Man, or Whore?

Donald Trump brings fresh relevance to John Steinbeck’s last novel

Before Donald Trump was even inaugurated, I (not very daringly) predicted that the Trump administration would be a hellish place for professionals and urged everybody who could get out to … go. The New York Times’ Ross Douthat and David Leonhardt saw the same looming problem and urged federal workers to stay, arguing that the country would need them more than ever.

I was reminded of that as word came that Trump’s latest two choices to serve on his legal team in connection with the Russia investigation were obliged to withdraw for the reason of ethical conflicts, and word came that virtually every high-powered attorney in Washington had declined an invitation to represent him.

I found myself thinking, too, of John Steinbeck’s famous last novel, The Winter of Our Discontent. The novel’s protagonist, Ethan Hawley, is the descendant of a wealthy sea captain. The family fortune has been dissipated, and he works as a store clerk for an illegal immigrant. He wonders what the older generation of Hawleys had that he lacks, and suffers when his children must do without, cringes at the sight of his wife scrimping by.

He looks around and wonders at what seems a continuing decline of ethical behavior, and wonders if his swaggering, widely-respected ancestors sometimes felt conflicted about the implications of their cargo.

He is conflicted. Should he uphold his increasingly quaint ideals — or join the free-for-all? Hold out, or sell out?

Hawley hatches a plan that exploits the weakness and failings of others and promises to restore his family to prominence. His children will not do without. His wife can hold up her head. Strictly, if he acts, he will be able to claim clean hands; practically, the plan entails a long train of betrayals.

What to do? No spoiler here; if you want to know, you’ll have to read the book.

But as the weekend progressed, the conflict in Steinbeck’s character seemed increasingly relevant to me at this weird moment in our national life. Serious and accomplished lawyers, whom one would ordinarily expect to jump at the opportunity to represent the President, were saying, No.

Donald Trump soils and corrupts everything and everybody he touches, and destroys those he can’t; that’s the real reason the support of self-loathing evangelicals is unshakeable. Before he is gone, we will all be forced to decide whether or not we are willing to put our money where our mouth is.