Abstract
After some health episodes, Steinbeck begins reflective writing about his country—and his role in it. Rather than living abroad, as he and Elaine did for the better part of a year, he returns to the United States with enthusiasm. He writes this difficult philosophical novel in less than six months. In his mind, this book works in tandem with his Travels with Charley in Search of America—which he begins immediately after finishing the formal novel.
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Notes
- 1.
As insightful as information from today’s best trauma theorists—Cathy Caruth, Kali Tal, Judith Herman, and others—Steinbeck’s information about post-traumatic stress disorder and other kinds of delayed trauma reaction rings true. The nightmares that occur constantly, sometimes continuously, become the daymares that Hawley describes. He is the victim of his war experiences—and other death experiences—just as Danny Taylor is the victim of his experiences of repeated failure.
- 2.
Drawing further from the Pierpont manuscript, DeMott mentions that an entire chapter about the human sexual warfare and gender differences between Ellen and Allen Hawley were later excised from the manuscript. He describes these pages as “disturbing material.” (Manuscript 276–81. DeMott ibid.)
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Wagner-Martin, L. (2017). The Winter of Our Discontent. In: John Steinbeck. Literary Lives. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55382-9_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55382-9_10
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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