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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