Re: GG as a loner/egocentric

[Kate Clunies-Ross <goldbergs@TALK21.COM>]

Sara has pointed out that Glenn Gould was  very much a loner, and quoted his
own words on the subject.

But remember that he also told Jock Carroll that he _did_ have girlfriends,
but  he then  made it clear  he would neither  invite  nor answer any
questions about his love life!

This was when Gould was a  very young man, and his words about these
girlfriends do sound curiously naive: but there is no reason to suppose he
shunned female companionship in later years.

And in the Elyse Mach interview he says only that "I'm alone, or
quasi-alone, a lot ". That doesnt, to me, sound  at all as if he is claiming
to be  is _totally_ alone,  100% of  the time !  Certainly we should heed
his own words, but we should read them carefully so that we don't interpret
them in   a way that suits any preconceived notions of the man.

Being a loner and / or  an eccentric does not mean you cannot have a love
life or mix with others at all. Rather it means you  do not seek long-term
companionship or commitment,  and  that either you  do not need or  cannot
easily  form lasting relationships  for whatever reason.  You may prefer to
live alone and not be a social animal but that does not mean you spend
_all_ your time in near-total isolation. Many people favour a reclusive
lifestyle; I would guess that very few are true hermits, however!

In any case,  I understand that not long before Gould died, Life magazine
published an article that actually named a lady with whom  he had a
relationship. Apparently Gould was furious .....   not because the story was
untrue, but because he felt it invaded his cherished privacy  in a totally
unforgiveable manner!

Yes, he was basically a loner, who valued the concept of solitude as a
requirement for artistic creation, among other reasons. But as we are all
aware, he was a complex man and I think  it is likely there _were_ other
aspects to his life that we can consider  as well, in order to try to
understand him better.

Kate