Reviews

Catalina: A Romance, by W. Somerset Maugham (William Heinemann Ltd., London. Price 10s. 6d. net.)

WE enter a library with the object of spending a couple of hours with a favourite author either for profit or pleasure or for both. A belief that reading maketh a full man is deep-rooted in every mind. There are books written by men of genius and books by the merely talented. It is a face beyond doubt that everyman has a partiality for fiction. Most of us have our lives in unpleasant environments and under unpleasant circumstances which are antagonistic to the natural instincts and impulses. But we all want to have our little hour, to assert our little ego. It is this endeavour to assert, this struggle of the sexes for completion and preservation which impels a story-teller to rediscover the real pattern of our lives for us. The detached attitude of the story teller affords his psyche that quality of freedom essential to concentrate and record the experiences of those which are of value to him.

In Mr. William Somerset Maugham we are face to face with the personality of a true story-teller. He is an artist who never adorns his characters while presenting them before those who admire him or merely take him for granted. His latest bears a fascinating, musical title: Catalina. He calls it a Romance.

Catalina, a beautiful girl, is in mad love with Diego who happens to be the son of a tailor. But she loses his love when she loses her leg–not being lopped off, but is stricken with paralysis. The appearance of the Blessed Virgin who tells her that “the son of Juan Suarez de Valero who has best served God has it in his power to heal her” strengthens her faith in Friar Blasco de Valero whom the citizens of Castel Rodriguez think as a great servant of God. The miracle doesn’t happen when the famous Bishop orders her to throw her crutches off and walk. The vain and pompous Don Manuel too fails in his attempt. The third son Martin, who by lack of culture and economic necessity, had turned a baker, at the order of the eldest brother, Bishop of Segovia, commands Catalina to cast off her crutches and walk. The miracle succeeds. The Bishop is adored as a great soul full of humility and penance. But why should Martin efface himself from the scene after the wonderful and unexpected exhibition of a terrible spiritual potency in him? The public hadn’t the sense to know that simplicity of heart could put to shame the pomp of religious lore. The bishop comes to realise this truth late in life when doubts tortured him. He tells Domingo, Catalina’s uncle (an unfortunate, tragic character himself): “...Whatever others think, whatever I myself thought for one rapt moment, it was not that performed the miracle, but Martin.” But could Catalina marry Diego against the will of Dona Beatriz de San Domingo, the Prioress who was noted for her severity in matters concerning religion and who had the unbounded admiration of the nuns?

Dona Beatriz met with a crisis in her youth when Bishop Blasco decided to starve his sex by entering the Church to serve God and punish heretics. Maugham by these two characters brings the effects of sublimation and starvation of the primordial instinct in man and woman. Should a man or woman mortify the flesh and suppress the senses to see the face of God? Was Catalina prepared for that? No. She saw the face of God in her Diego Martinez. In order to win his love and bear his children and not to enter the silent, gloomy cell of the nunnery she wept for the mercy of the Blessed Virgin. She told the Prioress who sought ways and means to make her enter the convent: “ Ah, madam, you say that because you have never known the pain and bliss of love.” With the change that comes over that tranquil, lovely face a terror strikes the heart of the Prioress. She gets her lost, dry emotions, feels them refreshing for a moment; they shake her to the very depths of her being. The face of the “wasted, haggard priest” is reflected in her mind. A decision is taken. A change comes upon her. She helps Catalina to marry Diego Martinez.

Is sex so powerful as to change a decision and shake a heart of steel? It is not the beast in the girl that is powerful to effect the change. It is the unfulfilled desire. The instinct to possess and preserve from alien influences is as strong, if not stronger, as the unethical sex urge. The Blessed Virgin is present during the wedding of Catalina. But she refuses to partake of the bread and wine. Why should Maugham introduce this supernatural element in a romance which otherwise would have been quite ordinary? Are we to take the appearance of the Virgin and the cure as acts of self-deception? If so could Catalina have become an actress? Never! So it must have been a reality. But Maugham calls the story “a strange, almost incredible, but edifying narrative.” One is inclined to think that Maugham has a poor faith in the conscience of man, while in woman he could rely to an extent even if she be a jealous, greedy and power-seeking specimen as Dona Beatriz. With a pen noted for its facility of expressing grand ideas, Maugham refuses to be a genius. He refuses to say anything new and although a believer in artificial simplicity he gives a natural touch to things deep in the depths of a primitive’s conscience. Man emotionally is still primitive. And it is because of this Maugham finds that only the stage could be the proper place for the redeemed Catalina. It might be a complex or a natural twist which the author might attribute to the ways of Destiny. It is for the individual reader to judge whether Catalina is a Woman of Destiny or not.

“In my twenties the critics said I was brutal, in my thirties they said I was flippant, in my forties they said I was cynical, in my fifties they said I was competent, and now in my sixties they say I am superficial.” Thus Maugham on himself in The Summing Up. Now he is past seventy and so an impudent but worthy curiosity arises in us as to know what exactly Maugham is at the present? Like true men of letters his fecundity and powers of invention are still unabated; but the end of Catalina seems to convince us that he has more a partiality for the stage–he has been a very successful dramatist in an age which has produced the great Bernard Shaw–than, for the novel. And Catalina is novel plus something of the stage and the technicolour movie.

 

M. S. GOPALAKRISHNAN

The Open Society and Its Enemies, Volumes I and II. Volume I: Spell of Plato. Volume II: The High Tide of Prophecy. Hegel and Marx, by Dr. K. R. Popper, Reader in Logic and Scientific Method in the University of London. (George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London. Price £ 2-2sh.)

DR. POPPER is one of the foremost rationalist thinkers of Great Britain. He has distinguished himself by his contribution to the theory of Scientific Method in the field of modern physics and mathematics. In the two profound and delightful volumes under review, he turns the searchlight of his analysis on the social sciences and the philosophical systems of the past. He examines in detail the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, and Marx, and calls them the enemies of open society.

Years ago, the French philosopher Bergson was the first to coin the phrases: “open society,” “open religion,” “open morality,” in contradistinction to closed society, closed religion, closed morality. Dr. Popper with his rationalist bias points out that the great philosophers were anti-democratic and antirational. He holds the view that Plato, Hegel, and Marx were determinists and that they could not distinguish between prophecy and scientific prediction. We get a stimulating and original interpretation of the philosophical systems of Plato and Hegel. Traditional students of metaphysics are likely to be shocked at the astounding remarks of Dr. Popper. The book has a certain immissable affinity with Russell’s History of Western Philosophy. While one cannot agree with all that Popper has to say about these great philosophers none can deny Popper’s claim to originality of treatment. The views in the books about Plato, Hegel, and Marx are thoroughly documented in the notes. But one cannot fail to notice that a few remarks of Popper about Plato and Hegel are bordering on malicious gossip.

In Chapter XXIV, under the caption “The Revolt Against Reason” Dr. Popper sets forth his thesis in defence of reason. He holds that reason is not a physical organ which you possess like nose or eyes. It is an attitude or a behaviour which you acquire. Rationalism is an attitude of readiness to listen to critical arguments and to learn from experience. Its maxim is I may be wrong. You may be right. And by an effort we may come nearer the truth. Men have to be taught to be reasonable. It is not an instinct with man. Man is not a rational animal, but has capacities for rationality. Reason is not a faculty as Plato thought. Nor is it revealed by a sacred test of a prophet. There are two types of rationalism, (i) modest and self-critical rationalism, and (ii) an uncritical rationalism. Popper pleads for the first. He believes that half the ills of mankind are due to our being tied down to outmoded ways of thought and pre-scientific views of things. It is not impossible, he says, to build a sane new social order with the help of reason.

Such in outline is the main thought of the book. No reviewer can do adequate justice to an erudite book like this in a short space. Popper’s book is one of the best rationalist and democratic approaches to the great philosophies of the West. It compels admiration and affords good reading though not agreement.

P. NAGARAJA RAO

A Handbook of Precious Stones, by Dr. L. A. N. Iyer, M.A., Ph.D. With a Foreword by Dr. W. D. West, Sc.D., Director, Geological Survey of India. (Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Price Rs. 15.)

FROM time immemorial India has been famous for her precious stones. The Vedas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha mention the various uses of gems in this land. The monumental work on precious stones, Manimala, by Raja Surendra Mohan Tagore published during the last century is the first of its kind. There are many standard books in the English language dealing with precious stones but most of them are treated from the scientific point of view. Dr. Iyer’s book has chalked a new path in the treatment of the subject. It is written in a very popular style, but with full attention to the scientific aspect. The book is divided into two parts: the first four chapters of the first part are set apart to describe the general characters, such as the occurrence, diversity of forms, chemical composition etc. The next chapter is devoted to describe the various colours, luster, and the beauty of the stones. In the fifth and sixth chapters, the physical and optical properties are mentioned. Some of the scientific instruments used in testing these properties are also given. The ninth chapter forms the interesting part of the book as it describes the various methods of cutting and polishing gems, and the different forms of synthetic and imitation gems and their properties. As one would expect, the last chapter of the first part is devoted to the mention of the various precious metals used in mounting different kinds of gems.

The second part of the book describes in detail various gems, their occurrence, method of recovery, qualities, value, etc. Diamond has received special treatment; several diamondiferous localities in India, an account of the historical diamonds like Koh-i-noor have been mentioned. In a paragraph the author details the kinds of defects in diamond and their influence on the wearer, according to the sastras. The author’s treatment of Ruby is of value as he had the opportunity to work in the Ruby Mines district, Burma. Some of the information he gives are the result of practical experience. The last chapter in Part Two deals with Pearl and Coral, though these are not precious stones in the strict sense. An exhaustive bibliography is provided at the end of the book to help those who are interested in this subject. The book would have been more attractive if illustrations of the ancient diamonds were given. However, it is a welcome addition to the library of every lady who should know something about the precious gems she delights to bedeck herself with.

 

N. K. N. AIYENGAR

TAMIL

Ulohangalum namum, by M. Arunachalam. Shakthi Karyalayam, Madras. Price Rs.5.

THIS maiden attempt in Tamil on metals and their utilisation by Mr. M. Arunachalam is to be much welcomed in these days when the lay public of India have begun to evince a keen interest in the mineral resources of the land, their proper utilisation and development. It has helped to fill a long-felt want for a book on this subject for the particular use of the Tamil-knowing industrialists and financiers. The author and the publishers have to be congratulated on their pioneer effort in bringing out this useful compilation.

This book consisting of 253 pages of reading matter is divided into five parts, dealing respectively with the general properties of metals, ores, and minerals; with the iron industry and the various metals used in the manufacture of ferro-alloys; with the important base, precious, and rare minerals; and lastly, with the mineral industry as a whole. A useful supplement on India’s mineral wealth, a list of metals and minerals, and a vocabulary of Tamil synonyms for the various metals and minerals are also appended.

Though the book claims to be one on metals and their utilisation, not enough detailed information has been given about the occurrences of the various ores and minerals from which the metals are extracted. To be more balanced and useful to the class of readers for whom it is intended primarily, it should contain more information about the important occurrences of minerals and ores in the world and in particular with those of India. Although the general get-up of the book is good, enough attention has not been paid to illustrate the subject-matter with suitable diagrams, sketches, and tables. It would have been a good idea to
append a mineral map of India, showing the location of the large metallurgical and other industries.

In order to make it suitable for use as a textbook in the High School and First Year University classes, the book should be condensed and rewritten, omitting certain unnecessary details and adding other useful information, especially about the Indian occurrences and with the recent advances in metallurgical practice.

The following discrepancies and misstatements are found in the text and they should be rectified in a new edition:

On p. 3, the word is inadvertently used for “clays,” since is not a non-metal by any stretch of imagination. On p. 38, “meteorite” should be substituted for “meteor.” The minimum workable grade of iron ore should usually carry at least 30% iron, not 25% as suggested by the author. Further the iron content in the usual grades of magnetite and haematite ores is seldom more than 30 to 55% and 30 to 70% respectively. As a matter of fact except in Norway, in all countries haematite is the common ore of iron, and as India carries some of the finest grade iron ore in the world, fuller details should have been given about the Indian occurrences especially of those of Bihar, which is easily the largest producer of iron ore in India. A few feudatory states in Orissa also possess large reserves of good grade iron ore. The author has also omitted to mention the few known occurrences of iron ore in Madras province. Recent re-examination by the Geological Survey of India has revealed the existence of large workable deposits of iron ore in Sandur state, near Bellary and near Salem. On p. 52, a section dealing with the recent advances in metallurgical practice of iron and steel industry and with the electro-smelting methods should also be added. This section is bound to prove particularly useful for readers in Tamilnad, where in view of the acute shortage of metallurgical coal, coke and charcoal, any iron and steel industry would have to depend upon hydro-electric power, which, fortunately is available in large quantities in our province. After suitable concentration, both the Sandur and Salem ores could be amenable for extraction by either the Stuerzelberg process which was advocated by me in 1939 for the Salem ores, or by suitable electric smelting methods as suggested by the G.S.I. Officers. On p. 80, the largest Indian producer of manganese should be given as the Central Provinces (not Bihar, as misquoted by the author), where large deposits are known to occur in the districts of Balaghat, Bhandara, Chhindwara and Nagpur. Large workable deposits of second and third grade manganese ore are found in Sandur state, in the Vizagapatam district, in the Chitaldrug, Kodur, and Shimoga districts of Mysore state and in the Gangpur and Patna states of Orissa. The term given on pp. 95-99, is misleading. Tin is more familiarly called Lead forms a number of useful alloys with other metals and it is not such a neglected metal as the author opines. On p. 114, it should be explicitly mentioned that “Rolls-Royce” is the name of a particular type of engine and not that of an aircraft. A number of misstatements are found under the heading “Aluminium.” Bauxite is an oxide of aluminium, not a hydroxide, and its main use is for extracting the metal “aluminium” bauxite ore is not used for the manufacture of sandpaper as stated by the author on p. 116; fused bauxite is now being used for making abrasives: sandpapers are usually made from emery and garnets. Kyanite is found in large quantities in Lapsa Buru and other places in the Singhbhum district of Bihar and a smaller extent near Gharibpet in Hyderabad state and in the mica belt of the Nellore district. Large deposits of sillimanite are found near Pipra in Rewah state and in the Sonar Pahar of Assam. On p. 126, no mention has been made of the large and important deposits of chromite in the Zhob and Pishin valleys of Baluchistan. Similarly the author has also omitted to deal in detail with the occurrences of chromite in the Madras province and in the Hassan district of Mysore state. On p. 130, it should be stated clearly that there are no large deposits of tungsten anywhere in India and none at least in Bihar; under the stress of war conditions there was a small output from the Jodhpur state, from the Bankura district in Bengal, and from Agargaon in the Central Provinces. Mawchi mines is in the Karenni state in Eastern Burma, and not in North Burma as stated on p. 130. As a major industry of South India, the magnesite occurrences near Salem and in Mysore should be treated in greater detail. Similarly, in view of the recent interest evinced in atomic energy, fuller information about the occurrences of monazite sands on the Travancore, Tinpevelly, and Ganjam coasts of India should prove a welcome addition. On p. 185, no mention has been made of the important arsenic mines of Chitral in the N.W.F.P.

Though the book deals primarily with metals, it would perhaps have been interesting for the general reader to have a supplement on the availability of the various common fluxes used in the metallurgical industries and with the power and fuel resources of India generally and with those of South India in particular.

The value of this book would have been much enhanced had the author collaborated with a geologist and had he taken more care in introducing new Tamil synonyms for rocks, minerals and metals; some of the expressions used are definitely misleading and must be revised.

S. KRISHNASWAMY