The Romance of An Old Fool

by Roswell Martin Field

Reproduction of the The Romance of An Old Fool by Roswell Field

54 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Roswell Martin Field was a prominent lawyer in St. Louis, most famous for having represented Dred Scott, the slave who sued for his freedom.

Reviews

[Thom Swennes]

Middle age and circumstances often leads people to foolish endeavors. John, a well-to-do widower, contemplates remarrying but soon sees that the only eligible mates were both old and ugly spinsters or young and empty-headed girls. This puts his future plans on hold and he busied himself with philanthropic endeavors. When he takes a young orphaned woman under his wing, thoughts of love and tenderness again invade his thoughts. This book covers a common but seldom mentioned fact of life. Many people feel alone, unhappy and uncertain of life. In an attempt to re-start a life half lived, the quest for a new partner is often undertaken. This is a short but gripping story of loneliness, love and wisdom. I would gladly recommend it to all readers that like emotionally loaded prose.

[Sotiris Makrygiannis]

Mr John is 48 years old; he visits his homeland and gets attracted by a 22-year-old girl named Phyllis.
Did he get attracted to her becouse of her youth? becouse she was the orphaned child of his first love? Becouse of his biological need to get married and become a father? We dont know the more profound reason. One could assume that she reminded him of his first love feelings. That could be a powerful enough reason. Indeed we cannot say that Mr John was the kind of man running behind young girls. He was naturally very aristocratic and snobbish at times but, above all, a Philosopher as he claimed to be.

What about the girl? Why did she give in to his flirting? Was his money the reason? The prestige? Indeed not his good looks. My explanation is Sapiosexuality.

The first use of the word dates back to 2004 and originated from the Latin root word 'Sapien,' which means wise, and 'sexualis,' which means sexual.

Sapiosexuality is a type of sexuality that involves being more attracted by the contents of a person's mind than by the appearance of their body. To feel sexually attracted to another person, a sapiosexual must first feel intellectually stimulated.

Because attraction is centred on the intellect or how a person's mind works, people who are sapiosexual do not feel attraction until their mind feels stimulated by a potential partner. There is no lust, liking, wanting, or sexual gratification unless the brain has been stimulated on an intellectual level first.

Mr John's philosophical reasoning and endless talk about the nature of love by using Plato and other ancient Greeks could have been enough for the little girl to get aroused, first in the brain. There is a hidden benefit of knowing all those dead Greek philosophers...

The story develops nicely, Mr John's love becomes the joke of the town, but he couldn't care less about what others think about it. Love does that thing to man, so the character behaves within the insanity and irrationality limits of being in love.

The girl also at the end behaves according to the hormonal demands of a young girl, but I will not say more as it's a lovely book to read until the end. The bottom line is that Sapiosexuality is the book's main topic, and the "way" it works is described rather well.

[Chelsea Berry]

An interesting story, a journey through emotions and self analysis. A lot written in few pages.

Prompt

52 Book Club 2022, April Challenge: A foolish character

[Lanelle]

Mr. John Stanhope describes himself: he was 'dangerously over forty, and my hair...was conspicuously gray in spots, my figure was good...I was still in a position to be in the matrimonial running if I tried". John's estranged wife has been dead for a while now, and he's starting to think he might be lonely. So John covertly looks around at the single ladies in the area.

Which leads me to my favorite line in the story: "...the sixth [eligible lady] perished miserably after returning to me one of my most cherished books with the leaves dog-eared and the binding cracked. For I hold with the greatest philosophers that she who maltreats a book will never make a good wife."

In an effort to avoid a card party, John goes out of town. He decides to visit the village where he grew up. He wanders around the area remembering people, places and events of his childhood. Most of all John reflects on his first love, Sylvia. He goes to Sylvia's old home and finds her older sister living there with Sylvia's orphaned daughter, Phyllis. There begins the romance.

This long novella is written in first person, so John is telling his own tale. The first three paragraphs are tedious and a bit confusing, but if you'll push on through them, the story begins to pick up and make sense. There are three other reviews right now on Amazon, two with 4 stars and the other with just 1 star.

I'm still pondering the title. Why does John call himself an 'old fool'? Everyone deserves love, and at anytime in their lives. I don't think John can be blamed for trying to find affection and companionship.

[Julia]

Sweet little romance.