Re: This isn't about 'dinner'


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Posted by Peter Ceresole on February 23, 2008 at 09:29:06 from 80.176.146.133 user PeterC.

In Reply to: Re: This isn't about 'dinner' posted by Peter H on February 23, 2008 at 23:27:04:

what is the objective truth, the truth that exists independently of any of us? That can only be judged by what is in Ransome's text.

Yes, you are definitely right. It couldn't possibly be any other way. AR was a superb craftsman- which is one reason why we enjoy his books so much- and his stories were written for several specific purposes. One of them was undoubtedly to make a living, but another must have been to give delight for its own sake. For that he created a consistent world, and to do that he needed to invent a lot of detail which is, if you're in the mood, fun to pick over and even to extend imaginatively. But it is functional stuff, designed to help the story along; I'm quite sure for instance that AR, in mentioning 'the tall wireless masts at Bawdsey' in WDMTGTS had no intention at all of either dating the story to some time from 1936 onwards (which makes for an awkward fit with the dates of the other books) or of somehow alluding to the looming threat of war. Although you can read all those things into the text, and it might be fun to explore their implications, the reality is that they are strictly optional extras. They're like whizzy hub caps; a car doesn't need them to run, but if you're a whizzy hub cap kind of person then it's fun to discuss them with other whizzy hub cap people. Or should that be whizzy Beckfoot plumbing? I enjoyed the plumbing thread; what kind of geek does that make me?

So yes, the text is the thing, and nothing else counts. But there's lots of extra fun to be had. Provided that Tarboard remains decent and reasonably polite, it's easy enough to read what you like, and leave the rest aside.


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