A Pure Life

A Pure Life

“So help me god it gets more and more preposterous, it corresponds less and less to what I remember and what I expect as if the force of life were centrifugal and threw one further and further away from one’s purest memories and ambition….” – John Cheever- The death of Justima

In Somerset Maugham’s “The Moon and Sixpence”, Charles Strickland- the protagonist- stockbroker turned painter who pursues his true calling from the age of thirty-six, reveals a strength of character that borders on the inhuman- a sense of being possessed by a demon. While his betrayal of family, duty and honour gives him the freedom to achieve greatness, his decision leads to an obsession which carries severe implications. On his single-minded pursuit of liberation, there is no space for any kind of distraction apart from some comic reliefs in the form of alcohol, women (what else?).

Sometimes when I shut my eyes, I think of the genius painter- Paul Gaugin- on whom the character of Strickland is based. I see him, with my mind’s eyes, on his rocking chair in  his small bungalow in Tahiti island, away from the eyes of humanity, wearing nothing but a pareo; going down to the reef to catch small, coloured fish that Ata, his wife would fry in coconut oil; I see him going for long walks, painting and reading in the evening; and at night, when the simple, rural folks of the faraway village sleep away peacefully in their humble huts, when the intensity of the silence is as deep as forbidden love, I see him clearly with Maugham’s eyes- dancing to some divine, wild tune, in ecstacy, under the blue sky, the starry night and the Pacific Ocean.

My idea of a pure life also comes from the vision of a primitive existence- peaceful, away from the malice and hostility of common, urban folks- in close association with nature- a life of utmost conviction in an idea led by deepest instinct- a sense of intense fulfillment.

How difficult it is to stay rooted in our most unpretentious dreams, not to be swayed by the diluting waves of civilization? How do we get the courage of spirit to go where we should ideally be? How much longer and when?

Meghna Maiti

ENDS