The Meaning of Margate: G. K. Chesterton and T. S. Eliot

摘要

This article looks at the relationship between G. K. Chesterton and T. S. Eliot, focusing on the symbolic use made by both authors of the British seaside resort of Margate. It begins by examining Eliot's 1921 stay there, during which he drafted part of The Waste Land, including the lines in ‘The Fire Sermon’ that talk about the town. It is suggested that the little-known short story, ‘The Purple Jewel’ (1929), which also deals with Margate, was written partially as a response to what Chesterton perceived as élitism in Eliot's work. The wider ‘meaning’ of Margate as it may have been considered by Chesterton is looked into, and ‘The Purple Jewel’ is analysed as a piece of writing that is, in part, an anti-Modernist polemic. Chesterton's other writings criticizing Eliot are also examined, and the differences – and unexpected similarities – between Eliot's ‘objective correlative’ and some of Chesterton's poetic theories are explored. Finally, the exchange in the late-1920s of letters between the two men is analysed. It is suggested that although Chesterton was publically ‘anti-Eliot’, private relations between the two were increasingly cordial.