Flirting

Do you flirt, philosopher? Can you flirt? How do you expect to meet anyone? Maybe you don’t want to meet anyone.

 

I should get Mother to show me in a summer dress. Would you like to see me in a summer dress?

 

You want someone who understands you. Who knows why you’re so brooding. What you brood about …

 

You want the kind of woman who’d be fascinated by philosophers … Are there women fascinated by philosophers? Are there philosophy groupies?

 

How about the students? Do they look up to you? Do they admire you?

Students …

 

You’re just too complex for ordinary people. Too intellectual. Your mind’s on other things. Complex things. Things beyond our ordinary concerns.

 

I’m sure there’s a type of woman who’d be fascinated by a philosopher. A European woman, of course. A woman from the other side of the Channel. And maybe an Indian woman. I don’t know about that.

Are there people interested in philosophy in India? I don’t know any. My family aren’t. Are yours? You’re a Tam bram type; aren’t you? Tamil Brahmins … I can tell. Well, so am I. We’re ancient Iyengars. Going all the way back …

We’re Iyers, so we couldn’t have married.

 

I don’t know anything about humanities mating. Humanities love. How do you guys do it? Does culture play an enormous role? Do you quote poetry to one another? Do you go and watch Shakespeare plays on dates? Must be a lot to talk about. Do you go to, like, classical music concerts? Listen to Beethoven together, and so on?

But it’s all cultural politics, the humanities, isn’t it? Sex and race and gender, that kind of thing. And communism. I heard there was a great interest in communism in the humanities. Do you sit and discuss communist ideas? Plan the revolution?