152
PARTISAN REVIEW
Does he look like a doctor, or like a
busin~
man, or a painter, or
a diplomat?"
"But he isn't any of those things," Clarisse pointed out matter–
of-factly.
"Well, do you
think
he looks like a mathematician?"
"I don't know! How should I know what a mathematician
is
supposed to look like?"
"Now you've said something very much to the point! A mathe–
matician doesn't look like anything! Which means, he will always look
so generally intelligent that there is no single definite thing behind
it at all! With the exception of the Roman Catholic clergy, there
is
no one these days, absolutely no one, who still looks like what he
should look like, for we use our heads even more impersonally than
our hands. But mathematics is the peak of it all, it has got to the
point of knowing as little about itself as human beings-some day
when they are living on energy pills instead of meat and bread-are
likely to know about meadows and little calves and chickens!"
In the meantime Clarisse had put the simple supper on the
table, and Walter had already disposed of a good deal of it; perhaps
this had suggested the comparison to him. Clarisse watched
his
lips.
They reminded her of his mother, who was dead; they were strongly
marked, feminine lips that dealt with eating as though it were house–
work, and were topped off by a small clipped mustache. His eyes
shone like chestnuts fresh from the husk, even when he was only look–
ing for a piece of cheese on the dish. Although he was small and
rather more flabby than delicate in build, he was impressive, and
was one of those people who always seem to be standing in a good
light. He went on talking.
"You can't guess at any profession from what he looks like, and
yet he doesn't look like a man who has no profession, either. And
now just run your mind over the sort of man he is. He always
knows what to do. He can gaze into a woman's eyes. He can exer–
cise his intelligence efficiently on any given problem at any given
moment. He can box. He is talented, strong-willed, unprejudiced,
he has courage and he has endurance, he can go at things with a
dash and he can be cool and cautious- I have no intention of
ex–
amining all this in detail, let him have all these qualities! For
in
the end he hasn't got them at all! They have made
him
what he
is,
they have set his course for
him,
and yet they don't belong to
him.
