At the beginning of the chapter on page 257, we can see that Sherrie is not going to forgive Swenson. Later, she even decides to leave him, and goes to live with their friend Arlene. We can also see that Swenson has now realized the gravity of his mistake, his life is in shambles. He spends his days reading classic novels about adultery and betrayal, and then drinks in the afternoon. He is becoming a shadow of his former self. He is seeking answers, and consolation from the movie Blue Angel, (to see another pitiful self-abasing slob transformed by the magic of art into a tragic hero), he wonders. He wants to figure out how his life, now all of a sudden, is mirroring the life of the fictional Professor Rath.
The way Francine Prose chose to end this novel came as a bit of a shock to me. I mean, I kept hoping that Swenson would at some point muster up the courage to stand up for himself, and say what really happened when Angela was fabricating all those lies about the way everything went down. Although, I don't think Swenson's truthful personal version of the accounts was going to sway Bentham or the rest of the committee to his corner. However, it would have kept "coward" off the long list of things that are wrong with Swenson. I guess what really surprised me about the ending was the way Angela Argo came out totally unscathed; She even got a publishing deal. Make no mistake, Angela was no "babe in the woods" in this novel. And if one sees her as such, one should re-read the book, and this time with an open mind. Angela lied, and manipulated Swenson from the very beginning. Unfortunately, for him, he was either too blind or too stupid to see it, and decided to play pals with his Id, instead of joining forces with his Superego.
Welcome to the blog for Prof. John Talbird's English 102 class. The purpose of this site is two-fold: 1) to continue the conversations we start in class (or to start conversations before we get to class) and 2) to practice our writing, reading, and thinking on a weekly basis in an informal setting.
i think, the Swenson's behavior is like anyone behavior in the same situation. To be honest, since the beginning of the book, swenson knew Angela were trying yo use him, but maybe he did not want to accept that, he chose to believe he attracted her in some way, because it was obvious she were trying to use him for herself.
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