#868 The Monkey- Tove Jansson
This is a humorous dig at critics. An aging sculptor lives a
lonely life. His only companion is a monkey he treats like a child or a friend.
This is the day his latest art show is being reviewed and like the rest, he
reads the write-ups with disdain. He sees the critics as leeches and brainless
animals intent only on destroying what’s there instead of enjoying or
supporting artists. In the following statement he compares his monkey to the
critics:
“The monkey was like all the rest of them. The tiniest
crack, the least stain or defect, and her fingers were there to make it worse
or pick it apart. She noticed everything, every tiny sign of weakness, and
that’s where she’d bite and rip and tear. That’s the way monkeys are, but they
don’t know any better and so we forgive them. The others are unforgivable.”
Notable Passage: “He overtipped him out of pure contempt.”
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