How are your spirits, darling?
“How are your spirits, darling?” That is the first question, or among the first, he always asked - for, when he wanted to bend forward and look close, he could see into other people’s hearts with a rather terrifying clarity. The word spirit was chosen quite carefully: for when Willie asked this question he was inquiring about your spirit in the sense of your mood, but also the state of your immortal spirit, your soul; about your spirits in the old, high-coloured French sense (wit, sparkle, intelligence), and the spirits in your glass (did you need a refill?), and even your spirits in the sense of your ghosts, as in memories and people of the past (the recent past, 100 or 200 years past) which might be haunting you. All these things he was checking up on when he bent his head low and tried to catch your eye, like a waggish doctor, and asked his perennial question.
(via DONNA TARTT remembering her mentor, the Mississippi writer Willie Morris)
I almost love this essay.
