Evening star., 1936-07-11
Bv Mary.Carter Roberts.

Huxley has been an interesting
a one to this reviewer, and, no
doubt, to all persons concerned with
current letters. In view OF the tre-
mendously conspicuous nature OF his
work, it hardly seems necessary to
linger over the reasons for the inter-
est here; suffice it to say that as
long ago as "Antic Hay" he was ex-
pressing with singular completeness
an attitude of intelligent remuneration
toward all dogma OF illusion, ana
that since the writing of that work,
in his fiction at least, he has vir-
tually limited himself to restating his
position. His successive novels have
contained little that was not implicit
in the earlier one. No one, however,
could imagine that he would go on
indefinitely in that manner.
1t seemed likely, indeed, that he
would abandon the novel altogether
and turn finally to the essay. For
the novels that he has written have
been given over in large part to criti-
cism. 1t was uttered usually by i'm
possibly long -winded old gentlemen
who had no other function in the
story or inserted as parts of the diary
of this or that literary character.
And increasingly the Huxleian flc-
ton has shown tendency to patch
these critical essays together with q
stereotyped action; increasingly AL
dous Huxley'S books have seemed to
exist for the sake of their authors
asides rather than for their charac-
terS. They have been slowing down,
in other words; the furious rush of
the earlier novel has become nearly
static: the attitude has crystalized.
How long. one has been wondering,
before a maturer economy would di-
rect that the pretense of fiction be
dropped altogether and the essay
adopted openly? Or, if not that, how
long before some other course would
commend itself to this man of un-
questionable genius who, as a novel;
ist. seemed to have written himself
brilliantly out? 1t was a question.
1t is answered in "Eyeless in Gaza" 4"
Admirers of the definiteness and clar-
ity of past works will receive it with
surprise, it is to be feared
For, in this latest work, Mr. Hux-
ley has preserved his old novel form
and many of his old characters, and
moved them, too, through many Of
the old gambits. But he has, for his
own part, attempted a new one. He
has made an effort to go outside of
his crystal of disillusion and pro-
pound what one necessarily calls A
Solution. He seems to do it expert
mentally. With difhdence, with timid-
ity almost, he puts forward the notion
that perhaps it is possible to live
- with dignity and reason after ALL
He suggests even that it may be
within our potentialities to live ef-
fectively. 1t is turn from the old
philosophy-a turn with a vengeance.
How does he go about this trans
formation? AS has been said. he
keeps pretty well to his old outline
The action" of his novel concerns
itself with betrayals of individual in
tegrity, with adulteries and conver-
sation, none of which are very diff
ferent from the betrayals. adulteries
and conversations of previous works.
1nterSpersed through this familiar
material, however, are excerpts from
the journal of the hero, and into this
document Mr.. Huxley puts his new
strange Interpretation of existence.
1t has little or no relation to the rest
of the book until the closing chapter.
The behavior Of the hero himself Ger
tainly reflects nothing of the philos-
ophy which his creator makes him
write down. The new concept is
slipped into the old action paren-
thetically - almost surreptitiously -
and with little relevance. Only in
the very closing pages does Mr.. Hux-
ley connect his hero with his hero's
supposed ideas, and then, obviously,
1t is a connection by technical neces-
sity-the book had to end somewhere.
But what is this new Huxleian
philosophy? That of course, is the
important thing. One sets it down
in quotations. taking the passage from
the hero's final meditations on his
future course in life.
He himself. Anthony went on to
think, he himself, had chosen to re-
gard the whole process (human poten-
tlallties) as either pointless or q prac-
tical joke. Yes. chosen. For 1t had
been an act Of the will. If 1t were all
nonsense or joke, then he was at
liberty to read his books and exercise
his talent for sarcastic comment:
there was no reason why he shouldn't
sleep with any presentable woman
who was ready to sleep with him. If
1t weren't nonsense, If there was some
significance, then he could no longer
live irresponsibly. There were duties
toward himself and others and the
nature OF things And now at last
1t was clear, now he knew that
the point was in the paradox, in the
TACT that unity was the beginning
and unity the end, and that in the
meantime the condition of life and all
existence was separation, which was
equivalent to evil. Yes, the point, he
insisted, was that one demands of
oneself the achievement of the i'm
pOooAHiCs 4LC POlut 10 JlldL, GNCu Will
the best will in the world, the separate
evil universe of a person or a physical
pattern can never unite itself COM
pletely with other lives and beings or
the totality of life and being 1t
Is test, an notwithstanding diff
f1cult, drawn out through a lifetime,
perhaps through long series of life
times. Lifetimes passed in the at
tempt to open up further and little
further the closed universe that per-
petually attempts to spring shut the
moment the effort is relaxed. Passed
In overcoming the separating passions
of hate and malice and pride. Passed
In making still the self-emphasizing
cravings. Passed in constant efforts
to realize unity with other lives and
other modes of being. To experience
1t in the act of love and compassion.
To experience it on another plane
through meditation, in the insight of