How we love it. How we adore these delicious tales of the mighty and prideful, knocked from their high perch by a branch they wield themselves. How we relish the notion that a spectacular rise may contain the seeds of a tumbling fall.
When a spotless public image suddenly is dirtied up by the allegation of a shameful secret — New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s alleged involvement in a prostitution ring somehow springs to mind — the effect on the public can be electric. The narrative is irresistible.
Writers have known for centuries about hypocrisy’s hypnotic appeal, hence its frequent appearance in literature and film.
From Hamlet’s mom to Luke Skywalker’s dad, people who aren’t what they seem to be — and who get their just deserts — have traipsed the corridors of our imaginations.
While you’re waiting for the Spitzer case to be sorted out, here are some novels and movies into which you might want to dip, if only to remind yourself that it didn’t start with the Spitzer case:
Books
“The Scarlet Letter” (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne: A minister commits adultery, neither the first nor the last time such an event will occur in human history. However, the residents of Puritan New England are not amused — or forgiving.
“The House of Mirth” (1905) by Edith Wharton: A young woman discovers, the hard way, that the fashionable upper classes of New York in the early 1900s may have an elegantly polished veneer — but underneath the glitter, you’ll find a deadly selfishness and creepy coldness.
“Elmer Gantry” (1927) by Sinclair Lewis: Another bad-boy preacher hits the skids, only this one messes up before he even clears divinity school.
“Portrait of a Lady”(1881) by Henry James: Poor Isabel Archer doesn’t realize that she’s being played for a fool by a couple of ruthless scoundrels who hoodwink her with their pretty manners and well-hidden machinations.
“All the King’s Men” (1946) by Robert Penn Warren: Gov. Willie Stark is a lying, cheating, thieving, election-rigging opportunist — but the voters don’t know it for a long time, thanks to the efforts of his entourage and their constant, artful cover-ups. The novel has been made twice into films, the latest in 2006.
“Bonfire of the Vanities” (1987) by Tom Wolfe: Everybody thinks he’s rich and successful and has the world by the tail. In reality, though, Sherman McCoy is a nervous coward trying to outrun a hit-skip conviction — and the effort will cost him his self-respect, his soul, and a boatload of money. The third is the biggest worry, of course.
Films
“Scandal” (1989): American politicians aren’t the only ones whose careers can founder on the perilous rocks of pulchritude. In this movie chronicling a notorious British sex scandal, Ian McKellen plays the married, morally upright — or so it once seemed — John Profumo, brought low by revelations of his relationship with a high-class call girl.
“Wag the Dog” (1997): Despite their vigorously maintained public images, presidents sometimes do wicked things. When one does just that in this satire — the commander in chief gets frisky with a Girl Scout — his aides must create a diversion.
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Have we missed any of your favorites? Send ideas to: ctc-tempo@tribune.com
