The Charioteer, Mary Renault

Summary

The Charioteer by Mary Renault is a historical fiction and LGBT+ book set in England during World War 2. The novel follows the recovery of Laurie Odell, a 23 year old who sustained an extensive knee injury in Dunkirk, in a rural rehabilitation center. During his recovery, a Quaker and conscientious objector, Andrew Raynes, begins working as an orderly at the center. Against the backdrop of quaint, rural hospital life these two kindle an understanding- which eventually teeters into the gray area and expectations of something more. Interrupting this, however, Laurie reunites with an old mentor and idol from his boarding school, Ralph Lanyon, while receiving a series of special treatments in the city. Ralph comes with an introduction to a tiresome gay scene, which is in sharp contrast to the quite life he lived with Andrew. Eventually Laurie is forced to choose between not only these two men, but these two lifestyles and, ultimately, so much more.

Review

This work elicits mixed feelings from me. The plot itself is fairly simple, and at its core it really is about choosing between two different men. It irks me to make such a statement because it is only half true. The piece also focuses on themes like the cost of war on youth and idealism versus realism, but not in a way that outweighs the central romance. I suppose the only way I can make my point is by contrasting it to other historical fiction LGBT+ novels. When comparing to novels like At Swim, Two Boys and A Separate Peace (yes, I consider that an LGBT+ novel and I can write an entire dissertation as to why), the plot is simply less complex. Nevertheless, I did not have to force myself to finish the book- I was invested. I think this should be a staple book for anyone in the gay community, and even for big historical fiction fans, simply because there are not a lot of others like it. In regards to when it was written and published (1959), it is simply ahead of its time and one of the rare glimpses modern readers have into homosexuality as portrayed in that time period and in a war environment. It is especially beautiful that Renault’s writing was so reflective of this- much like when gay romances develop in unwelcoming societies, nothing is overtly stated. Emotional moments are hidden like Easter eggs in stolen glances, hanging sentences, heavy subtext, and allusions. Of course, this makes it so there are not many quote worthy lines throughout the novel about love- because love is rarely explicitly spoken about unless it is through Plato’s Phaedo. The extended analogy to Phaedo was absolutely brilliant and haunting. I feel a bit underprepared to review this book because I found it a bit hard to read. Because everything is understated, one has to truly work over a passage multiple times to draw out the meaning (especially the last page). I think this is the type of novel that requires a few reads, and, with each pass, more little gems will be discovered. The piece itself is not that old, and the writing is very understandable compared to something like At Swim, Two Boys but, nonetheless, it is a lot of work (or it was for me at least). Despite this, having to work for the meaning is part of what makes the novel so beautiful and haunting. All in all 4/5 stars.

Themes

The first major theme I would like to discuss in substance is war and war’s effect on youth. Though not technically the lost generation, every generation impacted by war as directly as Laurie’s becomes lost. This is illustrated through the fact that all of the major characters- Ralph, Laurie, and Andrew- seem to be going through life aimlessly, torn in ways that are unnatural to their very beings by the war. At their boarding school, Laurie and Ralph were destined for such different life paths- scholarships at Cambridge and Oxford. Yet, once they leave their little microcosm, their carefully laid plains go awry. Once injured by the very war they were groomed for by a society which mocks conscientious objectors like Andrew, they are left directionless. Ralph copes by becoming a full-blown war hawk, and is left with an internal anger at the world for taking his dream of being a captain away after his injury: (quote). Meanwhile, Laurie is left dumbfounded with only another term at Oxford standing between him and the real world after his rehabilitation. To exacerbate matters, his mother remarried and his one remaining familial relationship has vanished. Andrew is a conscientious objector- and his innocence simply cannot exist in such a brutal, warlike environment. He is degraded by society- by strangers and veterans at the ward alike- and feels the need to throw himself into dangerous charity work to prove he can still aid the war effort without compromising his beliefs. He is forced to walk a tightrope between trying to conform to society and adhere to his Quaker beliefs. It is almost painful to see these young boys struggling, their lives forever altered by war. Even outside the immediate circle, we see everyone’s life is consumed by war- nurse Andrea, Alec, Bunny, etc. After all, war is the enemy of youth. The two simply cannot co-exist. Anytime there is a war, it is fueled by the youth of a country- an entire generation that gives up its innocence which, afterwards, it struggles futilely to regain. This struggle is what we as readers witness, and the external injuries sustained are merely a physical manifestation of the internal turmoil.

In order to have a candid and comprehensive discussion of The Charioteer, one must discuss the gay aspects of the novel. It permeates every aspect of the work- and even the previous theme is not indivisible from it. For example, Ralph had to leave the boarding school after it was found out he was having relationships with a male mentee (Hazell). If he had not left school, he could very well have not needed to pursue a military career. Furthermore, Laurie entered the war after his relationship with Charles left him confused and needing to throw himself into a distraction. In this sense, the war was actually an outlet for dealing with one’s sexuality- something that seems almost counterintuitive when said aloud. Other gays who became involved with the war effort- Bunny, Alec, Sandy- testify to this point. It could also stand to prove the war permeated everyone’s life and stood at the forefront regardless of sexuality, gender, and conscientious objection. In fact, Laurie makes an amazing observation in Alec’s office: “You’re more of a doctor than you’re a queer”. To which Alec replies: “That’s the first sensible remark anyone’s made to me all day”.

The elephant in the room is the extended analogy of the plot to Plato’s Phaedo. The portion of this piece focused on is Plato’s allegory of the charioteer. He describes the human condition as a being a charioteer driven by a soul consisting of a white and black horse. The former is thoroughbred, easy to steer towards goodness and the path of logic. The latter is driven by passion and easily bucks towards irrational desire. If one thinks of Laurie as the charioteer, he is being pulled in two different directions by different portions of his soul. Some reviews I have read label Andrew as the white horse because he is an ideal: innocent, of good temperament and of strong morals. They go on to relate Ralph to the black horse: rough, worn, driven by desire, falling prey to a toxic gay community.

“Staying each his hunger on what pasture the place affords them, neither the white horse nor the black reproaches his fellow for drawing their master out of the way. They are far, both of them, from home, and lonely, and lengthened by their strife the way has been hard. Now their heads droop side by side till their long manes mingle; and when the voice of the charioteer falls silent they are reconciled for a night in sleep”.

However, we must remember Laurie is the charioteer. He knows in his head that he cannot have a relationship with Andrew because he is too pure, too innocent. And for the entirety of the book, until he speaks with Dave, he is chasing this ideal that cannot exist. When he looks into Andrew’s eyes and believes he is seeing love, he is merely seeing a reflection of his own emotions. Andrew does love him, but is simply incapable at this stage in his life of being in a gay relationship. His physical youth is a reflection of his emotional immaturity, which is referenced and rebuked many times throughout the novel by Laurie. When thought of like this, the part of Laurie’s soul that is drawing him to Andrew is the black horse. It is passionate, but illogical and impossible. This is keeping the white horse, the logical side of his soul, from realizing everything he needs is right in front of him in Ralph. Ralph was patient with him, kind, smart, caring- but Laurie was so blinded by the newness and appeal of his idealized perception of Andrew that he couldn’t see it. Ralph was older, he had the added baggage of a toxic gay clique, but he was not a bad person. Quite the opposite, he was the perfect partner for Laurie. Yet, it took Laurie finding Ralph’s suicide note to finally realize the error of his ways- and how much of a mistake he almost made by chasing the impossibility that was Andrew at the expense of the very real Ralph. This struggle between idealism vs realism is a major lesson of the novel. The entire story screams of almost losing a tangible wonder while chasing an impossibility. It warns readers to see the forest for the trees in a similar way to other classics like The Great Gatsby.

“Alec told me. But I should have come, anyway. I should have had to come back”.

Side notes

            Is it possible that Andrew is in the same position as Laurie was back in his boarding school days? Ralph had refused to do anything with Laurie back then because he was too immature- he had an inkling of his feelings towards Ralph but, as Ralph said when he denied him, was not yet ready. Taking actions before he was mentally and emotionally prepared for a same-sex relationship would have ruined him. Is it possible much is the same for Andrew- he will be ready one day, but not in time for Laurie? In a parallel way Laurie gives him the copy of Phaedo when they part ways, just as Ralph gave to him all those years ago when they parted.

            Another interesting thing to think about it how toxicity is discussed in the gay community in the novel. People like Alec, Sandy, Bunny, and things such as the swinging parties still exist to this day- and it is interesting that Laurie and Ralph’s commentary on these subjects is still very much relevant all these years later. The over-sexualization, pettiness, and cliques within the gay community that ostracized Laurie continues to be off-putting to many of today’s gays.

            “He kept telling me I was queer, and I’d never heard it called that before and didn’t like it. The word, I mean. Shutting you away, somehow, roping you off with a lot of people you don’t feel much in common with, half of whom hate the other half anyway, and just keep together so that they can lean up against each other for support. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to put all this into before, am I talking nonsense?”