Hermione and Her Little Group of Serious Thinkers — Story, Setting & Ideas

The Proem as a Catalog of Pretensions

The opening poem lists the types that populate Hermione's world: "Fervid Pote who never potes," "Cubist sculptors wild as Goats," and "Tame anarchists, a dreary crew." This catalog immediately signals that the book will skewer artistic and intellectual fads. The verse form—rhymed, irregular, with a jaunty rhythm—mocks the earnestness of the gatherings. The proem's title, "Introducing Some of Hermione's Friends," is ironic; these are not friends but caricatures. The reader is primed to expect a series of vignettes that expose the gap between the group's self-image and reality.

The Mosquito Episode: A Case Study in Groupthink

In the excerpt about Citronella and Stegomyia, Hermione recounts how Aurelia improvises a story about two mosquitoes, and the group responds with high-flown literary comparisons: "The plaint of Citronella is full of a passion of dream that only the Italian poets have found the language for." The Swami claims the story is "older than Buddha." Hermione, initially fooled, later discovers the truth and declares, "Affectation! Affectation! Oh, how I abhor affectation!" The irony is that she remains part of the group and fails to see her own affectation. This episode illustrates how the group collectively constructs meaning from nothing, a pattern likely repeated throughout the book.

Satirical Techniques: Parody and Ironic Narration

Don Marquis employs parody of literary and philosophical jargon. For instance, the group discusses "the cosmic inevitability of tragedy" and references Maeterlinck, Yeats, and Tagore. The narrator's voice is crucial: Hermione reports events with a straight face, but her self-satisfaction undercuts her credibility. She claims to be "intellectually honest" while participating in the farce. The verse sections, like "Hermione's Salon Opens," use mock-heroic diction to describe mundane details: "From soup to nuts, from Nut to Super Freak, / From clams to coffee, all the Clans were there." This blend of high and low registers is a key comic device.

Structure and Pacing: Vignettes Linked by Theme

The table of contents lists over forty short chapters, each with a title that parodies contemporary concerns: "Sincerity in the Home," "Vibrations," "How Suffering Purifies One!" This structure suggests the book is a series of episodes rather than a continuous plot. The excerpts show that each chapter likely presents a new topic for the group to discuss, with Hermione providing commentary. The pacing is brisk; the reader moves from one absurdity to the next. The verse interludes, such as "The Song of the Snore" and "Ballads of Understanding," break up the prose and add variety. The cumulative effect is a portrait of a social scene defined by its own emptiness.

The book rewards readers who enjoy satire of intellectual pretension and social hypocrisy. Pay attention to the gap between what Hermione says and what she reveals about herself. The verse sections often contain the sharpest commentary. The episodic structure means the book can be read in short bursts, each chapter a self-contained joke. The humor is period-specific but the targets—faddishness, self-importance, groupthink—remain recognizable.

There’s something tender about watching Hermione’s circle talk in circles, all that earnest posing over nothing much. It makes me think of another kind of earnestness, quieter and less performative, tucked inside the pages of Maruja — A Reader’s Guide. I still recall the ache of that one, the way it stayed with me long after. Some books just settle in like that, don’t they?