The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood

Picked up from the library on Dec 18, 2022

The Life of the Mind is a beautifully written novel which primarily explores endings, both those that we dread and those which we desire but are unable to reach. The bulk of the novel is centred around the main character Dorothy experiencing a miscarriage. As Dorothy experiences this seminal ending, we are made aware of many other endings. There are the smaller endings which Dorothy experiences every day, the endings that the people around her experience, as well as the endings which have not yet come but which Dorothy fears. The one thing that refuses to end, despite how much Dorothy wants it to is the bleeding. It is sporadic and ever changing, but there is no true end. 

There won’t be one sudden and final end everywhere but many small ends in different places. The world is ending all the time but only in a limited and immediate radius. (Smallwood, 2021)

The novel begins rather hopelessly with Dorothy bleeding in the bathroom of the university where she works. Throughout the novel, we are privy to Dorothy’s seemingly endless cycles of anxious thought where she questions what people think of her and often contemplates the meaning of both significant and mundane events in her own life. The same level of anxious thought is given to events as substantial as climate collapse as well as events trivial as a broken mirror.

The children of the future would ask what she had done. They would request an accounting of her preventive measures. Their laughter would be high-pitched and malnourished.

“You signed an online petition?” they would say.

“I typed my name,” Dorothy clarified.

The raft children rolled their doe-like eyes. “Next you’ll be telling us you composted,” they said. (Smallwood, 2021)

As a reader, you find yourself pulled into these anxious cycles of thought, which are abruptly cut off by the present stimuli, such as someone speaking directly to the main character. That Smallwood is able to achieve such an immersive experience into Dorothy’s psyche using third person narration is impressive. We are being told by a third party what Dorothy is thinking, seeing and feeling, yet it still feels as if we are experiencing everything right alongside Dorothy.

The title of the novel is the same as a philosophy text written by Hannah Arendt that remained unfinished at her time of death in 1975. The book was later finished by her friend Mary McCarthy. This work is metaphysical in nature and is focused on the process of thinking, the distinctions between truth and meaning as well as between thinking and knowing. 

Dorothy’s thought patterns indicate a search for meaning amid the loss she is experiencing. Each ending that she spends time thinking about is a search for the meaning of that ending. We watch as Dorothy continues to attempt to make sense of and find her own sense of self amid the chaos that surrounds her. Dorothy lives “the life of the mind” as Hannah Arendt describes it, spending more time inside her head than in the world around her.

The gradual embrace of the present moment and lessening in overthinking that Dorothy finds over the course of the novel is shown through less rumination and more confidence, clarity and agency. While resigned to a certain fate at the start of the novel, Dorothy gains some understanding and acceptance as the novel progresses. Narratively this is done very naturally. Dorothy does not become particularly over-enthusiastic or even positive, but you see the character begin to take care of herself. You see her lose some of the self-doubt that holds her back and become someone who stands up for herself.

Rating: Four Stars

I have given this book four out of five stars. I was impressed with the depth and interest that Smallwood was able to achieve within a story where very few interesting events actually happen. While I felt extremely empathetic toward the main character, I also had trouble staying engaged in the novel at times due to extended stretches of philosophical contemplation. 

I would recommend this novel. Not only is it a well-written novel on its own, it is also an intimate portrait of one person’s experience of miscarriage. After reading this novel, I did some further research and found that the Canadian Public Health Agency cites that 15-25% of pregnancies end in a miscarriage. This figure surprised me given how little I have heard about miscarriages in the media. I was glad to learn a bit more about the experience through a fictional narrative and I will definitely be learning more about it on my own after reading this novel.

Bonus accountant thoughts (BATs)

• It is unfortunate that the cost of therapy is not deductible for Canadian tax purposes unless you have a particular diagnosed illness, as this would be a significant tax credit to the main character if she could

• I wonder whether adjunct professor is considered a contractor or employee, as this would significantly impact the main character’s ability to deduct her printing expenses as well as conference trips in arriving at taxable income

• I would hope that medical expenses related to miscarriages are covered by the government, but if not I would be curious about the availability of these expenses for the medical expense tax credit

Sources

Smallwood, C. (2021). The Life of the Mind (1st ed.). Hogarth.

Popova, M. (2014, September 16). The Life of the Mind: Hannah Arendt on Thinking vs. Knowing and the Crucial Difference Between Truth and Meaning. The Marginalian. Retrieved January 5, 2023, from https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/09/16/hannah-arendt-the-life-of-the-mind/

Public Health Agency of Canada (2020, December 16). Chapter 7 Infographic: Perinatal Loss in Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved January 7, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/infographic-perinatal-loss-canada.html