Helping by Robert Stone
"Helping" by Robert Stone explores the tumultuous life of Charles "Chas" Elliot, a Vietnam veteran grappling with the complexities of addiction and emotional turmoil. The narrative unfolds in a present-tense style, offering insights into Elliot's struggles as he attempts to navigate his fragile sobriety, maintain relationships, and confront personal demons. Following a series of setbacks, including a distressing encounter with a manipulative client and a subsequent relapse into alcohol use, Elliot's emotional landscape becomes increasingly chaotic.
Throughout the story, the tension between Elliot and his wife, Grace, intensifies, revealing the strain that addiction places on their long-standing marriage. The dialogue and interactions depict Elliot's internal conflicts and his yearning for connection and understanding amidst his destructive behavior. A pivotal moment occurs when Elliot experiences a fleeting moment of clarity, realizing his need for help and the enduring love he holds for Grace. This recognition prompts a profound inner struggle, as he grapples with guilt and the hope for redemption.
Overall, "Helping" presents a poignant exploration of the challenges of recovery, the impact of war on mental health, and the complexities of love and forgiveness within troubled relationships. Readers interested in psychological narratives that delve into personal struggles and relational dynamics may find this story particularly resonant.
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Helping by Robert Stone
First published: 1987
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1980's
Locale: The suburbs around Boston
Principal Characters:
Charles ("Chas") Elliot , a Vietnam veteran and veteran's counselorGrace , his wife, a conscientious social workerBlankenship , one of his clientsLoyall Anderson , his nearest neighborCandace , a librarian
The Story
"Helping" follows Charles "Chas" Elliot, a sensitive, sardonic Vietnam veteran prone to alcoholic binges when he is frustrated or angry, through a time in his life when his marriage, job, and social interactions have fused into a flux of turmoil and disappointment. The omniscient narrative operates primarily as an unfolding present, with long passages of dialogue illuminating Elliot's evolving psychological response to the circumstances of his life. The stresses he feels have led to a return to the alcoholic escapism that he has previously managed partially to control.
As the narrative begins, Elliot has been attending meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous for fifteen months, maintaining a fragile sobriety. His resolve is tested by sudden perceptions of ways in which his plans have been thwarted and by moments of keen awareness of aspects of the natural world that tend to unsettle his mental equilibrium. Nonetheless, he is able to control himself until a client named Blankenship, a thief, liar, and leech, arrives at the state hospital for counseling.
Following a particularly enraging session with Blankenship, Elliot leaves the hospital feeling anxious and impatient. He stops at the local library, but his conversation with Candace, a good friend and amateur Greek scholar, fails to cheer him. Returning to an old pattern of behavior, he buys a bottle of Scotch, and in a mood mingling expectation and apprehension, he stops at a familiar tavern. His drive home is conducted in a mood of "baroque ecstasy, swinging and swaying and singing along," and when his wife realizes that he has been drinking, Elliot's forced humor juxtaposed with her distress reduces his euphoric state to one of defensive contrition. The tension between them escalates into a lacerating verbal exchange, suspended when one of Grace's recalcitrant clients phones the house. Elliot picks up the phone and unleashes a justifiable barrage of invective at the abusive caller, resulting in a cursing spree that leads to Elliot settling in the darkened living room with a bottle and a shotgun.
The next morning, Elliot sets out across a snow-covered field, carrying the shotgun, a massive hangover, and a heavy burden of guilt. When he meets Loyall Anderson, a neighbor he resents for his smug moral complacency and instinctively wants to provoke with antic gestures, Elliot is querulous and deferential, his manner indicating his confusion and his smoldering, unfocused anger. After a strained conversation rife with implied threats, Elliot heads back toward his home, stopping to fire ineffectually at a passing pheasant before trudging through the snow onward to his house. As he approaches the building, he sees his wife at the bedroom window, standing "perfectly still, and the morning sun lit her nakedness." This is a transcendent vision for Elliot, and he finds himself imagining her thoughts and feelings in a piercing instant of shared consciousness.
Still caught in a welter of emotions, Elliot has a moment of self-insight that gives him the recognition that he needs help and that Grace is probably the only person who might provide it. In a gesture of supplication, he raises his hand, acknowledging his failings, his hopes for forgiveness, and the degree to which his love for his wife endures in spite of his blatant exhibition of rotten behavior.
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