• About
  • Professional musings

Courting the Muses

~ Writings of Elizabeth A. Katz

Courting the Muses

Monthly Archives: February 2015

The women in J.D. Salinger’s life: Making sense of fathers and lovers

22 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by lizscribe24 in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger, Joyce Maynard, Margaret "Peggy" Salinger, narcissism

At a recent book club meeting, we read and discussed the classic “Catcher in the Rye” by the notoriously reclusive (and now deceased) J.D. Salinger. It was a book I hadn’t read since probably my late teens or early 20s – the usual age when people seem to gravitate to the book. It seems to have been written for teens and young adults. But that’s not the only age demographic to whom the books appeals.

J.D. Salinger

J.D. Salinger

Reading it again, I found that its character of Holden Caulfield, and his youthfully cynical perspective on life, still holds power over me. To be sure, Holden is disillusioned with life as he teeters on the cusp of adulthood. Finishing the book, I found I’d fallen in love with Holden once again.

A particularly meaningful passage for me was the scene in the Natural History Museum in New York, where Holden lingers by the exhibits that never change – the deer drinking at waterholes and the birds in midflight, perennially aloft. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move,” Holden remarks. To me, it’s symbolic about his reticence to leave childhood behind and his desire for things to remain the same.

Having finished this book, I – like so many other readers — wanted to know more about the mysterious Salinger, the author with the brooding eyes and handsome face. I watched the 2013 documentary titled “Salinger” and learned more about his reclusiveness, his absolute absorption in his writing and the life of his characters – a habit that often meant the neglect of his second wife, Claire Douglas and their two children, Margaret and Matthew – as well as his interest in holistic and alternative medicine, and his embrace of Eastern religions and later Scientology.

The documentary also led me to discover that his daughter and memoirist, Margaret “Peggy” Salinger and the woman with whom he lived for 11 months – the writer Joyce Maynard, had written books about the lives they shared with the reclusive author.

I ordered both their books online and read Peggy’s first, “Dream Catcher” and then Joyce’s, “At Home in the World.” I was eager to know what it was like to live with a man who was engulfed by his own creative endeavors. I was also particularly interested in knowing about Joyce’s experience, considering that she was still a teenager when she met Salinger, who at the time was 53. Salinger was notorious for his attraction to women vastly younger than he was and that intrigued me, since it mirrored a relationship I had had with a man considerably older than I was that similarly lasted only 11 months and ended just as abruptly as Joyce and J.D. Salinger’s.

What I learned was that J.D. Salinger, or as he’s known to his familiars as Jerry, was Holden Caulfield (or should I say Holden Caulfield was Jerry Salinger). He was literally channeling himself through his character of Holden. I also learned, through the pen of Peggy and Joyce, that while Salinger was charming and charismatic, he also was narcissistic, self-absorbed, discontent, contemptuous and critical of others while unable to accept criticism towards himself, manipulative and in many instances an abusive person. Continue reading →

Advertisement

The Greatest Love of All

14 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by lizscribe24 in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Valentine's Day

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and I hope you have something romantic planned with your sweetie. Today, I’m reminded of the phrase, ‘You can’t really love someone until you love yourself.’

Easier said than done!

Why is it so difficult to love yourself? Speaking for myself, I’m my own toughest critic. I often think of everything I haven’t accomplished rather than taking pride in all of the great things I have accomplished thus far in my life.

I could blame this on my mother, though I won’t. She always felt you had to be accomplishing something. If you weren’t, it was implied you hadn’t earned your keep.

That’s a hard way to live. It’s as if you constantly have something to prove to others, that your value is implicit in what you do, not who you are.

Valentine's Day

As I’ve gotten older and hopefully wiser, I’ve finally learned that it’s up to you to be your own greatest fan. I try hard to show myself the respect I would hope others would afford me. That means having good personal boundaries and being choosy about whom I associate with. I try to do really nice things for myself. When you stop expecting others to make you happy, that’s when you can bring the focus back to yourself and discover what makes YOU happy and what brings meaning to YOUR life.

Continue reading →

Facing your fears … and doing it anyway

08 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by lizscribe24 in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

facing fears, roller coasters, sisters

“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

I love this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt. Each time I read it, I think about the things that scare me … and there seems at times like there’s so much that scares me!

I can handle killing centipedes; speaking in public; working in downtown Detroit. No problem.

I just get scared by the unfamiliar or being in situations where I may be judged by others. Such as:

  • Dealing with home repairs that inexplicably crop up: Scary (and aggravating to boot)
  • Putting my writing out there for all to read and judge: I’m trembling as I write this.
  • Online dating: Seriously scares the hell out of me.

Those things frighten me but I do them anyway. I mean, in some situations, it took me years to convince myself to do them, like launching my own blog or doing online dating. But sometimes you just have to say, ‘I don’t care how I feel. I’m getting out of my own way and doing them!’

Back in October last year, my sister and I and a few of her coworkers took a trip to Cedar Point to celebrate her 40th birthday. For those of you unfamiliar with Cedar Point, it’s usually a popular summer destination for families who enjoy thrill rides and water rides. The place is mobbed during the warmer season but there were a healthy amount of people on the cold and overcast day we were there.

OH, SH*T!!!!!

OH, SH*T!!!!!

Now, I hadn’t been to Cedar Point in many years. I can’t even recall the last time I was there prior to this most recent visit. When my sister brought up the idea of going to the amusement park to shriek a welcome to her milestone birthday, I thought, ‘Wow, if that’s not a situation that warrants anti-anxiety medication, I don’t know what does.’

I asked myself, do I really want to do this? Wouldn’t it just be easier, less stressful, sitting at home, nice and comfy with my own thoughts?

I was nervous to go. Though I hadn’t been on a roller coaster in decades, I knew the experience wouldn’t be like it was when I was, say, 12. I’d read the older you get, the less g forces you can withstand.

I pushed that thought aside though and agreed to go. I thought it would be a nice sister-bonding experience. It would be fun. It would certainly be a unique way to spend the weekend. And it was.

Continue reading →

Blogs I Follow

  • Patience Bloom
  • Thought Catalog
  • wordfromthewell
  • The Pema Chodron Foundation
  • zen habits
  • Debra Darvick
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • Lynne Cobb
  • Vivian DeGain Better at 50 Blog

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9 other subscribers

Archives

  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2018
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015

  • lizscribe24

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Patience Bloom

Tales and tips from a writer and book editor

Thought Catalog

Thought Catalog is a digital youth culture magazine dedicated to your stories and ideas.

wordfromthewell

Wake up.

The Pema Chodron Foundation

Writings of Elizabeth A. Katz

zen habits

Writings of Elizabeth A. Katz

Debra Darvick

Writings of Elizabeth A. Katz

The Pioneer Woman

Plowing through Life in the Country...One Calf Nut at a Time

Lynne Cobb

Mid-life Random Ramblings...

Vivian DeGain Better at 50 Blog

Columnist and arts writer

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Courting the Muses
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Courting the Muses
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...