victories of mighty generals, I do not envy the
generals,
Nor the President in his Presidency, nor the rich in
his great house;
But when I read of the brotherhood of lovers, how it
was with them,
How through life, through dangers, odium, un-
changing, long and long,
Through youth, and through middle and old age, how
unfaltering, how affectionate and faithful they
were,
Then I am pensive—I hastily put down the book,
and walk away, filled with the bitterest envy.
While reading this last night, I was struck by a few thoughts I've tried to organize.
First, the Buddhist reaction in me contemplated the ending -- being so struck with envy. Reading can elicit many responses, of course, and well written works can certainly inspire empathy with the characters. In fact, that may be the point... to let you experience some aspect of life through other eyes. Envy of course is a very negative emotion -- and here clearly affects Whitman in such a strong way he puts down the book. The optimal reaction is not jealousy, but rather, with empathy. To feel in yourself the pleasure the characters are feeling leads to happiness, while being envious of their positions leads to unhappiness -- as Whitman clearly captures here.
Then, however, my thoughts turned to the first piece of the poem. While reading about happy lovers, Whitman encounters envy, but not when reading of generals or Presidents, nor the rich. It made me think... do people read stories of great leaders and feel envious of their actions? I cannot recall a single thing I've read of any historical person where I felt envy. When I think of generals leading troops into war, envy is far from my mind. When I think of US Presidents leading the populace, envy again does not register. And most of the wealthy people I have ever met do not seem very happy to me.
I read something recently about why people like playing the hero in video games, linked to how people want to play the roll of the liberator, the super man, who can save the day by themselves. (Well, sometimes with a sidekick.) Maybe many people want to be hero. Do they read such works with envy? And then, when they read about happy lovers, does that envy carry over?
While a sensitive caring person such as Whitman would dismiss the initial, but envy the lovers, my hypothesis is that one who envies the general dismisses the lovers. Right or wrong, thank you Walt Whitman for making me think.
