The past few days I have been pondering the whole issue of "intellectual" vs. "sentimental" stories. I can never seem to get enough of comments from people about movies, music, stories, etc. that they didn't like because it wasn't a "happy ending"--something we have brought up in class a couple of times I know.
Interestingly, in a letter to Seymour Lawrence in April 1956 Katherine Anne Porter complains about having received a letter from one Marc T. Greene - a "perfect stranger" to Katherine who seemed to feel offended-threatened, even, to have had to read her less than sappy work. I was happy to find that she doesn't make any attempt to excuse herself saying, "It is offensive." And than I thought it was funny how one old stranger finds it important enough to put the energy into writing an author because they are shocked at what they are reading, calling it "vile." She admits that other writers, "have got along nicely with not a bawdy scene or crooked word." Ha, but then she follows with,
There are plenty of others; but not because they see and write about the
baseness and cheapness of life, but because they know nothing else, or
will not admit the truth of anything higher. I write of the base aspects of
human character out of a loathing of it, really--yet it is there, all mixed in
with the good and the desirable...
And isn't that what life is about anyway? A whole spectrum of characters out there identifying themselves differently-- and that is simply what Katherine was writing about, actual people.