adicarter's Full Review: A. Alvarez - Savage God: A Study of Suicide
As part of my studies at Sheffield University A.Alvarez is a name that has cropped up on the periphery of some of my coursework. “The Savage God” was not required reading but in the context of the material I was covering this book did pique my interest.
The prospect of a book about suicide is not one that automatically springs to mind as being the top of my reading list but what I discovered with Alvarez’s work is an author who thoroughly researched his subject as well as treating it in a way that was non judgemental and for the most part with no small degree of sensitivity.
Alvarez is no stranger to the subject himself, he was considered a fairly close friend and associate of the poet Sylvia Plath who led a life that was tightly interwoven with the spectre of mental health difficulties and after a number of unsuccessful attempts succumbed to depression and ended her life. Alvarez himself also attempted suicide on one occasion and it is this fact that gives him an insight into the subject he has chosen for the subject of this book.
So how does an author write a book on the subject of suicide?
Alvarez begins the book with a prologue on Plath, giving the reader some insight into her life and some of the issues that shaped it and her work as a writer. Although Alvarez covers Plath’s life in some degree of detail it has to be stated that this is not the aim of his work. Despite their relationship this is only a view of Plath through Alvarez’s eyes.
There is a danger in circumstances like these that writing about someone like Plath could be construed as a cash in scenario. However in these circumstance Alvarez treads very lightly. At no time making any undue assumptions about her character and actions, instead he only calls the situation as he sees it and as a result this becomes an appropriate entry point into the text.
With the scene set so to speak the author begins to explore the concept of suicide and how society throughout history has judged it. In order to find frames of reference for the subject he explores the close links between the act of ‘self murder’ and literature. As we discover throughout history the two have gone hand in hand.
In order to better understand such links the book Alvarez explores the subject from a philosophical point of view and it is here the reader begins to understand how attitudes to suicide have changed. From the early examples of stoicism through to the Middle Ages. We are shown that far from being the taboo subject that contemporary society views (and this is a strangely pertinent subject in light of many of the web sites that have appeared relating to this subject in recent years). We discover that suicide has at some points in history suicide has been seen as a perfectly acceptable behaviour. Alvarez then serves to explain how religion has played its part in the transition of societal attitudes and how suicide became seen as a “mortal sin”.
The book investigates many of the fallacies regarding suicide while at the same time investigating many of the theories that surround the subject. At this point the book delves deeper into psychological aspects of the subject. As you might expect this involves looking at the work of Freud and to a lesser certain aspect of Marxist theory. However despite the daunting prospect of taking this route for the most part the book does maintain a good degree of accessibility. Freud’s theories are fairly commonplace in today’s society and for me this meant that no extremes of background knowledge were necessary to understand the concepts that are being laid out in this text despite the intricacies that are inherent within the psyche of the suicidal individual.
The book moves on to what could only be described as individual case studies of particular literary figures and their relationship with the subject. Individuals such as John Donne and William Cowper are covered in some detail but once again there is no need for a strong background in these works. Alvarez uses examples of their literary works to give the reader a grasp of their “feelings”. What has to be said is through this book the reader is given an introduction to some of the poetic works of these writers is made available, that alone is one of the strengths of the book.
The book moves forward through time taking in romanticism and the age of reason accordingly. Once again exploring in depth the changing attitudes of taking ones life. It’s only this point does the reading become a little dense and in order to grasp some of the concepts of what Alvarez was trying to get across required a fair commitment of concentration from this reader.
Alvarez concludes the book by looking in detail at his own suicide attempt and the events that transpired to drive him to such a state. It’s a detailed account but in no way does he set out his stall to neither glamorise nor detract from his actions. Instead he maintains a surprisingly neutral view of the events despite the tone he sets in his writing. In this section the book displays his talents as a writer and I found this particular section of particular note, not because there is any particular kind of embellishment evident. It’s more a case of something that is simply well written.
In conclusion what we have here is a book that covers a subject that could be construed as one that is of interest to somewhat specialised tastes. However it does go deeper than that, what we have here is an attempt to explore some of the most primal areas of the human mind without attempting to make any defined judgements on the subject, for the potential suicide there is no
Right or wrong. There simply is.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is studying English literature and is looking for a degree of insight into the workings of the writers behind the works. However anyone looking for a more simplistic view of the subject might be disappointed.
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