Disappearing Acts

(Originally posted on December 2, 2005)

If you could choose between extraordinary fame and fortune or the ability to turn invisible at will, which one  would you opt for?  A tough choice for most of us.

All through life, we struggle between the twin tugs of seeking recognition and craving privacy.  We spend much of our lives competing with our siblings, classmates and colleagues - at home, in school , at work and on the playing field, making ourselves conspicuous. At other times we like to pull down the curtain to hide even from those we have sought out, befriended, courted or married. We dress up and go to public places to be seen and admired by friends and strangers. For the perfect vacation, we seek out remote islands or foreign lands where nobody knows us. And what are the two most universally popular childhood pastimes across all cultures? One is some variation of a game invloving a group of youngsters collectively vying for the successful control of a ball and the other is the thrill and solitary cunning of "hide and seek".

We are fascinated with people who disappear. Amelia Earhart flew into the horizon of our imagination - we are still looking for clues. And what happened to Jimmy Hoffa?  Celebrities like James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, President Kennedy, John Lennon and Princess Diana who die young, acquire great mystique because an untimely death is like a vanishing act - you expected that person to be around much longer.  Howard Hughes is a legend not just due to his extraordinary success in acquiring fame, riches and beautiful women, but also because his last days were veiled in paranoid mystery, so much so that he did not bother leaving a will for his vast wealth. Monks, nuns and yogis are figures of admiration, not simply because we expect from them rare spiritual insights but because we are in awe of their ability to walk away "from it all". Bill Watterson, the author of the hugely successful syndicated cartoon, Calvin and Hobbes packed up his pen, ink and drawing board and disappeared from the comic pages about ten years ago. There have been other celebrities who lowered the curtain before their last act.

What makes a successful person want to hide from an adoring public ?  Most public figures continue to seek recognition and approval of their audience till the very end. But a handful, some at the pinnacle of fame and at the prime of their creative lives, decide to call it quits.  We rarely know what the last straw was for them because very few recluses care to explain. But have you noticed that a politician rarely leaves the public stage unless compelled by voters, scandal, ill health or old age?  I suspect that is because power is more addictive than fame, wealth and creative success. 

Comments

[evan]

indeed.

i suppose that this:

"But have you noticed that a politician rarely leaves the public stage unless compelled by voters, scandal, ill health or old age?"

fails to apply to cheney since he's not really a politican anymore but a more of a puppeteer.

thanks for the great posts! i'm an avid reader.

[Joe]

Sometimes it's more interesting to think of "what might have been" than what actually is or was. While John Keats and Edgar Allan Poe were undeniably talented, a large part of their fame (esp. Keats, because he died younger than Poe and was not as productive or influential, and Poe's death is notorious in part because of the mystery that surrounds it) probably results from that unfulfilled promise.

Could the artist who retires at the height of his or her career be part of that phenomenon? There might be concerns about becoming repititious or unoriginal, or of not being able to live up to the promise of earlier works.

One odd idea might be that retiring from a public life -- that is, ceasing to live that life altogether -- is a sort of ultimate suicide fantasy. The person of course continues to live, but there is a conscious decision to stop living that public life, and perhaps even to become a different self (a clean existential break, if you will).

[Ruchira Paul]

Evan, thanks for reading. Let me know when I start to bore you.
I agree that Cheney is going nowhere without completing his mission. But it is reported that Bush does not seek out Uncle Cheney's advice too much anymore.

Joe, I understand our preoccupation with "what might have been" when a public figure withdraws. I am more curious about why they do it.

Politicians, teachers, lawyers, preachers, social workers, doctors etc. - those whose jobs involve working for others, rarely leave public life abruptly. But those who live by their creative aptitude - writers, scientists and actors are more prone to reclusiveness.

At some level, the existential break probably relates to a sense of losing control - which may well be the fear of losing one's spark or freshness of vision. In Bill Watterson's case though, it appears that he militated against the over commercialization of his creation by the syndicating agency.

[Joe]

I did some quick fact checking, and it appears that the discrepancy between the two types of public figures you mention (the public servants and the creative types) comes from both directions. That's not worded very clearly, but it's late and I should be going to bed.

The average American retirement age is now 63. The average retirement age of a Member of Congress is significantly higher than that: 68.3 for those retiring under FERS, and 75.5 for those retiring under CSRS. I have no idea what the difference is, but here's the link: http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm

Is the issue power? Helping people? Some combination of those factors, or something I'm overlooking? I don't know--BUT it does appear clear that there is some sort of causal connection (but in which direction?) between public service and working later in life.

[Ruchira Paul]

I do believe that there is a correlation between public service and a longer tenure in public life.

That doesn't mean that some creative types don't hang around for a long time. Most do. But the recluses overwhelmingly belong to the creative class. On the other hand, those who believe that they have power over other people's destinies, tend to stick to their mission more tenaciously. Perhaps that explains why many in Hollywood and in other artistic arena become activists. And the perception of power can be of the political type or of the spiritual and altruistic variety. Bottom line, as long as people feel they can make a difference in the world order, they are reluctant to retire.