What We’re Reading
Edith Hall, Facing Down the Furies. Can the Greeks still speak to the problem of suicide? Edith Hall, a classics scholar whose own family history is plagued by self-inflicted death, says yes. Hall reminds us that even before the spread of Christianity, Greek philosophical culture was divided over the issue of suicide but many dramatists and philosophers (like Aristotle) came to oppose the killing of oneself. Why? Not only does it harm the self by death, but there are social ramifications to suicide: family and friends suffer too. The great lie of the ideology of modern suicide is that it is a purely individualistic choice – but this fails to see the social reality in which humans live. Facing Down the Furies is not just a deep and thoughtful reflection on a topic many consider taboo to discuss in public (though we increasingly need to have this discussion in the 21st century), it is also a subtle work of cultural and intellectual criticism as Hall reevaluates the Athenian dramatists and Aristotle, enlisting them in her effort to persuade those under the dark cloud of despair to see the light of the sun and the goodness of life once more.
~ Paul Krause
T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” When I originally sat down to determine what I wanted to discuss from this month’s selection of reading, a few lines entered my head: “for a minute there is time / for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.” Perhaps reading Eliot’s piece for the millionth time gravitated me towards these seemingly catchy lines was a subconscious lost memorization, yet it underlines the lasting effect of Eliot’s “Prufrock.” We see a man who is unable physically and mentally to make any decision. This man cannot determine whether to part his hair on the right or left side in the mornings. Some days these little decisions mean the most, and I think we can all agree on their major impact no matter how silly they seem. That being said, I believe Eliot purposefully incorporates these actions to tap into what it means to be human, which is why many of his lines, like those I shared, are easily memorable, ultimately formulating the author-reader connection we all crave.
~ Sarah Tillard
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