Reply To: The Searcher: Thoughts about Mart

I don’t like Mart, do not trust him. In my view, he is dishonest, manipulative and controlling. There are ample examples in the preceding comments. He is intrusive and presumptuous. I have no patience with Mart’s double speak.

It is not surprising to me that Lena and Noreen have no time for Mart. As different as they are, I think they are both extraordinarily capable women.

In thinking about Katherine’s comments about Mart, I would struggle to see him as a searcher, a designation that I assign to people who want to learn or expand their views. But the ominous quote fits my view of Mart, the idea that laws don’t exist as a fundamental standard but are transactional, defined by whether one achieves a certain objective, even a very self-serving objective. The quote captures the arrogance I see in Mart.

Mart is a fascinating character and I think the author makes him more nuanced and complex than I do. Still, I would not want him as my neighbor or in my business.