The Secret Journal by Pierre Drieu la Rochchelle was a short story about the author himself. Within the Drieu’s written piece he describes his various suicide attempts from childhood onwards, culminating in a full description of his feelings the day before his last attempt in 1944. As I kept reading on the novel, it gave me the feeling that he tried to justify his action, suicidal attempts or self-hatred, only from his point of view. I had the impression that he is just one of the psychopaths who has low self-esteem and feels the society abandoned him. In the page 11, he talked about the exam he took when he was twenty and failed. He said the reason he didn’t pass the test is ‘because of the authorities and not through any incompetence of mine.’ It cleared shows that he doesn’t want to take responsibility of failing the test on him; he rather blames the society for making him to fail the examination. And in my opinion it also let us to know that he is one of the very self-centered persons, yet with fancy mouth only to defend himself from everything works against him. And finally he talks about various suicidal attempts when he was young but didn’t actually commit those. I think he is just one of the cowards we encounter everyday life. If he really wanted to kill himself, he could easily jump off a building or shoot himself when he was at war.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Secret Journal
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Although he is quite self centered, I wouldn't consider Rochelle to be a full fledged psychopath. To be a psychopath you need to have more of a lack of feeling and disregard for others.
ReplyDeleteYa I agree. Depressed, introverted definitely. But not a psychopath. Expecially during the war, suicide isn't an uncommon thought for the shell shocked. He couldn't kill himself during war, but rather charged into battle. He had his own inner suicidal road blocks, which he eventually overcame.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with the thoughts he had, but he wasn't completely insane either.
I also wouldn't say he is just one of those pathetic persons we encounter everyday that blame society for everything. I think Drieu's fascination with and eventual suicide are not triggered simply by being pathetic. I actually find him much more thoughtful than maybe some that have never even contemplated it. I mean he seems to criticize Baudelaire and society for stigmatizing suicide as a vice...along with knowledge and rebellion. I think we are conditioned to associate suicide with weakness, when you could see it as the ultimate act of strength/will power/control (I recommend watching the movie "The Sea Inside" to see what I mean.) The power to preserve ones life in death...I dunno, reminds me of Septimus Smith in Mrs. Dalloway a bit.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion. The fact that you could see suicide as an ultimate act of strength and control means he is not on the right mind. If killing oneself shows he or she is not bounded to any authority, the society would be in chaos.
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