MMV: Windigo

[Paul Nightingale]

Interesting to contemplate that the reader might identify with
Grossmann. In an earlier post I suggested that one reason for the naming
of Siegel might have been to draw attention to Grossmann as the roommate
(and therefore as a stand-in for the author himself). Having read the
story carefully I'm drawn more and more to Grossmann, not as someone to
identify with, but as a character whose narrative function is indeed
important.

In the story Grossmann appears three times. When Siegel calls him "a
schmuck" the text refuses to allow Grossmann his own voice, of course;
his comments are reported, which means Siegel's own impressions are
given priority. Subsequently, Siegel is distracted when Lucy's reference
to Lupescu "going native" recalls Grossmann, his comments on Boston, his
eventual marriage to the Radcliffe girl. In this second passage,
Grossmann is allowed to speak, Siegel interrupting his recitation-pose.
The extent to which these are 'his' words, of course, is debatable: like
the "black umbrella ... and expensive tweeds and worsteds", his speech
is part of a new (upwardly mobile) identity he is trying on. His
"dissipation" is really something of a disappointment to Siegel, whose
impressions are again given weight (although one might argue no longer
unchallenged priority). What Siegel considers a loss (of "Midwestern
hauteur"--or inverted snobbery, perhaps) leads to some kind of decline.
Perhaps this is more of a comment on Siegel himself, currently
negotiating a scene with Lucy, a substitute for the elusive Rachel and
therefore some kind of reminder of his own unsatisfactory status: this
betrayal of Grossmann, which is what his distorted memories amount to,
is one way of dealing with who he himself is (or has become). The text
notes that he once "secretly admired" Grossmann's "strong nasal rs": the
only indication thus far that he "admired" anything about the "schmuck,
"secretly" or otherwise draws attention to the speech that Grossmann, as
recalled by Siegel, has been denied.

When Grossmann appears for the third time, in the flashback triggered by
Debby's use of "melancholia", he is finally allowed to speak. The actual
words, "How yummy", are perhaps less important than the fact that he has
"commented wryly" on Siegel's (over-the-top?) description of Windigo.
The scene in question ("that night") follows the lecture with which the
flashback opened. Siegel and Grossmann are still rooming together,
although whether it precedes Grossmann's "dissipation", chronologically
speaking, isn't made clear. However, the enthusiasm (even passion?) with
which Siegel speaks ("he gestured dramatically") indicates a desire to
impress Grossmann, or impress upon Grossmann the importance of the
matter (and Grossmann's pointed response is in stark contrast to
Siegel's own volubility). If the scene does precede the phase of their
relationship in which Siegel has become disenchanted with Grossmann,
then its narrative function is to turn the clock back, to replace an
unpleasant memory with one rather more pleasant. On the other hand, if
the scene were to follow "Grossmann standing in front of the mirror"
etc, it might be of significance that Siegel is still trying to engage
Grossmann in meaningful conversation.

Grossmann's words do end the flashback, somewhat abruptly. In the first
of their scenes, the summary "taunted him mercilessly" suggests that
Grossmann himself has been voluble in needling Siegel, all of which
indicates that the two scenes have been designed to mirror each other,
to function as alternates, just as the story as a whole presents
Grossmann as an alternate to Siegel.