Chapter 3 Towards the Hometown of Art (3)--Spiritual Father

The uncle who lived in the iron house above New York taught Karl the mystery of independence and freedom without saying a word, even under the circumstances that disgusted him. Coming to New York from the ancient and romantic Europe, Karl found himself isolated in an iron house-like house, and even his vision was limited. His vision was deprived of his uncle's disapproving expression.Who can understand the profound heart of uncle?Maybe he thinks that what people can see is the superficial temptation of life, and the superficial appearance is nothing but a deception. If one wants to understand the essence of life, one must experience it personally.The two and a half months of confinement in the iron house can be regarded as the preparation before the uncle's mental weaning of Karl.

What kind of person is uncle?He is not against music, maybe he just despises that kind of shallow intoxication; he can also really appreciate the essence of poetry, but he never talks about it with Karl; Don't jump to conclusions, just wait patiently; he has earned Carl's admiration. The long-term spiritual hunger finally made Karl a little impatient-perhaps this was what his uncle had expected-he plucked up the courage to propose to his uncle to visit an old friend of his uncle, who There is a young daughter.He was anxious to establish a connection with the world, so he fell into the "conspiracy" carefully planned by his uncle.Before leaving, without his knowledge, his uncle made him a free choice—to go or not to go?Uncle himself kept a secret and seemed to be ambivalent.Carl chose to go out of instinct and impulse, and paid a high price for this active choice.Karl's choice seems to be accidental, even similar to being cheated, but it is actually a free choice.Uncle knew that he couldn't live in the iron house for long, and it might be time for him to choose life; he also anticipated that Karl's choice would be terrible.The selected things develop according to the arrangement of my uncle.Karl was led by the nose by necessity, and finally he was completely devastated.Uncle's plan is to let Karl abandon everything in his body at the first step of independence, take away all his dependence, and make him a naked person.In that strange letter, he later encouraged Carl to stick to his choice, to be a man, and asked Carl to cut ties with him completely.This rational American uncle also criticized the human touch of Karl's family in the letter. He believed that Karl especially needed to overcome his European complex, only in this way could he gain real independence.The ruthless uncle is actually the spiritual father who helps Karl to become completely independent!This is not surprising at all, true spiritual independence has always been a cruel thing, a thing that needs to be experienced; people who have not experienced this cruelty have never achieved independence.Uncle's behavior was not decisive, but hesitant.For example, he didn't seem very happy that Carl made music, but he sent someone to bring him a beautiful piano; he didn't want Carl to play the piano all day, but gave him some simple music scores; Take the initiative to discuss this with him, ignite Karl's desire, and prompt Karl to take the initiative to make a decision; he hopes that Karl will get rid of family influence (that kind of irresponsible warmth), but he tells him to take care of the suitcase that has been lost and recovered - the family symbol of.From these things, he seems to have no lack of warmth.However, just when Karl made that fatal choice in a daze, it was the same uncle who sent his friend Grace to deal with Karl, manipulating the whole incident behind the scenes, and finally broke Karl's life ruthlessly. All retreats threw him into a strange world.The only thing his uncle gave him was two and a half months of English training that he could barely make a living on.The uncle's behavior reminds us of the weaning of young animals, which is horrifyingly cruel but the only possible way.Karl is a special child (this has been reflected in his daring behavior), and the difficulties he will face in the future are similar to the unpredictable dangers of nature. Without this cruel first lesson, it will be even more difficult for him to adapt A wandering life.Uncle's heart is full of contradictions and conflicts, but for him, principles cannot be violated.

The villa of my uncle's friend Pollander in the suburbs of New York is a lonely fortress that is airy but closed.In that huge and dark labyrinth, Karl was humiliated and conquered by the wild and dissolute American girl Clara, and got the first meeting gift as a guest.Everything was carefully arranged, but at the same time Karl chose it inadvertently.Uncle predicts things like a god, like a god.The realization of the conspiracy is carried out in the small talk between Uncle's friend Grain and everyone (including Carl).Throughout the whole process, Glenn is calm, sometimes even seems to be teasing Carl, but in fact he is very serious.On the contrary, Calmon bumped his way around, with unrealistic fantasies in his heart, bumped into walls everywhere, and was in a panic.He originally expected to experience the warm and hospitable atmosphere of a friend's home in the suburbs, but when he arrived here, he was beaten by a strong American girl without thinking, and he saw the corruption, gloomy, and depravity of American family life with his own eyes. and hypocrisy.Clara's rough slap knocked him back from his dream to reality. He was wronged, frustrated, and desperate, and he decided to go back.Uncle Karl's turning point had been expected, and he knew that no matter how much he taught him not to be fooled by the appearance of things, Karl as a child would not remember it.So he thinks: Karl must have his own experience.

Grain, the cunning old New York bachelor, whom Karl regarded as his enemy, was carrying out his mission on behalf of Karl's fate, which was arranged by his uncle, but the fate was too close for Karl to recognize him.With his uncle's autographed letter in his purse, the old fox waited patiently in the fort until Karl had had enough grievances and pains and offered to go back before showing his hole card."No" is written on the hole card.Not only can't go back, Karl can't stay here either.His uncle's letter showed him that he had completely abandoned him, and blocked all possibility of his dependence.Since then, he has nothing and no one to rely on.Even the promise that Grane would help him, revealed in his uncle's letter, was a deception, which was soon verified by Grane.Enraged by the unruly Karl, he didn't give him any help and pushed him out of the door.Complete severance is thus achieved.Going to the country as a guest is a collective conspiracy, the purpose is to make Karl sensible and mature as soon as possible.

Uncle's cold principles were unshakable, and Karl had no choice but to adapt.He still thought of his uncle with tenderness, which was equal to zero in reality.Under the coercion of this strongman, the young man wants to use his own feet to make a way.So in the dark suburbs, without being able to judge the direction at all, Karl chose a road at random and walked forward.Behind Carl, we may be able to see the uncle's conflicting eyes, which contain silent blessings - he knows that Carl is a strong boy, otherwise he would not have told everyone when he first met him on the ship Loudly exposing his ugliness.He believed that Karl could bear any blow, and it was his duty to deal the first blow to his nephew.

As Grace said, Uncle's mind is beyond comprehension.For Karl, the uncle was even more shrouded in a fog, and it was impossible to see his true face clearly.In this fortress in the suburbs, the lonely Karl regretted his rash decision more than once and wanted to go back.Everything in the fort made him feel terrible, he wanted to escape, he wanted to return to his spiritual patron, and he believed that his uncle would welcome him and communicate with him.But the truth is: Karl can never communicate with the enigmatic uncle.Assuming this communication is realized, Karl would not have his own wandering life; it is this kind of communication that can never be realized, and Karl must experience what happened to himself.Mysteries are always mysteries, which can only be understood after the fact, and can never be solved in advance.The god-like uncle saw from the very beginning that Karl's future way of life could only be a vagabond.So in the short two and a half months, he has been preparing for Karl's wandering, and what happened in the suburban villa is the climax of this preparation.Uncle's arrangements were perfect, and everything he wished for was realized.Karl experienced isolation, fear, the crush of the world, a loss of integrity; it was the ghostly figures in the fortress who taught him all of it himself.In this sense, communicating with my uncle is equivalent to communicating with my own destiny, and destiny contains infinite possibilities, and no one can communicate with it, but can only understand it later.

The fortress in the suburbs of New York is the practice place arranged by his uncle for Karl quietly. Whether it is Clara's roughness, Grace's insidiousness, or Pollander's kindness that never works, they are all for Karl. A very good education, the necessary educational courses besides English.With this experience, no matter what Carl encounters in the future, he will not make a fuss.