''After Many a Summer'' (1939) is a novel by
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley ...
that tells the story of a Hollywood millionaire who fears his impending death. It was published in the United States as ''After Many a Summer Dies the Swan''. Written soon after Huxley left England and settled in California, the novel is Huxley's examination of American culture, particularly what he saw as its
narcissism
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Narcissism exists on a co ...
,
superficiality
What social psychologists call "the principle of superficiality versus depth" has pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato.
Historical sketch
Socrates sought to convince his debaters to turn from the superficiality of a worldview ...
, and obsession with youth. This satire also raises philosophical and social issues, some of which would later take the forefront in Huxley's final novel ''
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
''. The novel's title is taken from
Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
's poem ''
Tithonus
In Greek mythology, Tithonus ( or ; grc, Τιθωνός, Tithonos) was the lover of Eos, Goddess of the Dawn. He was a prince of Troy, the son of King Laomedon by the Naiad Strymo (Στρυμώ). The mythology reflected by the fifth-century vas ...
'', about a figure in Greek mythology to whom
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
gave eternal life but not eternal youth. The book was awarded the 1939
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...
for fiction.
Plot summary
The action revolves around a few characters brought together by a Hollywood millionaire, Jo Stoyte. Each character represents a different attitude toward life. Stoyte, in his sixties and conscious of his mortality, is desperate to stave off death. Stoyte hires Dr. Obispo and his assistant Pete to research the secrets to long life in carp, crocodiles, and parrots. Jeremy Pordage, an English archivist and literature expert, is brought in to archive a rare collection of books. Pordage's presence highlights Stoyte's shallow attitude toward the precious works of art that he affords himself. Other characters are Virginia, Stoyte's young mistress; and Mr. Propter, a childhood acquaintance of Stoyte's who lives on a small nearby farm and works to improve the lot of the mistreated and underpaid laborers Stoyte had working for him. Mr. Propter believes:
... every individual is called on to display not only unsleeping good will but also unsleeping intelligence. And this is not all. For, if individuality is not absolute, if personalities are illusory figments of a self-will disastrously blind to the reality of a more-than-personal consciousness, of which it is the limitation and denial, then all of every human being's efforts must be directed, in the last resort, to the actualisation of that more-than-personal consciousness. So that even intelligence is not sufficient as an adjunct to good will; there must also be the recollection which seeks to transform and transcend intelligence.
This is essentially Huxley's own position. Though other characters achieve conventional success, even happiness, only Mr. Propter does so without upsetting anyone or creating evil. Propter also says, "Time and craving, craving and time--two aspects of the same thing; and that thing is the raw material of evil." For this reason, he sees any effort to extend human lifespans—the very work that Stoyte had hired Dr. Obispo and Pete to do, as nothing but "a couple of extra lifetimes of potential evil."
Dr. Obispo views science as the ultimate good and is therefore cynical and dismissive about straightforward notions or morality. Because he views himself as a man of science, he has no qualms about deriving pleasure or happiness at others' expense. According to Propter's philosophy, he is trapped in ego-based "human" behavior that prevents him from reaching enlightenment.
One evening, Obispo visits Jeremy, who reads to him from the diaries of the Fifth Earl of Gonister, written in the late eighteenth century. At the time, the Fifth Earl was extremely old and looking into the secrets of long life. He eventually concludes it can be obtained by eating raw fish guts. Obispo is at first skeptical but then realizes the Fifth Earl may be onto something.
Throughout the book, Obispo repeatedly rapes Virginia, which results in Virginia's self-recrimination and feelings of sordid guilt:
It had happened again, even though she’d said no, even though she’d got mad at him, fought with him, scratched him; but he’d only laughed and gone on; and then suddenly she was too tired to fight anymore. Too tired and too miserable. He got what he wanted; and the awful thing was that it seemed to be what she wanted--or rather, what her unhappiness wanted; for the misery had been relieved for a time...
Stoyte senses that Virginia is acting differently and assumes that she is having an affair with Pete, who is the only person Virginia's age living on Stoyte's estate. Stoyte finds out the truth when he witnesses Obispo and Virginia, which results in his getting his revolver with the intention of shooting Obispo. He accidentally kills Pete (whose thoughts and morals had slowly started to expand under Propter's tutelage) instead. Obispo knows Stoyte intended to kill him but covers up the act for money and continued research support. This takes him, along with Virginia and Stoyte, to Europe, where they find the Fifth Earl, now 201 years old and living locked in a dungeon with a female housekeeper, whom he beats. The Fifth Earl and his housekeeper both resemble apes -- "a foetal ape that's had time to grow up," according to Obispo, who sarcastically asks Stoyte if he would like to undergo the treatment. The book concludes with Stoyte's response:
'How long do you figure it would take before a person went like that?' he said in a slow, hesitating voice. 'I mean, it wouldn't happen at once...there'd be a long time while the person...well, you know; while he wouldn't change any. And once you get over the first shock—well, they look like they're having a pretty good time. I mean in their own way, of course. Don't you think so, Dr. Obispo?' he insisted.
Dr. Obispo went on looking at him in silence; then threw back his head and started to laugh again.[''After Many a Summer'', London: Chatto & Windus, 1962, p. 314.]
Characters
*Jeremy Pordage
*Mr. Propter
*Pete
*Dr. Obispo
*Jo Stoyte
*Virginia
Major themes
These characters expose questions and answers depicting their various life philosophies until the climax in a
Socratic method
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ...
, while explorations of
mortality
Mortality is the state of being mortal, or susceptible to death; the opposite of immortality.
Mortality may also refer to:
* Fish mortality, a parameter used in fisheries population dynamics to account for the loss of fish in a fish stock throug ...
,
eroticism
Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...
,
class struggle
Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
The forms ...
,
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
, and
greed
Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as Social status, status, or Power (social and politica ...
are all presented dispassionately throughout.
The story works scientific knowledge into a more traditional form of narrative. The evolutionary principle of
neoteny
Neoteny (), also called juvenilization,Montagu, A. (1989). Growing Young. Bergin & Garvey: CT. is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny is found in modern humans compared ...
(a phenomenon of adult retention of juvenile-like morphology or behaviour) has been invoked to explain the origin of human characteristics from ape ancestors. The storyline suggests that if we lived longer, we would continue to develop along the path of an ape and eventually become ape-like.
Huxley came from a well-known family of biologists, and his grasp of the principle of neoteny seems to reflect this influence. The story has been interpreted as the British Huxley's contemptuous nod to the Hearstian reality of the United States in the early part of the 20th century: Jo Stoyte is an allegory for
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
by his acquisitions of art, etc., and living in an opulent estate—similar to
Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada (Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his archit ...
—with Virginia, who can be taken as a parody of
Marion Davies
Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...
.
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
may have been inspired by this novel—after
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
rejected Welles's two earlier ideas for scripts—to write the
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
for ''
Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' with
Herman Mankiewicz
Herman Jacob Mankiewicz (; November 7, 1897 – March 5, 1953) was an American screenwriter who, with Orson Welles, wrote the screenplay for ''Citizen Kane'' (1941). Both Mankiewicz and Welles would go on to receive the Academy Award for Best Or ...
, although their screenplay is very different from the novel.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
*NBC University Theater radio adaptation 12 December 1948, starring
Paul Henreid
Paul Henreid (November 10, 1908 – March 29, 1992) was an Austrian-British-American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best remembered for two film roles; Victor Laszlo in ''Casablanca'' and Jerry Durrance in ''Now, Voyager'', bo ...
and
Alan Hale, Sr.
Alan Hale Sr. (born Rufus Edward Mackahan; February 10, 1892 – January 22, 1950) was an American actor and director. He is best remembered for his many character roles, in particular as a frequent sidekick of Errol Flynn, as well as f ...
, with intermission commentary by
Norman Cousins
Norman Cousins (June 24, 1915 – November 30, 1990) was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.
Early life
Cousins was born to Jewish immigrant parents Samuel Cousins and Sarah Babushkin Cousins, in West ...
*''After Many a Summer'' (UK, 1967, TV)
*In early 2000 the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation commissioned a 35-minute dance for the
White Oak Dance Project White Oak Dance Project was a dance company founded in 1990 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris.
The company took the name of the animal preservation and land plantation owned by philanthropist and Baryshnikov friend Howard Gilman. Gilman built ...
called ''After Many a Summer Dies the Swan'' after Huxley's novel.
* The book is mentioned in the novella and film ''
A Single Man
''A Single Man'' is a 2009 American period romantic drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, the film stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for the Acad ...
'', when George Falconer (
Colin Firth
Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...
) places it in his briefcase alongside an empty pistol and discusses it with his class.
Release details
*UK,
Chatto and Windus
Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...
, 1939, hardback (first edition)
*USA,
Harper and Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
, 1939, hardback, originally as ''After Many a Summer Dies the Swan''
References
{{Aldous Huxley
1939 British novels
1939 science fiction novels
British philosophical novels
Hollywood novels
Novels by Aldous Huxley
Chatto & Windus books