Great Writer" story, which she finished in December, 1930. She felt it was good and was satisfied with it, but Titus, her editor, did not like it, and it was rejected by Vogue.
In the story, visitors come to the home of the "great writer." They notice the front gate to the home which is not exactly as described in the book - the books describes a gate which is a composite of this gate and the neighbor's. They recognize the servants from the stories, although some of their traits are not exactly as described in them.
The great writer's wife greets the visitors and admits she has been the muse for three of his characters and that their white poodle was the muse for children he described in his stories. The visitors leave the home and realize the great writer takes elements from his real life and mixes them (like a chemist would) to create new elements, thus turning ordinary people, places, and things into something extraordinary.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Our Minds are Engaged
This is a story written by Anais Nin around 1930. It seems to be drawn from her relationship with her cousin Eduardo.
The woman in the story is fragile, pale, timid, working on a play, with a carefully arranged home that serves as a background to her "imaginative costumes," reading D.H. Lawrence.
The man in the story uses "feline gestures," has a "lavish voice," has been in love with both women and men. He wants a weak woman, a woman like the woman in the story used to be when she was a teenager when they met. She has grown into a woman who knows and understands herself and is no longer weak.
The woman and man were never lovers. They had an intellectual connection, and once that was formed, it was awkward to evolve towards a physical connection. They talked about art and writing, dreams and fulfillment.
Their relationship has never been defined, has tension, needs resolution. She realizes in the end that he is not capable of loving her. He wants to dominate. He wants to be the better writer. She has become a strong woman, and they both know it. A relationship as lovers would never work. Resolution has been reached.
The woman in the story is fragile, pale, timid, working on a play, with a carefully arranged home that serves as a background to her "imaginative costumes," reading D.H. Lawrence.
The man in the story uses "feline gestures," has a "lavish voice," has been in love with both women and men. He wants a weak woman, a woman like the woman in the story used to be when she was a teenager when they met. She has grown into a woman who knows and understands herself and is no longer weak.
The woman and man were never lovers. They had an intellectual connection, and once that was formed, it was awkward to evolve towards a physical connection. They talked about art and writing, dreams and fulfillment.
Their relationship has never been defined, has tension, needs resolution. She realizes in the end that he is not capable of loving her. He wants to dominate. He wants to be the better writer. She has become a strong woman, and they both know it. A relationship as lovers would never work. Resolution has been reached.
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