Holden has a thing for Jane Gallagher. All through the novel, he keeps thinking about her. A couple of times, he even comes close to calling her. He never does. Jane remains this unattainable love for Holden. Every time he thinks or speaks about her, there's a sense of melancholy and longing. In the years since I first read The Catcher in the Rye, I've always imagined that Holden finally did call Jane. I want a happy ending for him. I want Holden and Jane to date, get married, and have normal, well-adjusted kids. That's the romantic in me. (Yes, I do have a romantic in me. I just choose to keep it locked away from the sunlight.) In reality, considering Holden's instability, I would expect him to drift through life, flunking out of college, bouncing from job to job. Jane is not in his future.
But, since it's Valentine's Day, let's focus on the former option. Love. Romance. Happily ever after. Not too many people get that. In 2015, my wife and I will celebrate our twentieth anniversary. That's crazy. I'd love to say it's been roses and chocolate all the time. It hasn't. We've struggled a great deal. Because of my wife's mental illness and its accompanying complications, I would say we are survivors of the love trenches. I have the scars to prove it.
And yet, love won. We have a home. Two cars. Two beautiful kids. From the outside, we are living the American dream. Sort of. We still have problems, concerns that keep me awake at night. Today is not the day to think about worries, however. Today is a day to celebrate the love I have in my life. I have hung on to that love, through the battles of the past two decades. It has been my armor. I think Holden holds on to his love for Jane for the same reason. It gives him hope.
Saint Marty bows to the wisdom of Saint Paul this morning: "...love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
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| It hasn't failed me yet |
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