The second meeting of bookworms took place last friday, with chapter III, The Shadow of a Tree. This chapter is concerned with the continuing growth of the Vanaukens marriage as they move through their first 7 or 8 years together. This encompasses the WWII years, a year or so spent yachting around the Florida Keys, and two years at Yale pursuing MAs. It ends with their decision to move to Oxford for a couple of years. - In this chapter Van describes a number of incidents that get them both thinking about Christianity, albeit it vaguely and reluctantly. He experienced a strong urge to re-examine Christianity after seeing the shadow of a cross cast upon the boat that Davy was riding in. However, they let that pass without following up on it. - Davy was almost attacked by a man in a park, and after that experienced a deep, soul-shaking realization of her own sinfulness. They did not follow this up, either, although Davy continued to explore it through symbolism in her paintings. - At this time both of them seem to be afraid of taking a closer look at Christianity, almost as if deep down inside they know that if they do, it will lead them where they dont want to go. - We continued to talk about points from last Chapter, The Shining Barrier. For instance, we talked about how their decision not to accumulate a lot of possessions allowed them the freedom to live in a yacht and sail around the Florida Keys for a year, and also the freedom to pick up and move to Yale, and then to Oxford. They seem to be masters of living simply and cheaply, while still wringing the most enjoyment they can out of life. - The decision not to have children again came up. We talked about it in light of their obvious insights into love on the one hand, but also in that their relationship seemed to be very inward focused, almost self-centered. However, a new light was shed on it when we googled the Vanaukens and learned that Davy had actually had a daughter. When she was 14 years old (in 1928, two years after her fathers death) she became pregnant by an unknown man. She gave birth to a daughter whom she named Marion and gave up for adoption. Van later searched out this daughter, finding her in 1988 (Davy died in 1955). He wrote a book called Little Lost Marion, and Other Mercies which is $58.00 used from Amazon marketplace, so I will likely not be reading it any time soon. - We talked a good deal about how Davys experience might have influenced their decision not to have children. At 14 years old, in 1928, it seems unlikely that she would have gotten pregnant by a boyfriend, which leaves rape and/or incest as the most likely causes. The trauma and shame surrounding the ordeal were undoubtedly huge shaping factors, not only in their decision about children, but as Fr. Peter suggested, maybe also in their overall us-focused relationship. Maybe Van was creating a safe space in which she could heal. We will likely never know, but it opens up the discussion. - We talked a good deal about conversion, especially the conversion of couples or families as opposed to individuals. Gods patience is very evident in the narrative. And Van quotes Francis Thompsons Hound of Heaven to describe Davys continuing pre-occupation with the question of sin and evil. (See the video below) So, the chapter ends with them selling their yacht and leaving on board a steamer for England, and Oxford. The next chapter, Encounter with Light, describes the Oxford years, and promises to be a rich discussion. youtube/watch?v=gToj6SLWz8Q
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:29:42 +0000