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XIX
I SOMETIMES
THOUGHT of Gurdjieff as a clever fisherman or
trapper; tile incident of the ladies and the "famous old wine"
was only one of many instances in which he, to my mind at
least, laid a trap or baited a hook and then sat back to watch,
with great amusement, the prey reveal themselves, their weak-
nesses, when caught. Although I sensed an element of malice
in this, the saving grace seemed to lie in the fact that, in most
cases, the "prey" was unaware of what had happened. At
times, it seemed to me that this kind of "playing" with people
was literally nothing more than a diversion for him, something
to take his mind off the continuous pressures under which he
worked. When speaking of such experiences, he would fre-
quently refer to them as "bubble-pricking", which I did not
find especially apt since the "deflating" was frequently un-
noticed by the particular target of the moment.
In the normal course of time, Gurdjieff acquired numerous
reputations, including that of a sort of "faith-healer" or, on
a somewhat simpler level, "miracle-worker". It was perhaps
inevitable that he was, therefore, frequently consulted about
day-to-day "life" or "mundane" problems, in spite of the fact
that he had frequently reiterated that his work had nothing
to do with the solution of such problems. Nevertheless, and
even though forewarned, a great many people insisted on
consulting him about just such problems, which seemed to me
surprising and, usually, embarrassing, particularly since the
people who did consult him were generally considered, or at
least considered themselves, intellectual, intelligent people.
I remember one woman who, at great expense to herself
(which was perhaps not pertinent, since she had money), made
a trip from America to the Prieure, for one week, to consult
him about the very kind of problem which he had so often
stated was not in his province. When she arrived, she demanded
an immediate interview, but was told that Gurdjieff would be
unable to see her until sometime that evening. She was assigned
to a comfortable room and, through his secretary, told that
she would have to pay a large sum, daily, for the use of the
room. She was also warned that there would be an additional
large fee for her "consultation".
He did not see her alone, but met and welcomed her at
dinner that evening in the presence of everyone. In the course
of his preliminary conversation with her, he said that he
understood she had an important problem to discuss with him,
and he behaved as if he were enormously impressed that she
should have made such a long, expensive trip just to consult
him. She said that the problem was one that had troubled her
for a long time, and that she had felt -- when she had met him
in America the previous winter -- that he was, unquestionably,
the only person who could help her to solve it. He said that he
would try to help her, and that she could make an appointment
for an appropriate time for such a consultation by speaking
to his secretary. She went on to say, in front of the entire
assembled company, that it was very urgent. He said that he
would see her as soon as possible but that, for now, the impor-
tant business of the day was to have dinner.
At the dinner table, the woman gave every appearance of
great nervousness, smoked one cigarette after another, and
coughed a great deal -- to such an extent that everyone at the
table was aware of her. Giving up any attempt at conversation
because of her constant coughing, Gurdjieff remarked that she
seemed to have a bad cough. She responded at once, pleased
with this attention, and said that it was part of the problem
about which she wished to consult him. He frowned at her, but
before he had an opportunity to say anything more, she
plunged ahead. She said that she was having trouble with her
husband and that her cigarette-smoking and her coughing
were simply "exterior manifestations", in her opinion, of this
difficulty. We were all listening (I was waiting on table) by
this time. Gurdjieff frowned at her again, but she went on
relentlessly. She said that cigarettes, as everyone knew, were
a phallic symbol, and that she had discovered that her excessive
smoking and the resultant coughing were "manifestations"
which always occurred when she was having the aforesaid
difficulty with her husband, adding that, of course, her
troubles were sexual.
Gurdjieff had listened to her, as he always did, with undi-
vided attention, and after a thoughtful pause he asked her
what kind of cigarettes she smoked. She named an American
brand which she said she had smoked for years. He nodded,
very thoughtfully, at this disclosure, and after a suspenseful
silence said that he thought the cure, or the solution, was very
simple. He suggested that she change her brand of cigarettes,
that perhaps "Gauloises Bleues" would be a good brand to try.
For the time being that ended the conversation.
It was only later, in the salon, during the rather ceremonious
coffee-drinking, that she was heard to praise him extravagantly
and say that he had, of course, given her the solution -- that
his way of solving problems was never obvious, but that she
had understood him.
She stayed at the Prieure for a day or two longer, bought
an enormous supply of "Gauloises Bleues" -- as many as the
law allowed her to take out of the country -- and without
demanding any further consultations, and having informed
Gurdjieff that she had understood him, returned to America.
It was only after her departure that Gurdjieff referred to her
as "one of those God-given accidents who have unconscious
good-will for me." He had charged her a large fee and she had
paid it gladly.
Although I did not mention it to Mr. Gurdjieff at the time,
I did refer to that incident and others like it, some time later.
At that time, he told me that many people -- people with
"middle-class western world morality" had questions about,
and objections to, his methods of procuring money, which he
always needed for the support of the Prieure and also of many
of the students who were not able to pay him anything. He
said, almost angrily, that our kind of morality was based on
money; that the only thing that troubled us about such
occurrences was the fact that he had, apparently, extracted
money without having given anything in return.
"All my life," he said forcefully, "I tell people this work
not for everyone. If can solve problems with religion or with
your American psychiatrist, this good. But people not listen
what I say; always find other meaning -- interpret what I say
in own way, make self feel good. So must pay for this good
feeling. Many times I tell that my work cannot help with
ordinary life problems: sex, illness, unhappiness; such things.
If cannot solve such problems alone, then my work, which not
have to do with such problems, no good for them. But such
people come here no matter what I tell, to have good feeling;
woman who smoke many cigarettes can now tell everyone,
but particularly her 'self' that she consult me about problem
and that I give answer, even though I not give answer. So just
such people can justify existence by helping me with many
money problems. Even with their stupidity they help good
thing -- my work. This already enough reward for such people.
"Is unfortunate weakness in people today; they ask advice
but not wish help, wish only find what already want. They not
listen words I say -- I always say what I mean, my words
always clear -- but they not believe this, always look for other
meaning, meaning which exist only in their imagination.
Without such woman, such people, you and many other
people at Prieure not eat. Money this woman pay is money for
food." It was one of the few times that I had ever heard him
"explain" or "justify" such activity on his part.
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