New Grub Street by George Gissing: Day 28
Chapter 28
“The trio had had supper in the girls’ sitting-room, and it was a moment for frank conversation.”
Chapters about Milvain bring some energy compared to the Reardon chapters. I think part of the reason is that Reardon lives in self-delusion and self-pity, neither of which offers real understanding of the world. Milvain has a clear—perhaps too clear—understanding of the world he has to deal with.
“How can I get the eyes of men fixed upon me? The answer: By pretending I am quite independent of their gaze.”
I like how Milvain sees through many things, and how Gissing sees through Milvain.
Whelpdale’s very engaging narrative about America was based on Gissing’s American adventure. Among many different endeavors during the time he lived in the States, he wrote for the Chicago Tribune. $18 in the 1880s will be between $500 and $600 today—that was for a very short story, three columns in a newspaper (1000 words, perhaps?). It’s stark how much less we writers are paid these days…
Join us on December 13 for a virtual discussion of New Grub Street with Yiyun Li.
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Gissing died too young, at barely 46. Curious about that I turned to Wikipedia: "Gissing died aged 46 on 28 December 1903 having caught a chill on an ill-advised winter walk." We know now that people don't get sick from "chills" per se. New Grub Street depicts London as a hellscape of "fog", really smoke trapped in fog. There are windows soot streaked as rain falls and characters experience mouthfuls of smoke. Everyone coughs and being outside is unpleasant. Reardon seems particularly affected as his physical and mental health inexorably decline. Maybe it ws this poisonous air Gissing captures so well that appears part of this novel's social commentary subtext that killed him.
Jasper does calculate his way through life! And he's already spending Marian's money in his mind -("... to be spent in obtaining a position for myself.")
Maud is engaged in her own delusions of grandeur and gold-digging (Jasper attempts to convince her that she should aim even higher), and along that line Maud considers that for Jasper, 'Marian, as an individual, could not be considered an appropriate wife for such a man with such a future'
Additionally, Jasper's internal dialogue bounces through some minor points of doubt regarding his choice to marry Marian, dropping his head at the thought that Miss Rupert "would make him a man of solid means" and even "Ah! If only Amy herself were free, with her ten thousand pounds to dispose of!" - to the point where he can't repeat his declaration of love to Marian even as he looks to hurry the date of their union.
I need to keep reminding myself that these decisions are made in a world where the wolf is always at your door, which also forces me to contemplate how the threat of poverty never played a role in my life decisions - who am I to judge?