Salt Lake Telegram | 1923-02-18 | Page 5 | In the Realm of Literature

II l HN THE REALM Of TURE Cabell's ta b e 11 5 J Jurgen JurgenS urgen for S General By FRANK PRANK A A. HUNT Vell l well we exclaimed up upon n re reI receipt receipt re- re Is here hete I of ot a copy of ot Jurgen the very ery book which h the censors suppressed suppressed suppressed sup sup- pressed the very book which th thY they y t feared ered ared might corrupt the people now we e must be prepared to be shocked I But he had followed Jurgen the middle aged pawnbroker only ony a little I adventures In Cabell's way vay ay upon his mythical lands when we caught the comic spirit of ot the tale and enjoyed a genuine laugh We laughed again when rhen we thought of the nonsense o cf c censorship for In order to really Understand un- un Jurgen the reader must be somewhat sophisticated and to be bes s sophisticated means to be well be-well well a litle littie lit lit- tIe le beyond the danger of corruption through reading such as Jurgen Jurgen urgen speaks a good word for the devil and In turn the old boy gives I Jurgen gen freedom to go In pursuit p of f Immortal desire for at heart Jurgen Jurge ista isa poet and a romantic There is IsI I something of the same craving for ro romance romance ro- ro mance mance In the heart of many superior I men men which sets Jurgen on his Jour jour- ney The result of Jurgens Jurgen's search is best expressed by Dr Van Doren who says ot Of course he does not find It It for tb sufficient r reason ason that as Cabell u understands understands such matters the ultimate ro magic gic of desire desir lies In the Inaccessibility Inaccessibility inaccessibility of the desired and J Jurgen to whom all women In his amorous C are as accessible as bread a and d butter after his sly interval of r rejuvenation comes back to his wife wire and his humdrum duty with definite relief elief He may be no more in love with Dame Lisa his wife than with his right ight hand and yet et both are considerably considerably considerably consid consid- more necessary to his well be being being be- be ing he discovers than a number of more exciting things Cabell possesses the almost occult power of projecting himself in subliminal subliminal sub sub- In reading reading- the book essential that one take note of the h foreword It seems to us that with frith the understanding that the shirt shirl which J Jurgen dons 1 Is Isi i gift gIrt of a gen genius us and that Mother Sereda ereda who plays a part in the story mediocrity tb avoidance of extreme Comstock Comstock- er er Mrs Grundy that the meaning I will Till be much clearer No Xo attention must be paid to the Cabell gives for they too ure e be invention of his mind Nor eb should uld the reader try to locate thala the tha la lands ands ds or age In which the action takes takesI I place ilace I Iii Jurgen symbols are multiplied lq ant chimeras abound rIch Irich ich im- im g are brought to light until they perplex more than they 11 il- No one surpasses Cabell In iniz iz and fantastic word weaving sHober Robert RObet M. M I. I l Ic McBride ride company New NewYork Nework York ork N N. Y Yi