NOTE: Today’s book review was inspired by another book entitled Letters. That book was a memoir of scientist and storyteller Dr. Oliver Sacks, told through a lifetime of his personal correspondence with friends, family, patients and many other interesting people. Over the course of his letter writing, Dr. Sacks often made reference to the written works of others. Today’s book is one such work that he referenced.
The Context in Which Dr. Sacks Made Reference to The Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell
From the last book review to this one, a whole year has elapsed in Dr. Oliver Sack’s life. This was the year he first spent interning at the UCLA Medical Center, as well as a hospital known as Mount Zion. During that time period, Sacks wrote constantly to his parents about what he was learning, how he was being treated by other staff members, where he traveled on his motorcycle during his rare moments of free time and, as well, of his frustrations at the seemingly endless hurdles and complications inherent in the California medical licensing system. It was during the course of these letters that he mentioned seeing his first brain surgery, attending conferences about the brain and cognitive functioning, as well as introducing his parents to some of his more unusual patients such as a man who couldn’t stop hiccuping and only acquired a cure through medication for his brain. It would be patients such as the hiccuping man who were to become the type of patient who would capture the scientific and storytelling fancy of Dr. Oliver sacks in later years. But more than anything, this series of letters to his parents contained examples where Dr. Sacks questioned his purpose and wondered if he had made the correct decision to have left England for America. He also mentioned experiencing bouts of periodic depression, too. It was in this light that he mentioned the book The Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell.
“I clearly see myself as manic-depressive now; jewel-like spasms of sharp delight and sensitivity in everything, good humour, wild hopes and ceaseless writing, alternating with long horrible periods of sloth and misery. I do hope that the stimulating environment of UCLA next year will diminish the depressions, and lengthen the productive and scintillating manic phases. As Orwell says (in a very depressing little book, The Clergyman’s Daughter), the devil’s subtlest weapon is the sense of futility.” (Page 44 of Letters)
A Brief Summary of the Plot of The Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell
The Clergyman’s Daughter was written prior to Orwell’s more famous works 1984 and Animal Farm by almost a full decade. The story traces the life of a single woman named Dorothy Hare who is, as the title suggests, the only daughter of a clergyman whose parish resides in a small English town. The book is broken into five distinct sections; each section describes some particular life experiences that Dorothy goes through. In each of the five sections, Dorothy experiences some form of hopelessness and powerlessness due to religion, poverty, gender, education and faith (which is different from religion). Regardless of the circumstances Dorothy finds herself in, happiness and fulfillment elude her which causes her to question the purpose of life and, specifically, the value of herself as a human being in the world.
My Thoughts on The Clergyman’s Daughter by George Orwell (for what that is worth)
Despite how depressing the book summary may sound, I quite enjoyed this book. I have to be honest and admit that Orwell’s most famous book, 1984, is one of the most impactful books I have ever read. I experienced a visceral reaction to the climactic scene in 1984 on a scale and in such depth that I have rarely ever experienced in any other book before or since. I mention this because knowing what was to come a decade later for Orwell with 1984, I can see how he used The Clergyman’s Daughter as a bit of a trial run for the character study and thematic structure that was to become his trademark.
The world in which Dorothy Hare lives is suffocatingly bleak and relentlessly oppressive. There is no let up in the demands placed upon her by her father and by various congregation members. Dorothy works like a slave from sunrise to bedtime, day after day, never once receiving any gratitude in return. She is pious at her core and service bound in her outlook on life…and it is draining the joy from her heart. Worst of all, there appears no way out of even one of the numerous dilemmas that she deals with throughout her day, each and everyday. While this doesn’t make for cheery reading, I did have to marvel at the storytelling skill on display by George Orwell. He did such an excellent job at creating that sense of futility that Oliver Sacks mentioned in his letter to his parents (above). No one ever helps Dorothy. No one offers her a smile or a kind word. There is no point in her day where there is a moment of hope or optimism. This is as close to vividly describing what depression must be like for those who suffer from it. Yet, she keeps waking up each day and heading off to face the world regardless of how she knows it will be for her. And that is just the first chapter.
In the chapters/sections that follow, Dorothy experiences the powerlessness and social inequity that comes with extreme poverty, with being a single woman in a “man’s world”, with the systemic biases inherent in the education system and how some children are given the short end of the stick right from their first days in a classroom. Finally, she confronts her own fear that her life on this earth may not have value and, if so, what is the point of waking up each day to take on this world? In the end, much like Winston Smith does in 1984, Dorothy Hare agrees to a sort of compromise that allows her to carry on, even if to carry on means something different than it did at the beginning of the book.
The Clergyman’s Daughter raises a lot of interesting points all the way throughout its five chapters. Any one of the five chapters/issues raised could be enough to interest almost any reader with a heart and an ounce of moral fiber to their being. I enjoyed the craftsmanship on display throughout this book. In real life, Orwell disassociated himself from this book, only allowing it to be printed because he needed the money. However, I often disavow writing that I consider to not yet be fully formed thoughts. A rough draft and a published work are two different things. I am obviously unable to ask Orwell about this in person but my suspicion is that The Clergyman’s Daughter is a rough draft of sorts for 1984. Like almost any good piece of writing, it is often necessary to flesh out ideas before polishing them into a final form that shines brightly and represents our writerly vision properly, to our satisfaction. So even though George Orwell may have considered The Clergyman’s Daughter to be “bollocks!” I still thought it was well worth my time and am happy to have read it. Having said that, if you have read 1984, you know that it did not have a happily ever after sort of ending. The same is true of The Clergyman’s Daughter. If that sort of thing matters to you then, perhaps, this book is not for you. Just sayin’
As for Dr. Oliver Sacks, I can remember how I felt when I transitioned from the relative safety and familiarity of my teenage years to being at university and then in the early years of my teaching career. There was a lot going on in real time, as well as in my own mind. When a new experience turns out to be harder than you believed it would be, self-doubt is a logical process to have to endure. There were many times during my first year or two as a teacher when I thought that I was a fraud and a failure and wanted to quit and run to the safety of my childhood home. But I did not quit. I toughed it out and figured out what worked for me, personally and professionally. We are all forged in the fire of life. In the series of letters that Dr. Sacks wrote to his parents, it is clear that his world was changing and that he was not fully in control of how that change was evolving. That was a worrisome, disorienting time in his life (and in anyone’s life, to be fair). It is not surprising then that he wrote mostly to his parents during this time. We all seek our emotional anchors and safe harbours when life gets too stormy. Dr. Sacks is no different in that regard. Learning how to control his emotions during this tumultuous period in his life would prove to be a lifelong task. I can see why he would turn to a book like The Clergyman’s Daughter for escape or for inspiration, only to be turned off by its ultimate message which was that sometimes life just sucks. Deal with it! I am quite certain that was not the emotional anchor he was seeking at the time. But, for some people, that is their reality. Getting up each day and facing that world then becomes something of value, in and of itself.
Not every book has to be cheery and upbeat. The Clergyman’s Daughter is relentlessly oppressive in Orwell’s exploration of the politics of determination in the face of hopelessness. If you are ok with a book like 1984 then you may enjoy The Clergyman’s Daughter, too. I did, for what that is worth.
The link to the official website for George Orwell can be found here.
The link to the official website for Dr. Oliver Sacks can be found here.
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