Steinbeck (28 page)

There it is—It is interesting to watch the German efficiency, which, from the logic of the machine is efficient but which (I suspect) from the mechanics of the human species is suicidal. Certainly man thrives best (or has at least) in a state of semi-anarchy. Then he has been strong, inventive, reliant, moving. But cage him with rules, feed him and make him healthy and I think he will die as surely as a caged wolf dies. I should not be surprised to see a cared for, thought for, planned for nation disintegrate, while a ragged, hungry, lustful nation survived. Surely no great all-encompassing plan has ever succeeded. And so I'll look to see this German plan collapse because they do not know enough to plan for everything.

I hope you will be well now and that before long you will be coming out our way. Heaven knows when I will get east again. There's no reason to go.

Love to Dorothy and to Paco and again my questionable happy new year.

John

[Eardley Street]
Pacific Grove
[1941]
Monday

Dear Louis:

I hadn't been to the ranch for some time and consequently the book you sent me was up there. I am very grateful for it and will get to it immediately. I read snatches of dialogue here and there and liked it very well. I'll write you as soon as I finish it and meanwhile thank you very much.

Am living down here now. Bought a little house to live in and I think I am going to sell the ranch. Inevitabilities caught up with me and I don't much want to discuss them now nor until some time has given some perspective. Anyway I am working very hard on the gulf book and I think it might be something rather good. Work is about the most thing I do now. There's a fine safety in it.

I hope you are doing well. My agents say that book sales are terrible now. I have the little Mexican book of pictures [
The Forgotten Village
]
.
It is a tour de force and was Pat's idea not mine. But he has sold it to the Book League and so far the critics don't seem to know it is a phoney. It is only a phoney because it isn't a book at all but a trailer for a moving picture and the trailer costs two fifty which is enough fora real book and too much for a trailer. But if Pat is able to sell it I guess that makes it a book to every body but me. I still think it is a trailer.

This house down here has a big garden and is very simple and pretty and about the right size for me. I was kidding myself thinking I was a gentleman farmer. I'm not. I'm half bum and half voluptuary and half workman and that makes me one and a half of something and that isn't enough. Nerves pretty bad but otherwise all right except for the horrors all the time. Funny how easy it seems for other people.

I'd like to see you if you ever get down this way.

affectionately,
John

Los Gatos
[February 2, 1941]
Saturday Night

Dear Max:

There are several things to report to the club. One—I got a very guarded phone call from Spence [Spencer Tracy] asking me to come down for the narrative. He, I think, is a little afraid of Herb's direction. And I promised him I would. That's for next weekend. I don't know how I'll come down, drive or fly. I'll phone the secretary Monday from Monterey.

When I drove up from Monterey yesterday Carol looked so low and bad and so weak from all this rain that I made arrangements to send her to Honolulu for six weeks. The sun will jack her up. Anyway, she sails next Thursday at noon. I'll either fly south then or drive south. I don't know which, yet. So I'll be seeing you next weekend anyway and maybe a little bitty meeting might be held.

How are you feeling now? I hope the B1 holds and builds some nerves. If you should get this letter Monday morning, would you tell the secretary I'll phone about noon and will just leave a person to person in until the call is completed. I'll call from the lab.

I guess that's all.

John

[Pacific Grove]
February 7, 1941

Dear Elizabeth:

Well, I am back from Hollywood and I hope for the last time. Put Carol on the boat and then word that Herb was in the hospital and that Tracy wasn't to be let to do the commentary [for
The Forgotten Village
]
.
They wanted me down there, so I went. Got Burgess Meredith to do the commentary and he will do a good job too.

I have a good deal of anger left, that's all. The picture is good and should be sold. We got taken by M-G-M and I feel vengeful about it. Here's the story as I finally traced it down. Tracy wanted to do this commentary very much. M-G-M wanted him to do a new version of Jekyll and Hyde which he didn't want to do. So they promised him he could do the narration for me if he would do Jekyll. So he started it. Then they cut him off the narrative knowing he wouldn't stop a picture already in production. I would like to teach them not to tread on me. Mannix [Edward Mannix of M-G-M] is the man I'm after. I intend to blast their production of Tortilla Flat with everything I have. Life has asked me to do a story on the true Tortilla Flat and I may take it just to slap M-G-M. Perhaps you do not think revenge is good but I would like to teach these bastards they can't double-cross me with impunity.

To this end I wish you would read The Yearling again. Just a little boy named Jody has affection for a deer. Now I know there is no plagiarism on The Red Pony. But we are going to make The Red Pony, and two stories about a little boy in relation to animals is too much, particularly if in both cases the little boy's name is Jody. Will you see if we can't stop them from using the name and as much of the story as seems possible? If we don't want money we might easily get a court order. And I want to plague them as much as I can. I have a dozen ways, these are just two. I'd like advice on the second.

The next is funny. Donald Friede wanted to meet me and Pat arranged it. He worked for two days on me to go into the Selznick agency—only for pictures, you understand—great—est respect for M & O but this has nothing to do with them. His offers were fantastic. He even told a girl I know he would see that she did all right if she would persuade me. I wouldn't mention this to anyone else but I do think it is funny. And of course it got exactly nowhere. The only thing I want in the world not he nor anyone else can give me but I didn't tell him that.

I have one more request to make of you. Do you remember a long time ago I wrote a story called How Edith McGillicuddy Met R.L.S.?

 

Well, she has finally released it or rather got back her rights and it was never published. Remember I had to withdraw it? Well, she is very old and crippled now and quite poor. I am sending you the story. Do you think you can sell it? It's my story and under my name. If you can sell it, maybe to a national magazine, get as much as you can for it and I will turn the money over to her. It must not be mentioned in print that she needs the money but you can tell any editor it is a true story. It would make her feel good and would ease the little time she has left if you could do this.

Had a letter from Carol but in Los Angeles. No word from her in the Islands yet but she was having a wonderful time on the boat, already just about owned it. She will have a marvelous time of it.

Good luck and all. And love to you,

John

Pacific Grove
April 16 [1941]

Dear Mavis:

This has been a hell of a time and I'm pretty shaky but at least I'll try to give you a small idea of what happened. My nerves cracked to pieces and I told Carol the whole thing, told her how deeply involved I was and how little was left. She said she wanted what was left and was going to fight. So there we are. All in the open, all above board. I'm staying with Carol as I must. I don't know what Gwen will do nor does she. Just as badly tied there as ever—worse if anything. Carol acting magnificently. I don't know why in hell anybody would want to bother with me. Anyway, Carol won the outside and G the inside and I don't seem able to get put back together again.

We're selling the ranch. I bought a small house and garden in Pacific Grove but you'd better write me c/o the Lab for a while. Can't even remember the name of the street. Probably will before I finish this. Guess I was pretty close to a complete crack up but probably have passed it now. We're camping down here really now. And I'm trying to pull myself together but pretty bruised as everyone is. Funny thing. All looks hopeless now but I suppose time will fix things. And at least no more whispering is necessary.

This house is at 425 Eardley. I just went and looked. Sorry to have been all this trouble to you. Seem to have got about as low as one can go. Anyway that is our address now. I think things will be all right. Tell Elizabeth any of this you wish but don't trouble her with it. The work is badly shot but I'm fighting with that too. Fun huh?

Love to you all
John

[Pacific Grove]
May 19, 1941
Monday

Dear Elizabeth:

I had your letter with the check in it a few days ago. Many thanks. I've been very raddled and torn out by the roots. Nightmared, etc. In many ways I have more of a sense of peace than I have ever had and am working hard but I get the horrors pretty often. It's an awful thing to me to be cruel. I don't do it well. Meanwhile, as you know, I am having my assets gone over very carefully and will give Carol half and her interest in my contracts will probably make it more. Terrific income tax this year and heavier next will cut it down of course.

I'm putting an awful burden on you. Came very close to cracking up and I guess did but not finally. Getting stronger now though. The work saves me a lot. If only Carol can be happy and whole, it will work. I don't know. I had arrived at your advice independently, not to try to think but to let the work go on and time get in some licks. Seems to be the only thing. I don't know that it is true but from her letters Carol seems more perturbed about people finding out about the separation than about the separation itself. Her terrific pride, I guess. But she is being very fine. I hope she is finding some content.

We got off a lot of ms. to you which you probably have by now. It is more than Pat asked for. A brutally peremptory letter from him to Ed this morning demanded it.

Don't expect any sense from me for a while or maybe never. If I can get a little in work that's all I can expect.

Meanwhile my love to all of you and don't think too badly of me—or do if it is necessary.

John

Pacific Grove
June 19, 1941

Dear Pat:

Good letter from you this morning which I will answer at once. I'm glad you like that subtitle [
A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research
]
.
It seems with every word to define some part of the book.

I'm pretty sure the book will be good but that doesn't mean it won't flop completely. But I do think if it gets a slow start, it will gradually pick up because there is much more than just collection in it. Gradually it will be discovered that it is a whole new approach to thinking and only very gradually will the philosophic basis emerge. Scientific men, the good ones, will know what we are talking about. In fact some of them out here already do. It will only outrage the second-rate scientists who are ready to yell mysticism the moment anything gets dangerously near to careful thinking and a little bit out of their range.