Portrait of Herbert Bliss as Narcissus by George Platt-Lynes

Portrait of Herbert Bliss as Narcissus (1952)
George Platt-Lynes (American, 1907-1955)

Malcolm by James Purdy

New York : Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1959

James Purdy's Malcolm is both a contemporary comedy of manners and a satire of class and its trappings. Malcolm is a beautiful 15-year-old who spends his days on a bench outside the hotel where he lives. He is an innocent whose father disappeared nearly a year ago, and yet he still waits for his return. Short on funds, he's unsure what he will do.

Mr. Cox, an astrologer, is drawn to Malcolm and sees it as his responsibility to move him along from spending his days on this bench. In fact, he sees it as his responsibility to tell everyone what he thinks they should do; after all, it's in the stars. Cox connects Malcolm to a series of characters by providing him the addresses of his friends.

Malcolm meets 'little man', Kermit, a midget artist who is supported by his much larger wife Laureen, magnate Girard Girard and his wife Madame Girard for whom money is no object, artist Eloisa and her ex-con husband Jerome. They all struggle to posses Malcolm, to have the power to 'mature him'. His youth and inexperience, and frankly his lack of education, make for a great deal of comedy through misunderstanding. What follows is a pitched battle for ownership of Malcolm's youth and beauty, while highlighting the class distinctions among the players.

All of the characters are drawn to Malcolm. Some appear to want to protect his youth and innocence, while others seem intent on destroying it. While handled subtly, the suggestion that some of the male characters have a sexual interest in Malcolm as well as in one another appears throughout the work. This sexual fluidity is a hallmark of Purdy's characters and writing.

Written in a theatrical style, it's easy to see why it was re-cast as a play by Edward Albee in 1966.


Bibliographies & Ratings: Young (3150*)

Self Portrait (c.1910) by Duncan Grant

Self Portrait (c.1910)
Duncan Grant (Scottish, 1885-1978)
Oil on canvas