CLARENCE
THOMSON REVIEW OF THE LITERARY ENNEAGRAM IN ENNEAGRAM MONTHLY, OCTOBER
2001
The Literary Enneagram: Characters from the Inside Out
by Judith Searle
Metamorphous Press, 2001
350 pages, $23.95
800 233-MAPS (6277)
Judith Searle's new book, The Literary Enneagram, is a masterpiece.
If you are now, or ever want to be, a student of the Enneagram, this
is required reading.
I call it required reading because
it is a teacherıs delight. Searle quotes extensively from the great
literature of our language, so you get the thrill of precise, nuanced
thinking and smoothly professional entertainment. Then she starts explaining
the Enneagram energies that drive the narrative. And she explains them
concisely, accurately and succinctly. She not only says "this is
a Two," she explains why this is a Two, she distinguishes among
the three subtypes, she shades their preoccupations and foci into the
stress and security points.
Watch.
Dave Jacobs is an unhealthy version
of a Social Two in Alice Adamsıs novel, Medicine Men. When his
lover Molly, a One, develops a brain tumor, Dave, a physician, insists
on taking over not only her medical care, but her life.
After a long revealing quote, Searle
just comments: Like most unhealthy Twos, Dave has no idea how overwhelming
he can be in an intimate relationship. Then she leads with flashlight
in hand into the next quote by setting us up: Dave takes great pleasure
in organizing Molly's medical appointments, using her, in a sense, to
enhance his position in the medical establishment. He also takes pride
in making himself the hero of the situation, relegating Molly to a minor
role.
"So lucky I could get this appointment." Dave said this
many more times than twice when they drove south, down the Peninsula
toward Mt. Watson Hospital, and the famous, marvelous Dr. William
Donovan. Molly, repeating those words back to herself, became interested
in their order, which clearly put the emphasis on "I could get."
On "I." Dave was to be the hero of this episode in her life,
Molly clearly saw, and in a blurry way she wondered just what her
own role was to be; she felt that if Dave was to be heroic she was
not.
Searle leads us further with the
plot development. Searle observes, When Molly finally confronts Dave
about his refusal to explain important details like the side effects
of her radiation treatments, he makes her feel guilty for not appreciating
him. Then she gives the narrative that illustrates her point. I
felt skillfully tutored as Searle weaved back and forth between example
and commentary.
Searle publicly admits to being
a One and her book shows it. It is as close to perfect as even a One
would need it to be. It is thorough (350 pages of small print) and is
so well-organized it will be a reference book forever. (I was so glad
many of the sources she quotes are classic, the library will have them
all. I can't afford to buy all of the books she made me want to read!)
It is riveting. The readers think they know these characters and they
think they know the Enneagram. They do. Then, when Searle scopes in
on a telltale passage and surgically lays out the Enneagram style: wings,
subtypes, stress points and degree of health, you realize on a much
deeper level how utterly brilliant the Enneagram is and how talented
these authors are.
Searle, a modest teacher, does
not rhapsodize or elaborate; she just keeps pointing to the characters
and to their home on the Enneagram circle. I found her typecasting flawless.
The only time I came to her work with a different opinion (I thought
Hamlet a Four and she makes a convincing case that he's a Six), I was
powerfully swayed. I don't grant that to many authors. The readers get
to make their own conclusions, their own connections and feel terribly
wise as they do so. No matter how well you think you know the Enneagram,
you'll find your knowledge fleshed out by her vivid examples and clear
explanations.
It is good journalistic form to
find some negative things to say about any book review to preserve the
canon of objectivity and balance. It is, however, also good form to
be honest. I don't find anything negative to say about this. I'm putting
my money where my mouth is, too. I'm teaching a course here in Kansas
City at the Johnson County Community College. I'm calling it the Enneagram
in Literature and Movies. I will use Condon's book on movies and Searle's
book on literature as textbooks. However you choose to teach or learn
the Enneagram, Searle's new book ought to make a lasting contribution.
Clarence Thomson can be reached at: enneagram central, 35439 Mission Belleview,
Louisburg, KS 66053 or e-mail: ennctrl@aol.com.
|