I had trouble with Eben's discussion of Tharaud's attentiveness in Cerriere's Answer. My impression of Tharaud for the first half of the piece was that she seemed distracted by her observances, to the point where it almost felt like she was vomiting trivia or talking nervously. My sense was that he was keeping her companion at arm's length by avoiding engaging with him. I was surprised to hear this called "attentiveness." While I agree that we should cultivate the characteristic of attentiveness in ourselves, I didn't think Tharaud necessarily demonstrated that.

Could someone shed some light on this?

-- MolissaFarber - 12 Mar 2009

I think that the dialogue is somewhat distracting, but perhaps the broader purpose of her behavior is given away by the title--"Lawyerland". This is simply my own theory.

To extrapolate, Lawyerland is a place, populated by (you guessed it) lawyers, where the discussion are less about the law, than, perhaps, how lawsuits or legal disputes might turn out. Much like Robinson's character, Tharaud is much more interested in the economic relationship between the worker and her employer--in hypothesizing the outcome of a potential tort--than she is about the law itself (i.e., is this negligence on the part of the employer, contributory negligence on the part of the employee, etc?). That observation, much like the observation that Roy Cohn was a closeted homosexual and yet more than contemptuous toward gays demonstrates how an attention to detail might lead to a better explanation of his behavior. One step further, it might shed light on how his distaste of gays and communists was crucial in motivating prosecutions and securing convictions. To be an adversary to Cohn, or to the employer, or to any lawyer, these details are essential. The knowledge of "the law" is a given, and, thus, is not discussed by Tharaud.

-- KahlilWilliams - 12 Mar 2009