SEEK MY FACE

Seek My Face, John Updike's impressive twentieth novel, is a vignette of a day in the life of aging painter Hope Chafetz. Most famed for who she married, Hope nonetheless gains some prominence in her own right; enough so to merit an interview with an up-and-coming young writer named Kathryn D'Angelo. Hope is bemused to be the subject of attention, and a bit annoyed by the depth of the questions Kathryn asks.

When Kathryn, with unflinching journalistic instinct, persists in asking about Hope's two very famous former husbands, Hope dutifully dredges up all the painful episodes of the past, sometimes gleefully throwing in extra details, hoping to shock this young woman. Even though she is disgusted at being questioned about her sex life, the alcoholism of her first husband and the supposed decadence of the second, the young writer's persistent questions - and her own desire for company - egg her on, and she ends up spending far longer than she intended with Kathryn, talking to her well into the evening.

Naturally, she wonders a bit how this all ties in to an interview about her, but accepts that she is seen more as an extension of her husbands than a figure in her own right - however hastily Kathryn denies that when confronted. In the end, Hope's concise and intelligent interpretation of art and the men behind it serves as a useful primer of post-War American art, and makes it rather clear that perhaps Hope missed the boat on career choices. She should have been an art critic!

Hope also insists on talking about her third, less famous but more stable husband, a financier. With him, finally, she was able to be free - to paint, to travel, to live a normal life. With her third husband, she felt secure and loved. She realizes the truth about the first two: "Art was what these men had loved - that is, themselves." But what to Hope was the happiest and best period of her life is really of minimal interest to the young reporter. Its very calmness is uninspiring; poor story material. Who wants to read about normalcy? Yet it is clear that this marriage, to Hope, is just as important as the first two, for this marriage allowed her, finally, to grow as an artist on her own terms.

It is human nature to be retrospective; we all look back on what was and what might have been with varying degrees of regret and longing. And that, perhaps, is the true theme of this novel - coming to terms with our lives, determining the legacy we have left. In Hope's case, this is a bittersweet process; she spent so much time caring for others that her career was often put on hold. She seems to accept this as natural, but we can't help but wonder what she might have been in different circumstances. She assumes that her husbands had a genius that she didn't, yet urges Kathryn not to make rash decisions regarding her boyfriend. She even goes so far as to tell Kathryn she doesn't think he sounds like the one for her. Is she, through her grandmotherly advice, trying to spare the young woman some of the trials she herself experienced, sacrificing her own shot at greatness for the sake of her marriages?

The idea of woman subservient to man, both as wife and artist, is prominent in the narrative. Hope's art is eclipsed by her spouses, both far more famous than she - but is that because she is less talented, or because she can't devote much time to her work, as she is busy babysitting them and the children they sire? Only in her old age, when her narcissistic husbands and kids are gone, does she really come into her own.

Even so, she never really competes with them. Her Quaker upbringing, her femaleness, her personality - what is it that holds her back? Few women have been great artists - why? The book implies that both of Hope's artist husbands were gifted, geniuses inspired beyond ordinary mortal comprehension, touched by God in some way. Couldn't Hope have been as good, as memorable - with time to create, cultural support for the idea of a woman artist, and the right marketing tools?

The implication that a woman painter is somehow inherently less good than a man is rife in the text; even in Hope's words. "This is terribly unpolitic to confess to you, but female artists have always struck me as hangers-on, whether genteel old maids like Cassatt or else layabouts and models…" Hope tells Kathryn. "Women don't go over the top; they're too timid and respectful, which is understandable enough, and easily distracted, again understandable."

Depressing as it is, this is a very accurate depiction of the mid-century attitude of women as selfless creatures born to serve. Family was a woman's true calling. To women raised in the era of domestic bliss known as the Baby Boom, when women vacuumed in pink high heels and served innovative casserole dinners as seriously as if they were creating innovative modern art themselves, the reason why that concept would be understandable will seem very clear. Updike captures the mindset of American female of that generation perfectly, and in Kathryn's vaguely puzzled reaction, the uncertainty and ambiguity of the generation that followed. Could a woman artist achieve legend in today's more progressive climate? That question is left unanswered.

The understanding between the two women - who are the book's only characters in the present - is tenuous at best. The figure of Kathryn remains undeveloped. She has a boyfriend, lives in New York, has new boots - we learn these details, but mainly in context of how Hope responds to them. She remains a hazy figure, a sounding-board against which Hope measures her life's accomplishments. She chronicles her existence for this person and her annoying tape recorder, embellishing here, leaving out there - all the while talking more for herself than her listener. Clearly, Hope - and by extension, her husbands and friends, composites of some of the most famous artists of the century - are the real protagonists of this book.

The book is limited in scope - one day only, although Hope's reminiscence spans decades - and vague, non-specific, but broad in implication. There is little action, just dialog between the two women and Hope's unspoken recollections. Only a novelist of Updike's caliber could make this unusual structure into a readable, appealing book - but he does, very much so. Hope is a strong character, with an exciting past, and Kathryn, yearning to touch that greatness herself, striving to become an interesting woman in her own right, will touch a chord with many readers who are on that same path. Hope talks, as old women do, of life, love, time, and God - with a wisdom and grace stemming from Updike's lengthy career and vast knowledge of the human condition. The message Updike wishes to convey is a bit hard to interpret, and in the end, every reader will probably find a different meaning in this ambitious literary work.

Seek My Face is loosely based on the life of Jackson Pollock (who appears as Hope's first husband, Zack McCoy) and on statements taken from real artists. Her second husband, Guy Holloway, seems to be a composite of several Pop artists, and other characters clearly echo various familiar figures in the art world. Some of the references will seem obscure to a non-artist, and some of the reasoning sounds pretentious, silly in a way that many "serious" artists can sometimes sound to the non-art inclined. Updike captures their intense preoccupation with art, to the exclusion of virtually all else, very well - and also winningly portrays how their obsession affects Hope, watching from the sidelines.

The book's pace is slow, studious, but that just serves to highlight the routine and stillness of Hope's final years - the safe harbor, in effect, she has reached. It is a poignant read, enigmatic like the modern art discussed so intimately in its pages. What you get from it will depend on what you bring to it. A recommended read!

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April Chase is a Colorado-based freelance writer whose articles, essays and book reviews have appeared in numerouse on-line and print publications. She is currently working on a novel based on her grandfather's journals of early-20th century farm life. She can be reached at ajc1696@earthlink.net

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