Boris Johnson is indulging himself but has no idea what he stands for
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Version 0 of 1. Letters: There are clear parallels between the prime minister and the self-serving character of James Steerforth in David Copperfield, writes Tony Martin. Plus letters from Jane Kearey and Gudrun Hansen about Johnson’s Onan joke Marina Hyde describes Boris Johnson as “self-obsessed” and “chained … to his ego” (Lurching and rambling, the man in charge has lost control, Journal, 9 November). In addition to psychology, literature can throw light on this flawed character – for just as characters in literature are frequently based on real people, it is also possible to identify individuals in fictional figures. In David Copperfield, Dickens created James Steerforth, an upper-middle-class man of “personal attractions and engaging manners” whom David Copperfield initially admires. However, as David comes to discover, Steerforth’s charisma conceals a complete lack of any moral sense. He is entirely self-centred, motivated only by what will enable him, as he says, to “ride on over all obstacles, and win the race!” David wishes that Steerforth “had some worthy race to run”, but in his “desperate way of pursuing any fancy that he took”, Steerforth has no sense of what the race is for, except that it is the one he is in. In due course, Steerforth’s self-serving and duplicitous behaviour causes great suffering and harm. He may never have entered a race in politics, but hasn’t Dickens drawn a portrait of a character resembling strongly the privileged narcissist who rode over all obstacles and won his race to become prime minister without any sense of what that race was for or any self-awareness?Tony MartinBirmingham • John Crace’s article about Boris Johnson’s obsession with masturbatory language is spot-on (14 November). What readers may not know is that the story of Onan is part of the tale of Tamar, whose brave stand against male hypocrisy is in stark contrast to the prodigality of her male relatives. It is ironic that the man who replied to female MPs with the word “humbug”, when they complained about careless language, should fixate on the language of male wastage and ignore that of determined female courage. Jane KeareyBristol • How can a classics scholar fall into the common trap that equates the “sin of Onan” with masturbation? In fact, Onan refused to impregnate his dead brother’s wife because any resultant child would not be considered his but his brother’s. “Whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother” (Genesis 38 verse 9). This was seen as a mortal sin and Onan was put to death by God.Gudrun HansenShoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters • Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition |