The Schopenhauer Cure

A Novel

Irvin D. Yalom

To my community of older buddies who grace me with their friendship, share life`s

inexorable diminishments and losses, and continue to sustain me with their wisdom and

dedication to the life of the mind: Robert Berger, Murray Bilmes, Martel Bryant, Dagfinn

Føllesdahl, Joseph Frank, Van Harvey, Julius Kaplan, Herbert Kotz, Morton Lieberman,

Walter Sokel, Saul Spiro, and Larry Zaroff.

38

_________________________

We should

treat with

indulgence

every

human

folly,

failing,

and vice,

bearing in

mind that

what we

have

before us

are simply

our own

failings,

follies,

and vices.

_________________________

In the following meeting Philip shared neither his

frightening experiences nor his reasons for abruptly leaving

the previous meeting. Though he now participated more

actively in the group discussions, he always did so at his

own choosing and the members had learned that energy

invested in prying Philip open was energy wasted. Hence

they shifted their attention to Julius and inquired whether

he felt usurped by Philip`s ending the meeting last week.

«Bittersweet,” he replied. «The bitter part is being

replaced. Losing my influence and my role is symbolic of

all impending endings and renunciations. I had a bad night

after the last meeting. Everything feels bad at 3A.M. I had a

rush of sorrow at all the endings ahead of me: the ending of

the group, of my therapy with all my other patients, the

ending of my last good year. So, that`s the bitter. The sweet

is my pride in you guys. And that includes you, Philip.

Pride in your growing independence. Therapists are like

parents. A good parent enables a child to gain enough

autonomy to leave home and function as an adult; in the

same way a good therapist`s aim is to enable patients to

leave therapy.»

«Lest there be a misunderstanding, I want to clarify

the record,” Philip proclaimed. «It was not my intention to

usurp you last week. My actions were entirely self–protective: I felt inexpressibly agitated by the discussion. I

forced myself to remain till the end of the meeting, and

then I had to leave.»

«I understand that, Philip, but my preoccupation with

endings is so strong now that I may see portents of endings

and replacement in benign situations. I`m also aware that,

tucked into your disclaimer, is some caring for me. For that

I thank you.»

Philip bowed his head slightly.

Julius continued, «This agitation you describe sounds

important. Should we explore it? There are only five

meetings left; I urge you to take advantage of this group

while there`s still time.»

Though Philip silently shook his head as if to

indicate that exploration was not yet possible for him, he

was not destined to stay silent permanently. In the

following meetings Philip was inexorably drawn in.

Pam opened the next meeting by pertly addressing Gill:

«Apology time! I`ve been thinking about you and think I

owe you one...no, Iknow I owe you one.»

«Say more.» Gill was alert and curious.

«A few months ago I blasted you for never being

present, for being so absent and impersonal that I could not

bear to listen to you. Remember? That was pretty harsh

stuff—”

«Harsh, yes,” interrupted Gill, «but necessary. It was

good medicine. It got me started on my path—do you

realize I haven`t had a drink since that day?»

«Thanks, butthat`s not what I`m apologizing for—

it`s what`s happened since. Youhave changed: you`ve

beenpresent; you`ve been more upfront and more straight

with me than anyone else here, and yet I`ve just been too

self–absorbed to acknowledge you. For that I`m sorry.»

Gill accepted the apology. «And what about the

feedback I`ve given you? Was any of it helpful?»

«Well, your termchief justice shook me up for days.

It hit home; it made me think. But the thing that sticks most

in my mind was when you said John refused to leave his

wife not because of cowardice but because he didn`t want

to deal with my rage.That got to me,really got me thinking.

I couldn`t get your words out of my mind. And you know

what? I decided you were dead right and John was right to

turn away from me. I lost him not because ofhis deficits but

because of mine—he had had enough of me. A few days

ago I picked up the phone, called him, and said these things

to him.»

«How`d he take it?»

«Very well—after he picked himself off the floor.

We ended up having a nice amiable talk: catching up,

discussing our courses, mutual students, talking about

doing some joint teaching. It was good. He told me I

sounded different.»

«That`s great news, Pam,” said Julius. «Letting go of

anger is major progress. I agree you`ve too much

attachment to your hates. I wish we could take an internal

snapshot of this letting–go process for future reference—to

see exactly how you did it.»

«It was all nonvolitional. I think your maxim—strike

when the iron is cold!—had something to do with it. My

feelings about John have cooled enough to step back and

permit rational thought.»

«And what about» asked Rebecca, «your attachment

to your Philip–hatred?»

«I think you`ve never appreciated the monstrous

nature of his actions to me.»

«Not true. I felt for you...Iached for you when you

first described it—an awful, awful experience. But fifteen

years? Usually things cool in fifteen years. What keepsthis

iron red–hot?»

«Last night—during a very light sleep—I was

thinking about my history with Philip and had this image of

reaching into my head and grabbing the entire awful cluster

of thoughts about him and smashing it on the floor. Then I

saw myself bending over, examining the fragments. I could

see his face, his seedy apartment, my soiled youth, my

disillusionment with academic life, I saw my lost friend

Molly—and as I looked at this heap of wreckage I knew

what had happened to me was just...just...unforgivable.»

«I remember Philip saying that unforgiving and

unforgivable were two different things,” said Stuart.

«Right, Philip?»

Philip nodded.

«Not sure I get that,” said Tony.

«Unforgivable,” said Philip, «keeps the responsibility

outside of oneself, whereas unforgiving places the

responsibility on one`s own refusal to forgive.»

Tony nodded. «The difference between taking the

responsibility for what you do or blaming it on someone

else?»

«Precisely,” said Philip, «and, as I`ve heard Julius

say, therapy begins when blame ends and responsibility

emerges.»

«Quoting Julius again, Philip, I like it,” said Tony.

«You make my words sound better than I do,” said

Julius. «And again I experience you drawing closer. I like

that.»

Philip smiled almost imperceptibly. When it was

clear he was not planning to respond further, Julius

addressed Pam: «Pam, what are you feeling?»

«To be honest, I`m floored by how hard everyone

struggles to see change in Philip. He picks his nose, and

everyone oohs and aahs. It`s a joke how his pompous and

trite remarks arouse such reverence.» Mimicking Philip,

she said in a singsong cadence, «Therapy begins when

blame ends and responsibility emerges.»Then, in a raised

voice: «And what aboutyour responsibility, Philip? Not a

goddamn word about it except some bullshit about all your

brain cells changing and therefore it wasn`t you who did

anything. No,you weren`t there.»

After an awkward silence, Rebecca said softly,

«Pam, I want to point out that youare able to forgive.

You`ve forgiven a lot of things. You said you forgave me

for my excursion into prostitution.»

«No victim there—except you,” responded Pam

quickly.

«And,” continued Rebecca, «we`ve all taken note of

how you forgave Julius, instantly, for his indiscretions. You

forgave him without knowing or inquiring whether some of

his friends were injured by his actions.»

Pam softened her voice. «His wife had just died. He

was in shock. Imagine losing someone you had loved since

high school. Give him a break.»

Bonnie pitched in, «You forgave Stuart for his sexual

adventure with a troubled lady and even forgave Gill for

withholding his alcoholism from us for so long. You`ve

done a lot of forgiving. Why not Philip?»

Pam shook her head. «It`s one thing to forgive

someone for an offense to someone else—quite another

thing when you`re the victim.»

The group listened sympathetically but nonetheless

continued. «And, Pam,” said Rebecca, «I forgive you for

trying to make John leave his two young children.»

«Me, too,” said Gill. «And I`ll eventually forgive you

for what you did with Tony here. How about you? Do you

forgive yourself for springing that ‘confession day` and

dumping him in public?—that was humiliating.»

«I`ve apologized publicly for not consulting with him

about the confession. I was guilty there of extreme

thoughtlessness.»

Gill persisted, «There`s something else, though: do

you forgive yourself for using Tony?»

«Using Tony?» said Pam. «IusedTony ? What are you

talking about?»

«Seems like your whole relationship was one thing—

and a far more important thing—to him than to you. Seems

like you weren`t relating so much to Tony but to others,

perhaps even to Philip,through Tony.»

«Oh, Stuart`s cockamamie idea—I`ve never bought

into that,” said Pam.

«Used?» interjected Tony. «You think I was used?

No complaints here about that—I`m up for being used like

that any time.»

«Come on, Tony,” said Rebecca, «stop playing

games. Stop thinking with your little head.»

«Little head?»

«Your cock!»

When Tony broke into a big lascivious smile,

Rebecca barked, «You bastard, you knew what I meant!

You just wanted to hear me talk dirty. Get serious, Tony,

we don`t have much time left here. You can`t really be

saying you weren`t affected by what happened with Pam.»

Tony stopped smiling, «Well, being suddenly

dumped felt...you know, thrown away. But I`m still

hoping.»

«Tony,” said Rebecca, «you`ve still got a lot of work

to do on relating to a woman. Quit begging—it`s

demeaning. I hear you saying they can use you in any

goddamned way they want because there`s only one thing

you want from them: to get laid. That`s belittling

yourself—and them too.»

«I didn`t think I was using Tony,” said Pam.

«Everything felt mutual to me. But, to be honest, at the time

I didn`t reflect much. I just acted on automatic pilot.»

«As did I, long ago. Automatic pilot,” Philip said

softly.

Pam was startled. She looked at Philip for a few

seconds and then gazed downward.

«I have a query for you,” said Philip.

When Pam did not look up, he added, «A query

foryou, Pam.»

Pam raised her head and faced him. Other members

exchanged glances.

«Twenty minutes ago you said ‘disillusionmentwith

academic life.` And yet a few weeks ago you said that

when you applied to grad school, you seriously considered

philosophy, even working on Schopenhauer. If that is so,

then I put this question to you:could I have been that

disastrous a teacher? ”

«Inever said you were a bad teacher,” replied Pam.

«You were one of the best teachers I`ve ever had.»

Astonished, Philip stared hard at her.

«Talk about what you`re feeling, Philip,” urged

Julius.

When Philip refused to answer, Julius said, «You

remember everything, every word, Pam says. I think she

matters a great deal to you.»

Philip remained silent.

Julius turned toward Pam. «I`m thinking about your

words—that Philip was one of the best teachers you ever

had. That must have compounded your sense of

disappointment and betrayal.»

«Amen. Thanks, Julius, you`re always there.»

Stuart repeated her words, «One of the best teachers

you ever had!I`m absolutely floored by that. I`m floored by

your saying something so...so generous, to Philip. That`s a

huge step.»

«Don`t make too much of it,” said Pam. «Julius hit

the nail on the head: if anything, his being a good teacher

made what he did even more egregious.»

Tony, taking to heart Gill`s comments about his

relationship with Pam, opened the next meeting by

addressing Pam directly. «This is...like awkward, but I

been holding something back. I want to say that I`m feeling

more bummed out about us than I`ve admitted. I haven`t

done anything wrong to you—you and I were...uh

together...mutual about the sex, and yet now I`m the

person non grata—”

«Personanon grata,” whispered Philip gently.

«Persona non grata.» Tony continued, «And I feel

I`m being punished. We`re not close anymore, and I guess I

miss that. It seems like we were once friends, then lovers,

and now...it`s like...in limbo...nothing...you avoid me.

And Gill`s right: getting dumped in public was humiliating

as hell. Right now I get nothing from you—not getting laid,

not being friends.»

«Oh Tony, I am so so sorry. I know. I made a

mistake—I—we—should never have done this. It`s

awkward for me, too.»

«So how about our going back to where we were

before?»

«Back to?»

«Just friends, that`s all. Just hanging out after the

group, like all the others do here, except for my buddy,

Philip, who`s coming around.» Tony reached over and gave

Philip`s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. «You know,

talking about the group, your telling me about books, all

that stuff.»

«That sounds adult,” answered Pam. «And...it would

be a first for me—usually after an affair I make a clean

tumultuous break.»

Bonnie volunteered, «I wonder, Pam, if you keep

your distance from Tony because you fear he will interpret

a friendly overture as a sexual invitation.»

«Yeah, exactly—there is that—that`s an important

part of it. Tony does get a bit single–minded.»

«Well,” said Gill, «there`s an obvious remedy: just

clear the air. Be straight with him. Ambiguity makes things

worse. Couple of weeks ago I heard you raise the

possibility that maybe the two of you can get together later

after the group ends—is that real or just a phony way of

softening the let–down? It just muddies the waters. Keeps

Tony hanging.»

«Yep, right on!» said Tony. «That statement a couple

weeks ago about our possibly continuing sometime in the

future was big for me. I`m trying to keep everything on an

even keel so I can keep that possibility open.»

«And,” said Julius, «in so doing, you forfeit the

opportunity of doing some work on yourself while this

group and I are still available to you.»

«You know, Tony,” said Rebecca, «getting laid is not

the most important thing, not theonly thing, in the world.»

«I know, I know, that`s why I`m bringing this up

today. Give me a break.»

After a short silence Julius said, «So, Tony, keep

working on this.»

Tony faced Pam. «Let`s do what Gill said—clear the

air—as adults. What do you want?»

«What I want is to go back to where we were before.

I want you to forgive me for embarrassing you by springing

the confession. You`re a dear man, Tony, and I care for

you. The other day I overheard my undergraduate students

using this new term,fuck–buddies —perhaps that`s what we

were and it was fun then but it`s a bad idea now or in the

future—the group takes precedence. Let`s concentrate on

working on our stuff.»

«Okay by me. I`m up for it.»

«So, Tony,” said Julius, «you`re liberated—you`re

now free to talk about all the thoughts you`ve been holding

back lately—about yourself, Pam, or the group.»

In the remaining meetings the liberated Tony returned to

his instrumental role in the group. He urged Pam to deal

with her feelings about Philip. When the potential

breakthrough following her praise of Philip as a teacher

never materialized, he pressed her to work harder on why

she kept her resentment of Philip red–hot yet could find

forgiveness for others in the group.

«I`ve already said,” Pam answered, «that obviously

it`s much easier to forgive others, like Rebecca, or Stuart,

or Gill, because I was not a personal victim of their offense.

My life wasn`t altered by what they did. But there`s more. I

can forgive others here because they`ve shown remorse

and, above all, because they`ve changed.

«I`ve changed. I do believe, now, it`s possible to

forgive the person but not the act. I think I might be

capable of forgiving a changed Philip.But he hasn`t

changed. You ask why I can forgive Julius—well, look at

him: he never stops giving. And, as I`m sure you`ve all

figured out, he`s been giving us a final gift of love: he`s

teaching us how to die. I knew the old Philip, and I can

attest he`s the same man you see sitting here. If anything,

he`s colder and more arrogant.»

After a short pause she added, «And an apology from

him wouldn`t hurt.»

«Philip, not changed?» said Tony. «I think you`re

seeing what you want to see. All those women he used to

chase—that`schanged.» Tony turned to Philip. «You

haven`t really spelled it out, but it`s different. Right?»

Philip nodded. «My life has been very different—I

have been with no woman in twelve years.»

«You don`t callthat change?» Tony asked Pam.

«Or reform?» said Gill.

Before Pam could respond, Philip interjected,

«Reform? No, that`s inaccurate. The idea ofreformation

played no role. Let me clarify: I have not changed my life,

or, as it`s been put here, my sex addiction, by virtue of

some moral resolution. I changed because my life was

agony—no longer bearable.»

«How did you take that final step? Was there a last–straw event?» asked Julius.

Philip hesitated as he considered whether to answer

Julius. Then he inhaled deeply and began, speaking

mechanically as though wound up with a key: «One night I

was driving home after a long orgy with an exceptionally

beautiful woman and thought that now, if ever in my life, I

had gotten all I wanted. I had had my surfeit. The aroma of

sexual juices in the car was overpowering. Everything

reeked of fetid flesh: the air, my hands, my hair, my

clothes, my breath. It was as though I had just bathed in a

tub of female musk. And then, on the horizon of my mind I

could spot it—desire was gathering strength, readying to

rear its head again.That was the moment. Suddenly my life

made me sick, and I began to vomit. And it was then,”

Philip turned to Julius, «when your comment about my

epitaph came to mind. Andthat was when I realized that

Schopenhauer was right: life is forever a torment, and

desire is unquenchable. The wheel of torment would spin

forever; I had to find a way to get off the wheel, and it was

then I deliberately set about patterning my life after his.»

«And it`s worked for you all these years?» said

Julius.

«Until now, until this group.»

«But you`re so much better now, Philip,” said

Bonnie. «You`re so much more in touch, so much more

approachable. I`ll tell you the truth—the way you were

when you first started here...I mean I could never have

imagined me or anyone else consulting you as a counselor.»

«Unfortunately,” Philip responded, «being ‘in touch`

here means that I must share everyone`s unhappiness. That

simply compounds my misery. Tell me, how can this

‘being in touch` possibly be useful? When I was ‘in life` I

was miserable. For the past twelve years I have been a

visitor to life, an observer of the passing show, and»—

Philip spread his fingers and raised and lowered his hands

for emphasis—«I have lived in tranquillity. And now that

this group has compelled me to once again be ‘in life,` I am

once again in anguish. I mentioned to you my agitation

after that group meeting a few weeks ago. I have not

regained my former equanimity.»

«I think there`s a flaw in your reasoning, Philip,”

said Stuart, «and that has to do with your statement that you

were ‘in life.`”

Bonnie leaped in, «I was going to say the same thing.

I don`t believe you were ever in life, notreally in life.

You`ve never talked about having a real loving

relationship. I`ve heard nothing about male friends, and, as

for women, you say yourself that you were a predator.»

«That true, Philip?» asked Gill. «Have there never

been any real relationships?»

Philip shook his head. «Everyone with whom I`ve

interacted has caused me pain.»

«Your parents?» asked Stuart.

«My father was distant and, I think, chronically

depressed. He took his own life when I was thirteen. My

mother died a few years ago, but I had been estranged from

her for twenty years. I did not attend her funeral.»

«Brothers? Sisters?» asked Tony.

Philip shook his head. «An only child.»

«You know what comes to my mind?» Tony

interjected. «When I was a kid, I wouldn`t eat most things

my mother cooked. I`d always say ‘I don`t like it,` and

she`d always come back with ‘How do you know you don`t

like it if you`ve never tasted it?` Your take on life reminds

me of that.»

«Many things,” Philip replied, «can be known by

virtue of pure reason. All of geometry, for example. Or one

may have some partial exposure to a painful experience and

extrapolate the whole from that. And one may look about,

read, observe others.»

«But your main dude, Schopenhauer,” said Tony,

«didn`t you say he made a big deal about listening to your

own body, of relying on—what did you say?—your instant

experience?»

«Immediate experience.»

«Right,immediate experience. So wouldn`t you say

you`re making a major decision on second–rate,

secondhand info—I mean info that`s not your own

immediate experience?»

«Your point is well taken, Tony, but I had my fill of

direct experience after that ‘confession day` session.»

«Again you go back to that session, Philip. It seems

to have been a turning point,” said Julius. «Maybe it`s time

to describe what happened to you that day.»

As before, Philip paused, inhaled deeply, and then

proceeded to relate, in a methodical manner, his experience

after the end of that meeting. As he spoke of his agitation

and his inability to marshal his mind–quieting techniques,

he grew visibly agitated. Then, as he described how his

mental flotsam did not drift away but lodged in his mind,

drops of perspiration glistened on his forehead. And then,

as Philip spoke of the reemergence of his brutish, rapacious

self, a pool of wetness appeared in the armpits of his pale

red shirt and rivulets of sweat dripped from his chin and

nose and down his neck. The room was very still; everyone

was transfixed by Philip`s leakage of words and of water.

He paused, took another deep breath, and continued:

«My thoughts lost their coherence; images flooded pell–mell into my mind: memories I had long forgotten. I

remembered some things about my two sexual encounters

with Pam. And I saw her face, not her face now but her

face of fifteen years ago, with a preternatural vividness. It

was radiant; I wanted to hold it and...” Philip was prepared

to hold nothing back, not his raw jealousy, not the caveman

mentality of possessing Pam, not even the image of Tony

with the Popeye forearms, but he was now overcome by a

massive diaphoresis, which soaked him to the skin. He

stood and strode out of the room saying, «I`m drenched; I

have to leave.»

Tony bolted out after him. Three or four minutes

later the two of them reentered the room, Philip now

wearing Tony`s San Francisco Giants sweater, and Tony

stripped to his tight black T–shirt.

Philip looked at no one but simply collapsed into his

seat, obviously exhausted.

«Bring ‘em back alive,” said Tony.

«If I weren`t married,” said Rebecca, «I could fall in

love with both you guys for what you just did.»

«I`m available,” said Tony.

«No comment,” said Philip. «That`s it for me

today—I`m drained.»

«Drained? Your first joke here, Philip. I love it,” said

Rebecca.