#96 A Lecture Tour- Knut Hamsun
A professor in of Literature, in need of money, visits
nearby Dram, meaning to give a lecture. He has not announced the lecture, planned
the lecture, advertised the lecture, or even rented a hall until he arrives.
As we follow the running of his internal thoughts, we see
that the man has a deluded sense of his own grandness and no handle on reality.
He is constantly worried about the money he is spending but balancing it out
with the impression he is making on the people around him. He wishes to look as
important as he thinks he is.
Unfortunately for him, this is not the sort of town that
draws big crowds for lectures, as he is told several times:
“We had a Swedish student come last year with a talk about
everlasting peace. He lost money on it.”
And even worse luck, there is a big event happening while he
is there that will certainly attract a crowd.
“Anti-spiritualist is doing a show at the Workers’ Hall. He
has apes and wild beasts with him.”
As expected, he draws nearly no crowd and is generously
offered a role in the anti-spiritualist show for the next evening. He is
offended:
“Never would I be a party to such vulgarity! A Man has his
honor to consider.”
However, need outweighs pride and he, in some convoluted rationality,
convinces himself to join the show.
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