Date: Sat, 30 Jul 94 14:22:51 MDT
From: Hans Ehrbar <ehrbar-AT-econ.utah.edu>
Subject: Jack London: Can writers be alienated?



I claim that writers CAN be alienated.  They are alienated from
themselves when they write about one thing but really mean something
totally different.  Alice Miller analyses this, without using the word
``alienation,'' among others in the case of Nietzsche, in part Two of
her book ``The Untouched Key: Tracing Childhood Trauma in Creativity
and Destructiveness'' Doubleday 1990, ISBN 0 385 26763 0.
Only one quote has to suffice here.  Alice Miller writes on p. 111:

The many passages in which Nietzsche characterizes Christianity are a
key to how he felt about his relatives.  We need only substitute ``my
aunts'' or ``my family'' for the word ``Christianity'' for his vehement
attacks suddenly to make sense.

This conveys Miller's basic thesis, but in its blunt formulation it
belies the depth and sensitivity with which Miller treats this
question.  I can highly recommend that you read this book, and for
some background I recommend Miller's ``Banished Knowledge: Facing
Childhood Injuries'', Doubleday 1990, ISBN 0 385 26762 2.  She warns,
in my view correctly, that the way we treat our children is an
unrecognized Achilles heel of capitalist society.  What she says is
very relevant for this group: the subjects we are discussing here,
from the crime bill to Rwanda to ecological disaster, are very taxing
and are more than theoretical issues.  Our ability to experience our
own feelings is a crucial prerequisite for our ability to work towards
the sorely needed social changes.


Hans G. Ehrbar                                    ehrbar-AT-econ.utah.edu
Economics Department, 308 BuC                     (801) 581 7797
University of Utah                                (801) 581 7481
Salt Lake City    UT 84112-1107                   (801) 585 5649 (FAX)


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