Our next book is actually a play: Arcadia by Tom Stoppard.
This is the comment given by the Complete Review:
“Mr.Stoppard has written many fine and clever plays, but perhaps none is finer than this one. Switching back and forth between the present and the 19th century, he unfolds a marvelous story that addresses major questions of art, science, and history — and how they intersect. The story itself is a poignant one, and an entertaining and amusing one as well, as Stoppard mixes elements again and again to reinforce his many points. The characters are rich and varied, and it all fits together perfectly. The science may seem heady, but it is really straightforward, and though it does take some effort to follow the many threads it is more than worthwhile.
The play is set, in its entirety, in a single room, overlooking a garden, at an English estate, Sidley Park. Scenes alternate between the 20th century and the 19th, until they finally converge at the end. In one period — 1809 to 1812 — it is the residence of Lord and Lady Croom, young Lady Thomasina Coverly (a young teen) and her tutor, Septimus Hodge, among others. In the other — the present — an author, Hannah Jarvis, a scholar, Bernard Nightingale, and the scientist (and one of the children of the house) Valentine are the main figures. Objects — letters, notebooks, furniture — appear in both, bridging time. As does a tortoise.
Brilliant but innocent young Thomasina is a mathematical prodigy, understanding and illustrating to her tutor the notion of entropy (everything tends towards disorder, i.e. decay) and fractal/chaos theory. As a girl, her talent goes largely unrecognized, though her tutor realizes that she is capable of remarkable things.
Thomasina is also growing into womanhood, a source of tension that rises as the play proceeds. Septimus is a natural object for her affections, but he meanwhile is involved in another affair. Adding to the complexity an unseen Byron, who went to university with Septimus, visits Sidley Park.
The confusion of who did what (and, in some cases, to whom) work to great comedic and dramatic effect. Much of the fun comes from the alternate scenes in the present, as these figures try to understand from the few clues left what exactly happened in the past. Bernard is trying to prove that Byron was involved in a duel with poet in residence Ezra Chater, explaining Byron’s hitherto unexplained two-year absence from England. Hannah becomes obsessed with a mysterious hermit who lived on the property (and, to her great satisfaction, manages to prove Bernard mistaken).
The puzzles solve themselves, and even Thomasina’s accomplishments are uncovered and acknowledged. Stoppard ties up the threads in neat fashion, interweaving them in his complex, elegant fabric.
The play works on many levels — surprisingly, it is successful on each. Stoppard’s understanding (and clear presentation) of questions of science, art, history, and even gardening serve him well, but it is the richly drawn characters (and their bright, sharp dialogue) that makes Arcadia superb drama.“
Our next meeting is Tuesday 4th December (venue to be confirmed) but in the meantime please add your thoughts and comments here…
Stirring Rice Pudding…
Thomasina and Septimus are having a conversation about the state of nature and the linear nature of time (i.e. that it only runs in one direction).
“THOMASINA: When you stir your rice pudding, Septimus, the spoonful of jam spreads itself round making red trails like the picture of a meteor in my astronomical atlas. But if you need stir backward, the jam will not come together again. Indeed, the pudding does not notice and continues to turn pink just as before. Do you think this odd?
SEPTIMUS: No.
THOMASINA: Well, I do. You cannot stir things apart.
SEPTIMUS: No more you can, time must needs run backward, and since it will not, we must stir our way onward mixing as we go, disorder out of disorder into disorder until pink is complete, unchanging and unchangeable, and we are done with it for ever. this is known as free will or self-determination.”
However, had Thomasina been eating tar and corn syrup (though much more unpalatable), she would have been able to stir them together and then unstir them back to their original state. It might be with the development of current theories of quantum mechanics, this will be seen as a more accurate analogy…