rhe AMERICAN SPECTATOR A LITERARY NEWSPAPER

Vol. I. No. 6. APRIL, 1933 All Rag Paper Edition—50 Cents The AMERICAN SPECTATOR FREUDIANISM BEFOEE A FOKGOTIEN AMERICAN A LITERARY NEWSPAPER FKEUD CHRISTIAN

EDITED BT by PRESERVED SMITH by HERBERT ASBURY GFORGK JKAN NATHAN npO all appearances psychoanalysis has deeply ^^O exact count was ever made of the number •*• colored much of contemporary literature. Many •*• ^ of dance halls, melodcons, concert saloons and ERNEST BOYD biographers apply it a.S a key to unlocking the soul; other dives that flourished during the early days THEODORE DREISER novels without end deal with complexes, sublima­ of San Francisco's Barbary Coast, but there must JAMES BRANCH CABELL tion, the ego and the id, and various forms of per­ have been at least several hundred. With various EUGENE O'NEILL version and neurosis; plays like O'Neill's "Mourn­ changes in name and ownership, many survived ing Becomes Elcctra," d'Aniiunzio's "Citta Morta." until the earthquake and fire of 1906 devastated an'fl Howard's "The Silver Cord" exploit the incest the entire district. They included such celebrated p„hM,<(l f>y THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR, INC. motif; histories of literature, especially Lewisohn's resorts as the Bull Run, Canterbury Hall, the RiciiAnn R. SMITH, President "Fxpression in America," explain the whole intel­ Louisiana, the Thunoerbolt, the Cock 0' the Walk, 12 lui"! n»l Street, New York City lectual life of a nation in Freudian terms. Never^ Hell's Kitchen, the Opera Comique, the Dew Drop thelcss, one may weir pause to ask v/hether Freud Inn, the Rosebud, Every Man Welcome, Brooks' did more than rationalize and justify a posteriori Melodeon, the Tulip, the Occidental, the Arizona, knowledge and insight that had hitherto been the Montana, and the Coliseum, the management cjii.x nnt to In'liTllinl »illtor« - ™ ill'iil'in »T« pmlii-tid hy copjrrlrttii *nil ninii', no! b* r»pTlnti»d intuitive and half-conscious in the minds of great of which also, and pridefully, called it the Big Dive. P''JUl.. iir In fonii'-n^i-d tOTm witkoiit ircf!*! pfimlMlon. The 1,, of «li;irl» ropli. In 10 Cfnlii; tnniinl tuhdrrintloni 11.25: literary artists. O'Neill has recently denied any There was also, during the middle of the eighfccn- flt^isn .iib«frlpll"M ll.TS. All ng Ji»pnt rdltlon of »«ond J ,. rrri.fllnir loii'i. 60 "•>»«, or by unbncrlptlon dlreel to pob- direct debt to Freud in the following striking words, !I,J« seventies, a particularly vicious deadfall at Pacific r? , t-, rr.;» fur. KdltorUI *ni nublliihtntc offlcM, 12 E»«t ','1, utri.t N'w Vorli City. Ptlmod In thn nnlt-d 8l«lM of contained in a letter to Miss Martha C. Sparrow, and Kearny Streets. It was known as the Billy ;.,.i.n rnprrliM iess br TJio American SpfCttior, Inc., 1 i Mr.l II Miilth Pr>-«lilMil. Enlfffd M •pcond ctiti m*tt«T dated October 13, 1929, and published in the Goat because of the peculiarly repulsive combina­ ,, I i.r •'n It^t'.'.at t(ii> pout oOc« •! Hew York, B. T., niidrr .,,', Art of-Mnrch S, 1S7». Saturday Review of Literature for May 28, 1932: tion of odors, derived from stale beer, damp saw­ dust and unwashed humanity, with which its There is ho conscious use of psychoanalytical mate­ smoke-laden atmo.sphere was permeated. The rial in any of my plays. All of them could easily have proprietor, bouncer and chief bartender of the Billy hccn written by a dramatist who had never heard the EDITORIAL Goat was a middle-aged Irishwoman called, in the Freudian thco;-y and was simply guided by an intuitive Ain-r-!ifjrne /tinerican Ctntctrry HAT is yf'iir constructive projpram? What do psycholoRical insight into human beings and their life expressive nomenclature of the Barbary Coast, WAderringer and a hickory wagon-spoke, (vcrv hand one hear.s this criticism—if it can be The possibility of unconscious influence re­ and was very adept in the use of cither. She not (lictiifif'l hy such SI word—whenever human prob­ mains, both in the case of O'Neill ana in that of only encouraged, but if necessary participated in, lem'! arc discussed, and never arc these plaintive any writer of the last half century. It is uniformly any sort of crime on her premises so long aS she remarks more frequent than in times of change excluded, however, for any writer before Freud. received half the proceeds. She sold steam beer itvl stress, like the present. To produce a program, It is therefore extremely interesting to observe thai for a dime a bottle, and vile whiskey at five cents 1 sol'ilion, a panacea, in such times is obviously thoroughly Freudian principles can be found in THE NEW AMEMICAN KELIGION a large glassful. When served to a man who was !lic ffitiivalcnt of whistling in the dark. When great poets and novelists of the earlv nineteenth by LEONARD ROWE known to have a few dollars in his pocket, they pinplc arc bewildered, apprehensive, or down-rijjht century. TV/IAN'S persistent and ineradicable yearning for Man's age-old rebellion against the physical were more likely than not to contain knockout fr,i;;l)t!nod, they call for reassuring platitudes, for Incest has been much exploited by writers • •'•a land of make-believe, and his need for an limitations of his corporeal frame and his dis­ potions. liviiiing novelties, for anything that will distract from the time of tlio Greeks Until now Iwcaiisc the escape and refuge from the harsh and unyielding pleasure with some of its grosser physiological For several years this fragrant den vied with ilnir minds from present fears. If Mother will only horror it inspires adds a powerful ingredient to realities of his daily toil have, from time immemori­ functions had, in traditional religions, the com- the Bull Run for the distinction of being the 111! .1 licd-fime story. Little Fern will be a good girl tragedy. It interested the Greeks enormously, the al, found their outlet in religion. The wizardries pens.itory promise of immortal life. But the toughest place in San Francisco. The police, how­ md p" to sleep. Romans much less, and the mcdievals hardly at all and nccrom.incies of savage rites; the unctuous American with his practical, efficient do-it-now —so little, in fact, that the word "incest" in ever, were inclined to award the palm to the latter, Some cliildren arc permitted by their in d by Jack the Giant Killer. As they grew up phasized by Freud, the normal turning of sexual translation of Manon Lescaut. as thirty or forty men in the course of a single "'ih fhildren may have had the renewed thrill of energy into intellectual, artistic and religious more than Salvation; hence an advertisement of a night. She was supposed to receive half the revenue 'Hfliiij; these masterpieces for themselves, but (Conlinued on Page 4, Col. 1) new eye-lash curler that will give her eyes a lan­ Required reading: Manon Lescaut. Translated from this sort of prostitution, but was invariably ""I"" cnme a point when, even when eked out with guorous Greta Garbo soul fulness will fetch her by D. C. Moylan. London, 1841; The Story of cheated. ''yai;It, Grimm and Andersen, they failed to more than any soul-saving sermon. The bride vvhosc Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux. The Opera Comique at Jackson and Kearny >^iti-fy. .Similarly, an educated reader of the serious husband balks at her barbarous cooking turns des­ Translated by A. W. Gundry, Chicago, J886; The I' nodirals of Europe and America can hardly have THE WORST BOOK perately to the advertisements in Good Housekeep­ History of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier Streets, better known as Murderer's Corner, em­ '•'rrivrri ai jj,p j,j,g ^f forty without having been OF THE MONTH ing \v\nch impliedly hold out the hope that if she des Grieux. Boston, igo6; The History of Manon ployed French and Spanish women, both as per­ formers and as pretty waiter girls, and offered invited to consider cvcfy conceivable solution for EiMi. By e. e. climmings. uses Crisco, Gold Medal Flour aiid Jello her cook­ Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux. New ing will Surpass that of Voisin's and Larue's. And York, 1920; T/ie History of Manon Lescaut and the bawdiest and most obscene shows of any melo­ ''K' problems of this wicked world. The history eyi X Byi. Pp. 464- $3«> '•f mankind is the cc?«clcss fcpctition of various that if she washes her dishes in Ltix her hands the Chevalier des Grieux. Translated, with an in­ deon or concert saloon on the Barbary Coast New York": Covicl-Friede* f-iTv-wand movements, none of which has ever will become mdte beautiful than those of l«on- troduction, by George Dunning Gribble. London, It was owned by Happy Jack Harrington, who was achievtd the end iff view. ardd's "La Gioconda." 1925. (Continued on Pofft 2, Col. V

PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE AMEKICAN SPECTATOR - APRIL, 1933 (tntilinued from Page 1, Col. 5) DESIGN rOK LOVING OVU HABDSJHEARTED COMPULSORY LEISURE considered the Beau Brjimmel of the Coast and Was invariafily attired in the height of fashion. (Each Performance Followed by Numerous Parties) CHILDBEN by ERNEST BOYD His favorite costume consisted of a high-crowned An Impression of the Contemporary Fashionable British Drama by EMILY CLARK pOR reasons so painful tliat I will not distress plug hat, beneath which his hair was puffed out by GEORGE JEAN NATHAN ^77HEN the American novel, alxjut fifteen years *• the reader by mentioning them, it is a common in curls, a frock coat, a white shirt with a ruffled thing during these last three years to hear Amer­ Cast of Characters Lady Vi ^' ago, experienced a change greater than any bosom, a fancy waistcoat,- and cream or lavender ican business men say that they have at last foiin.J T,ord Derek, a hermaphrodite The world has its morals, its poo • little morals, of the minor changes to which it has since been colored trousers so tight that he looked as though time to leave their offices at a reasonably early ho ir The Duke of Mintington, his father, an its droll little morals, its piniy little morals, and we sulijected, a phenomenon not yet explained was the he had been melted and poured into them. His and enjoy a little leisure. Having nothing with Onanist liave ours. Who shall say which is right? most notable element of this change. It remains principal adornment and greatest pride, however, which to 'ocguile the hours from nine till six, tluv The Duchess, his mother, a Lesbian Derek today still the most notable. Authentic emotions was his silky brown mustache, which was so long depart from their places of non-businc.«s and dcvot-^ Daphne, his sister, a flagellant R.ither .nacabre, I call it! But you're a clever rather than sentimental imaginings were the basis that he could tie its ends under his chin. With the the afternoon either to reducing their waistlim-s I-ady Vi Twyning, his sister's friend, an auto- litfle dear, that's what you are—a clever little dear! of tlie new American novel. And the word "au­ r.id of a womart variously known as Dutch Louise playing squash, or adding to them by advancing thi Daphne thentic" is peculiarly appropriate here, for at that and Rig Louise, • Happy Jack ran the Opera croticist, with tribade tendencies cocktail hour to the early afternoon. Some regard Rather macabre, I call it. same remote date it began to acquire new connota­ Comique for several years, but he was an earnest Tewks, his manservant, a homosexual and this new dispensation not altogether with dignst; The Duke tions, a significance, a vogue, which it still retains. drinker and spent all their profits on liquor. transvcstist others are doubly incensed, because they not onlv Hoskins, his butler, an exhibitionist with Rather! Hunger jealousy, horror, hate, lust, anger, grief, Karly in i8"8, while recovering from an attack other equally authentic emotions at this period came resent the causes of this enforced leisure, but object Undinist proclivities The Duchess to the phenomenon of leisure in itsclt. of delirium tremens, Happy Jack came under the Stop it! Stop it! Else I shall go mad! (She into their proper literary inheritance. This was right Scene: Lord Derek's flat in Charles Street, May fair. In all the analyses of the Purit.-m mind and mlluencc of the •. Praying Band, a temperance vaults over the sofa and takes Daphne and Lady Vi and just, for American writers and American Lord Derek, the Duke, the Duchess, Daphne and its remoter ramifications in American life, iiobodv organization of devout women who periodically in her arms.) readers had, witl; a few distinguished exceptions, I^dy Vi have just finished dinner. has t/er troubled to point out the strangest of all invaded the Barbary Goast and annoyed the dive- The Duchess ignored these unpleasant but undeniable emotions the superstitions so cheerfully accepted from 'IK keepers with their efforts to reclaim the debauched Derek ' In Lauterbach hab' ich mein' Strumpf verlorcn. for many years. However, two other equally au­ thentic emotions, love and pity, at this time became Hebrew Scriptures in this country. I refer to the wrecks who lurched along the dismal thorough­ I say, mother darling, you are a bitch, aren't Daphne (archly) subjects to evoke all the shyness, fears and false notion, derived from Genesis, that work is in itsilf fares. They were not particularly efficient, as their you, my sweet? What does that mean ? MsuaL procedure was to surround a drunken man modesty hitherto evoked by lust. a virtue, and that Jehovah is particularly pleased The Duchess The Duchess and ask him with great earnestness; "Have you when the descendants of Adam emulate thi' Don't let your dear father, the lovable bastard, "Cheerio", in French. This is an inexplicable trend of our time, for seen Jesus?" Fcv/ had. They caught Happy Jack wretched man by earning their bread in the swea; overliear you saying that, my pet. You know how Derek love is an emotion as real, as independent of sen­ as he rebounded from the fearsome land of the of their faces. I remember that the first afternoon finical he is: finical de sidcle, as dear Lady Lavatoire (impassionedly smashing another vase) timentality, as incontrovertible, and in many cases pink elephant and the purple crocodile, and almost I ever walked down Fifth Avenue I was surprised was saying wittily only yesterday at the dear Illusion! What the world needs is a recapture as unpleasant, as the emotions so freely, truly and before he knew it he had professed religion, sold by the overwhelming majority of women un Countess's. of illusion. Without it, the human race—the human admirably dealt with in our literature today. Since his dive, received a Bible with his name in it, and escorted by men, at an hour when, in any b'.urop Mr, (Enter Hoskins. He serves cognac, V.V.S.O.P., that has slid back into the slime—the slime affection and pity can thrive as independently of race metropolis, mankind sorts itself, after the im­ had l)een installed as manager of a little restaurant languidly setting a flame to each glass with a pink sentimentality as a sex emotion can flourish in­ that has got into all our eyes and ears and minds memorial fashion, into couples—"male and fcni.iK in Galifornia Street, far from the temptations of taper.) dependently of sentimentality, there is no sufficient and on all our evening clothes--the human race will created He them," so to spcnik. This latter passapi the Barbary ('oast. He announced that lie had for­ Daphne reason for ignoring these feelings when the fashion perish. It has invented inventions, it has invented from the Pentateuch was ignored. On questionin): saken bis erst\vhi1e ev.il ways forever, much to the Who were at the Carlton, Claridge's, the for dealing sentimentally with emotions, pleasant or still more inventions, and has it progressed? It has a lawyer friend I was informed tliat it might IK disgust of Big T..onise, who flatly refused to accom­ Berkeley, the Ritz, Malmaison, Boulestin's, Quag- unpleasant, has happily died. Love stories are so slid back into the slime—the slime that has got into all very well for decadent Europeans and American pany him on what she considered a perilous ad lino's, Taglioni's and the Embassy at lunch? scarce that their absence is now almost unrecogniz­ cur hair and nostrils and souls. No more illusions, artists to appear at leisure in tliat shameless fashion venture. A few weeks later she married a rich Lady Vi able to most of our critics. only a wet, damp fog that obscures all, everything! but an American citizen with a serious position in miner and left San Francisco. She always retained Tony and Gerald were having lunch together, Civilization is lost, all is lost in the slime—the slime This was surely proved when, a few years ago, this world could not afford to be seen taking le.i a measure of affection for Happy Jack, however, Cecil and Neville were at another table, Geoffrey that has got into our beings, into bur noses, into "A Farewell to Arms" appeared. The book was or escorting ladies to the pictu.c gallery or tin and frequently sent him money. and Ivor were together ;it another, young Lord our eyelashes. But this dear old England that we hailed, and properly, as a brilliant novel. It was also dressmaker's. To be at leisure at mat hour woiiM Having pknife, Lady Vi uo vividly within the three dimensions accorded a nice day at the office, and spend their weelc'i which he carried slung under his left armpit, and Charming, pet. What is it? More, children today should be filled with knowledge of that which is the most impor­ them, but lack the fourth dimension of humanity honorarium on some flowers for the opening tha' stabbed the pugilist in the stomach. Dwyer died Derek tant of all: the real basis of organized society. as utterly as the three-walled room of the stage night. The only thing that seems to have thwarte'- within a few hours, and Harrington, was con­ A little thing I dashed off myself. I call it A tnan is Supposed to receive from society in lacks the fourth wall of privacy, the single other the ways of the Almighty in this connection is tt< victed of manslaughter and sent to San Quentin "When It's Pansy Time in Capri." return for his work the necessities and com­ element necessary to complete realism. sad fact that Business is not what it used to b« Prison. Hoskins (to Tewks) forts of society as provided by other members Since literary inhumanity probably owes its Nothing tnorc was ever heard of him on the Sweet, aren't it? of the community. If the people but under­ being to the new, unnatural scale of values always Tewks Baibary Coast. stood this and were alive, the poor and the created by any war, and the equally artificial scale Delicious, says I. middle classes would not be so submissive to created by an unprecedented and reckless pros­ VrVEXA FRANCEl (They covertly hold hands.) their oppression by our present-^ay corpora­ perity, the normal scale of values by which we lived "Ces deux lignes (de chcmin de fer) qui 4 leur fcr«»^ The Duchess nus, se recontrent sans se joindre traduisent-*lles I'ipiP"' tions—or their predecessors, the divine-right before war and wealth deluged and nearly sub­ Everytime 1 think of the dear Principessa in sibilite pour I'Orient et I'Occident de I'Europe de com- masters of the past. Yet although the Church merged us, may possibly be re-established in our one of those dreadful marble bathrooms at the muniquer jamais? . . . Twins never meet, disait Kipmt- has long made opprctsion of the poor a sin, period of poverty. The more humane emotions may —Mate Chadoume in "VU R. S. S. Sans Passion." Prince de Galles, I shudder. it has done nothing, so far as I can see, to again receive literary recognition. As life becomes The Duke lessen it. simpler the more complex experiences of the mind It is the samie with me whenever I think of and heart may again win the respect which was the dear Earl eating those stale pat^s at Foyot's-— formerly theirs. In any case, I hope so. An occa­ The Editors and Publisher wish to take /Aj Pates* farewell touri I call them. (/f0 break down sional contact with the simplicity and the hardness occasion to re-emphasize the fact that The Amen Old Doctor Shtfw, the Fabian horse-doctor, it utterly and roar with laughter.) of a child is vitalizing and refreshing, but becomes, can Spectator has no connection whatsoever n coming to town I Step up, ladies and gents, and try Daphtu (lighting a cigarette) The Editors feel that British beauty is inade­ with repetition, unsatisfying and irritating. And the any book publishing house. « bottle •/ his Marxian liniment I Cures tdl aches Life is one long convulsive sequence of ups quately represented on the lecture platforms of more adolescent, undvilized, even savage aspects of end fains, inetudinff the New Humanism, the De­ and downs. America. What this country needs is more Storm the human race are not the aspects best adapted to pression, GoWfrnment by the People, Buchmanism, Derek (madly) Jamesons and Rosamond Lehmanns and fewer hard, regular, exacting artistic employment Hitterism, and the R.F.C.^Advt. Sex, sex, sex, always sex:-<-I sicken o{ itl Chestertons, Guedallas and Louis Goldings. Hitler: The LilHpraputian MussoHid.

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