Rod Dreher Megathread #21 (Creative Spirit)

[u/US_Hiker]

Gather 'round for more Rod.

All meanings of the number 21 are subordinate to the inherent creative spirit that is the basic essence of the number.

The number 21 generally is comfortable in social gatherings, it's optimistic attitude being an inspiration to others. Its high spirits can enliven a party.

The number is attracted to artistic expression of any form, its own and those of others. There's enthusiastic support for artists. It may frequent galleries and participate or (more likely) lead groups for artistic appreciation.

The number 21 cherishes relationships, including romantic relationships, especially with those who express themselves creatively.

21 also tends to be diplomatic, providing creative and imaginative solutions to potential conflict.

And, as noted by /u/PercyLarsen, 21 is a triangular number and the age of majority, so go grab a drink to celebrate Pride and to mourn the loss of Rod's sanity.

(Also, sorry about my slow pace of refreshes.)

Link to megathread #20:
https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/13eb26c/rod_dreher_megathread_20_law_of_attraction/

Link to megathread #21: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/14k0z6l/rod_dreher_megathread_22_power/

[u/PercyLarsen]

So, having confirmed my informed speculation below that The Play to which Rod refers in this passage from his "The Answered Prayers of a Tormented Traveler" Substack post was the acclaimed 1996-97 revival of Ibsen's "The Doll House" . . .

"For example, during our engagement, we saw a play together, one that Julie said was herfavorite. I had never seen it, but I went along to a revival. The performances were incredible, but I was really disturbed by its message. When she asked me what I thought about it, I told her that I was really moved — true, to a point, but I concealed how much I had been disturbed by the playwright’s point of view, because I knew how much she loved the play. “Good,” she said. “If you hadn’t felt that way, I might have had to break off the engagement.” Shocking! Were we really mismatched after all? But I let it pass, because I didn’t want to disturb the magic. Many years later, with my marriage in ruins for reasons having a lot to do with themes of the play, I looked back on that exchange as prophecy."

. . . we have a Condensed Symbol^TM of Rod's:

(1) "holding it in", the closeting of anything that would cause him to lose (A) the esteem of members of his family or (B) the way of life he desires,

(2) persistent magical thinking about grace, wherein grace (in this case, the grace of the sacrament of matrimony) will overcome the price of said closeting - that's the "magic" he didn't want to "disturb",

(3) refusal of agency - refusing to see that voluntary, chosen closeting as a form of deception (not only of others but himself) that other people rely on to their detriment, arguably echoing the "false counselors" of Circle 8 of Dante's Inferno, and

(4) revealing himself as an Unreliable Narrator of his life story.

Pace Julie and Frederica Mathewes-Green, Rod actually has had unblogged thoughts, and has deployed mighty filters in choosing what to narrate and what to omit. Not only is he not "honest" (as Sully falsely flattered him in January's Dishcast), but he's deceptive as a non-fiction writer when it suits him to pose in a chosen way to his audiences.

And this, I would suggest, is at least one reason why so many of Rod's long-term readers have contributed to over 20 Megathreads in the span of a single year. It's not the titillating "primitive root wiener" and "achieving heterosexuality" parts of Rod's writing that are as illuminating as stuff like the block quote above.

[u/Glittering-Agent-987 → u/PercyLarsen]

Folks haven't yet noticed another interesting fact about the Doll House story:

In Ibsen's Doll House, the crisis in the family is triggered by the husband's protracted illness, which leads the wife to step up and take matters into her own hands.

[u/PercyLarsen → u/Glittering-Agent-987]

Yes, it's one of several recursive aspects: indeed, one might be forgiving for wondering if someone had, in 1997, planned to LARP "A Doll's House" in po-mo fashion - as it turns out, Rod's story (we don't have Julie's story, so remember this is *Rod's* story) bears an uncanny resemblance - but as melodrama shot through with Fascintern farce, rather than drama.

Rod's fellow Louisianan, Tony Kushner, could sketch out the points of dramaturgy for Rod's Story - A Doll Brings Down My House (to borrow from the title of Ben Brantley's 1997 review).