Popular Culture Review Vol. 14, No. 2, Summer 2003 | Page 126

122 Popular Culture Review down, and that perhaps, as Shakespeare noted, his life has deteriorated into “...a tale...signifying nothing.” The poem’s ending stands in vivid opposition to the sen timent presented in the opening scene. This, then, is the old man’s actual future — not fellowship or birds or booze or songs, but a fate that is bleak, hopeless, intoxi cated, pointless. In writing “Mr. Flood’s Party,” Robinson very likely described drunkenness as he personally had experienced and understood it.18 Whether he meant to de scribe a charming little party with a bleak ending or a pathetic alcoholic with no future may not be the point. Consciously or not, Robinson has invited us into one of the most critical areas of the alcoholic mind and shown us its twisted percep tions, its self-destructiveness, its isolation, its denial, and, even, its insanity. In so doing, he has presented a richly textured, clinically accurate portrait of a man who is fast approaching the most destructive and hopeless stage of his disease. Mesa State College Matts G. Djos Notes 1. In a letter to Witter Bynner written October 14,1921, Robinson said that he had a “prejudiced liking” for Flood and was glad Bynner approved of his creation (see page 127 of Selected Letters). In an earlier letter to Louis Ledoux on December 14,1920, he writes that R ood has made his “disreputable debut” in Nation, the poem having been turned down by Colliers for alcoholic reasons (see page 123 of Selected Letters). Robinson seems here to reveal both an element of rebellion against the social order and a feeling of kinship with his creation. 2. It is interesting to note that Robinson has chosen to name the little hamlet back down the road for a light two-wheeled carriage without a top. The very name suggests a certain openness and vulnerabilityas is any relationship with society or any kind of human communion. In this case, however, the old curmudgeon will have none of such exposure or vulnerability-indeed, we may suppose that he has discerned all too well that such vulnerability and openness is integral with the nature of human affairs and the price of social intercourse. 3. Joseph Harkey rationalizes R ood’s two moons as symbolic of a dual time frame. He feels that a man of R ood’s integrity would not get drunk and would not see double (20). Harkey thus seems to think that moral fiber and willpower are adequate defenses against excessive drinking. This may be true for most people; but will power and integrity have nothing to do with alcoholic attitudes, except that they don’t work. Harkey thinks that he proves his point by noting that R ood has only (!) three drinks during the party. Besides, he argues, Rood is trying to escape his loneliness, and he is bitter because his life is uncertain. Harkey does not seem prepared to admit that loneliness, bitterness, and a fear of loss of control are the hallmarks of alcoholism. It is ironic that, while Harkey thinks he has given reasons why R ood is not an alcoholic, he has provided a truckload of evidence suggesting that Eben is an alcoholic. 4. Alcoholics Anonymous describes the puzzling nature of alcoholism (see page 20) and the numerous excuses and alibis which an alcoholic is likely to conjure up (see page 23). 5. It is interesting to note that, although Robinson was a known alcoholic, the effects o f his disease on his thinking and on his writing are frequently discounted and, in some cases, even politely ignored. The words “alcohol” or “alcoholism” are rarely indexed in Robinson’s critical canon, and his life-long battle with alcohol is usually given short shrift in his biographies. If alcohol is mentioned, it is frequently dismissed with a superficial rationale or an apology or two. One of the poet’s finest critics, Yvor Winters, wrote that Robinson’s brother, Herman, was “something of an alcoholic” (9), as if there was such a thing as quasi-alcoholism. In writing of Robinson, Winters says that the poet was “not dangerously addicted” to alcohol (11). In my opinion, there is no such thing as not being dangerously addicted to