Evening star., 1939-03-26

for money to buy paints when he
had lived for three days on cup of
coffee, of Monet in bitter poverty, of
Degas dying in old age alone and
forgotten, of Cezanne described as
monster and ignoramus, and of
Renoir coming into recognition late
in life and apologizing to his old
comrades for consenting to receive a
ribbon of the Legion of Honor from
the government which had treated
him with contempt for so long a
time. And still others. 1t is re-
minder which should be inspiring to
young artists but cannot but be
shameful to the generality of us.
Still, as Mr.. Pembertone says in
his commentary, it has been by such
neglect that art has lived through
the ages-"If," he asks, "Renoir had
received money for his paintings
instead of trading them for Murer's
pastry and rabbit pie, would he have
continued to paint the nudes you
wish to caress? If Van Gogh had
received the money that later went
to dealers. would not the world have
been cheated of glorious record of
emotions in yellow paint? Let
the painter starve, let him continue
to fail to adapt his prejudices, so
that we may have rebels in art"
Which is (of course, exactly what
will go on happening. Yet. when
one who is no more than a member
Of the crowd which has thrown the
stones, reads such a record of suffer-
ing by artists as this, one cannot
but regret the process profoundly.
Seasoned Timber
By Dorothy Garfield. Neu
York: Hdrcourt Brace & Co.
Alas that the reviewer should have
mind so callous to the finer things
of life, as interpreted by the stand
ards Of the ladies' magazines! For
here is novel which, were she less
philistinic, would certainly move her
to raptures. 1t is full of absolutely
correct sentiments, set down In the
most obvious way in the world-a
feebleminded child could not miss
them. But the reviewer remains
caSe-hardened When she wants a
sermon. she will 60 to church. And
when she wants novel, she will go
right on reading Don Quijote."
Well, Mrs. Garfield, in a delight
fully ladylike manner, tells us here
the story of a golden-hearted fellow
who is principal of small prep
school and gets the offer of rich
bequest, provided that he will bar
Jews from his school tffenceforward.
The fine man is above prejudice, and,
though he needs the money, never
thinks twice. There is quite to-do
about it all and he has some bad
moments. but he stands firm. Would
you have guessed it?) In the mean
time. there is love affair which
further demonstrates how high
minded chap he is.
The reviewer cannot 90 bevond
that. If you like to be inspired bv
platitudes go on-read this book.
But unless you are sure that YOU
can make it, you should not try to
get inebriated on weak tea.
New Ways in PsychoonoIysis
By Karen Horney. Ne1u York..
w. w. Norton & Co.
Psychoanalysis came into the
world at about the turn of the cen
tury
The concept itself, as put forth
by the Austrian physician Sigmund
Freud, long since has been assured
OF secure place in the history of
mans intellectual development. Psy-
choanalysis was, in effect, science
OF the structure of human thinking.
an effort to determine laws and
cause and effect relationships in
mental and emotional life. For the
first time man was in a position to
give an altogether logical explana-
ton OF why he acted as he did
especially when his acts became 50
overtly anti-social as to excite the
apprehension of his fellows.
Primarily the new science was of
philosophical interest. It happened.
however, to have a very practical
application in the practice of medi-
cine, whose few advances in the field
of psychiatry had been stumblings
in the dark.
1t meay be that Freud did his lob
too thoroughly, Stacking the new
science with rigid concepts which
have become dogmas to his disciples.
Various early followers broke awav
into independent systems, such as
those of Carl Jung and Alfred Adler.
The main body chung to Freud, many
OF them with an almost religious de-
votion which found no place for
heretics.
DR.. Karen Horney, one of the
most eminent of American psyche
analysts, attempts in this book to
re-evaluate the Freudian hypothses
in the light of the experience of a
quarter of century during which
psychonalysis has undergone the
acid test of practical application in
widely different social complexes,
Naturally she has found many
weaknesses in the ex-
treme importance placed on sexual
motivation in Freud's own work and
the failure to give proper signif1-
canoe to personal insecurity in a
world which is ever becoming less
and less secure for the individual.
T. r. H.