Interview with The Professor

Julie of “A Tale of Many Reviews,” sat down with Professor Gabriel Emerson for this exclusive interview on 4 September 2011:

“(Professor Emerson enters the room, and upon seeing Julie, immediately takes her hand)

Prof. Emerson: Hello, Julie. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Julie: (trying very hard to maintain eye contact but wanting desperately to visually take in the professor from head to toe) Thank you, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to talk with me. Since you are a man that doesn’t beat around the bush, I hope you don’t mind us starting with a bang? (grins teasingly while directing the Professor to a chair across from hers. He sits smiling)

What do you think about having so many female fans?

Prof. Emerson: (scratches his chin) I have fans? I’ve always had my share of female admirers. (he grins slowly) Of course, they admire me for a specific reason. I’ll leave it to you to guess why. (winks)

Julie: (shifts, recrosses legs, laughs lightly, no guesses needed) What is your biggest fear? (thankful her voice sounds normal)

Prof. Emerson: (chuckling) I see you softened me up with the first question. Like most people, I worry about my own mortality. I know I won’t live forever and there are many things I want to do. (He stares at his hands, a troubled look on his face) I worry about losing that which I love most …

Julie: (sensing that may have been too heavy a question so soon decides to lighten the moment) What makes you laugh out loud?

Prof. Emerson: Monty Python. Have you seen “The Dead Parrot Sketch”?

Julie: (slightly surprised) No, I haven’t, but I will look it up on youtube later since you recommend it. I did enjoy The Search for the Holy Grail though. (pausing and looking thoughtful) This may get a bit personal, if so feel free to not answer. (smiling and starting to feel more at ease around the professor)

When and where were you the happiest?

Prof. Emerson: When I met Beatrice, of course. Nothing in my life comes close to the happiness I experienced at that moment. Meeting her changed my life.


Julie: (nods in understanding) What then is your greatest regret?

Prof. Emerson: (He frowns) Their name is Legion, for they are many.

Julie: (not wanting to shift the mood to the dark side again decides to accept that and move on) To appease those female fans I referred to earlier, what is the quality you most like in a woman?

Prof. Emerson: (laughing) Do I have to choose just one? Let me see. (His eyes glint mischievously as he leans forward in his chair) Modesty. It’s far more erotic for a woman to be covered rather than naked, for the hiddenness tantalizes the imagination… and it makes the – ah – unwrapping so much more enjoyable, for both partners. Don’t you agree?


Julie: (stunned into a moment of silence not knowing if the professor is teasing taking note of her black modest dress she purposely wore for this interview. Clearing her throat…) What do you most value in your friends?

Prof. Emerson: Loyalty and truth.

Julie: (gives a crooked grin and a slight nod in his direction) Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Prof. Emerson: Hector, from Homer’s Iliad. I know that’s cheating, since he was a historical figure. If we were going to be strict about it, I’d say Beowulf. “Beowulf bode in the burg of the Scyldings,
 leader beloved, and long he ruled
in fame with all folk, since his father had gone away from the world, till awoke an heir…”


Julie: (having no intelligent response presses on) What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Prof. Emerson: Ah, that’s a good question.

Julie: (YES! Feeling intelligent again.)

Prof. Emerson: (He stares into space for a moment, thinking) I used to think it was chastity, but I’ve undergone a change of heart. So I’d choose patience.


Julie: (Damn! but still puffed up from the previous praise) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Prof. Emerson: I’d give up my pride. Pride is the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins, you know. I suppose if I were to rid myself of only one sin that should be it. It’s the sin that fell the angels. Dante buries the prideful in the very pit of Hell.

Julie: (smiling, the words not lost on her, really begins to like the professor besides for his physical attributes) What is your motto?

Prof. Emerson: It’s a line from Dante’s La Vita Nuova: “For what virtue does this heart own so much delight?”

Julie: (setting her pen on top of her notepad, regretting the inevitable end of the interview, looks directly into the professor’s eyes and smiles) Thank you Professor. It has been a pleasure.

Prof. Emerson: And I can say, without question that it’s been a delight to be with you, Julie. Thank you for the invitation.”

–

With thanks to Julie and her associates at her book review website. If you’re looking for book reviews, you should take a look at her site.

All the best and thanks for reading,

SR

www.sylvainreynard.com