Thanks for the links, GKC.
I thought you'd find this amusing:
So the theme of how close we are to other people has been on my mind. In 'Descent Into Hell' you're given the contrast between being so close to another person so as to carry their burden for them (and being willing to allow another to carry yours) and that of Wentworth's rejection of others and slowly (and literally) collapsing in on himself... which is the titular 'Hell'.
Now I'm reading JF Powers "Wheat That Springeth Green". The introduction is written by his daughter and she's contrasting Powers' two novels "Morte D'Urban" and "Wheat That...", she writes:
Quote:
If 'Morte D'Urban' presents the world as temptation, 'Wheat That Springeth Green' presents the rejection of the world as pretty tempting too. Urban is worldly; Joe ('Wheat') wants to be otherworldly As a seminarian and young priest, he affects the life of a contemplative. He's a bit of a fanatic, in fact. But he cannot ignore the conditions around him. Cleanliness matters a little more to him that godliness, while heat - an almost constant presence - exacerbates the problem of dealing with other people.
The parallels between what Wentworth ultimately chose in 'Descent Into Hell' and what Joe struggles with in 'Wheat that Springeth Green' are interesting.