Over the summer I read The Moviegoer by Walker Percy in brief installments on trail. Whenever I had heard about Percy from friends it was always in relation to his rejection of Protestantism in favor of Catholicism, similar to T.S. Eliot. While this decision is still interesting to me since the trend is certainly in the other direction, I didn't catch a whole lot of that choice in his novel. It was actually more enjoyable to read as a collection of well-worded statements than as a cohesive plot. Here's one of my favs:
My first idea was the building itself. It looks like a miniature bank with its Corinthian pilasters, portico and iron scrolls over the windows. The firm's name, Cutrer, Klostermann & Lejier is lettered in Gothic and below in smaller letters, the names of the Boston mutual funds we represent. It looks far more conservative that the modern banks in Gentilly. It announces to the world: modern methods are no doubt excellent but here is good old fashioned stability, but stability with imagination. A little bit of old New England with a Creole flavor. The Parthenon facade cost twelve thousand dollars but commissions have doubled. The young man you see inside is clearly the soul of integrity; he asks no more than to be allowed to plan you future. This is true. This is all I ask.
And another:
Everyone on This I Believe believes in the uniqueness and the dignity of the individual. I have noticed, however, that the believers are far from unique themselves, and are in fact alike as peas in a pod.
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4 comments:
Catholicism to Protestantism irritated me enough that I went looking for something with which to smack you upside the blog. Found this. Not really a big stick, but a more nuanced discussion of the question at least.
Keep reading Percy!
I was having connection problems when I posted the above comment and part of it got cut off. Should have begun: "Your offhand assumption regarding 'the trend' of conversions from ..."
Rufus, thanks for the interesting links. I agree with Fiddler in that it is typically the deeper thinkers that change from Protestant to Catholic. His link to a Wiki article listing famous people who've made the switch however supports my thought that it is people like Percy, Eliot, and other notable theologians coming to the Catholic Church that gives it the impression of tipping the scales that way.
I'm mainly going off of personal experience with friends and family who've followed the "traditional" path of growing up in the Catholic Church, rejecting it as soon as they leave home, then joining a Protestant fellowship later in life.
Do you recommend anything else by Percy?
Thanks for the gracious response to my semi-irascible comment. As for Eliot, I think he remained in the Church of England. But definitely in a Catholic mode. As for Percy, if all you've read is The Moviegoer, you might do well to poke around in his collection of essays, The Message in the Bottle -- particularly the title essay, plus "The Man on the Train," "The Loss of Creature," and "Notes for a Novel About the End of the World." If any of that resonates, then go back to the novels. Then Lost in the Cosmos, the posthumous essays, and last but not least the two volumes of interviews. Godspeed, and happy reading!
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