Fainting, Frog Legs, and Franny

I've just finished the first half of Franny and Zooey (the Franny part); Franny was originally published as a short story in The New Yorker two years prior to the publication of Zooey, and they were later combined into one novel.

The story opens with a young man named Lane picking up his girlfriend Franny from the train station and taking her to lunch at a fancy French restaurant before they attend the Yale game. Lane is what I'd like to call a First Class Jerk. He begins the lunch by talking all about how awesome he is, how a paper he recently wrote should be published, and at one point he actually looks around the room and thinks how happy he is to be in a "right" place with a "right looking" girl. He's exactly the kind of person you'd expect to see on a reality tv show.



Franny makes an unfavorable comparison between Lane and the kind of pompous English professors who spend entires classes disparaging other writers and ruining them for the students. Nobody likes that kind of comparison, but least of all a Jerk. Franny goes on to say that her college is a joke, and after a bit more bickering with Lane, she excuses herself to go to the bathroom and have a good cry.

After she returns, they order their lunch, and Lane is put out when she orders a chicken sandwich. He, of course, orders snails and frog legs. You are so awesome, Lane. At this point, Franny keeps growing pale, sweating, and pushing her food around on her plate, so it would seem that everyone in the restaurant but Lane can tell something is wrong with her. She seems to be generally dissatisfied with life at the moment (she's quit theatre, can't stand Lane's friends, wishes she could just be "nobody"), but perks up a bit when she starts telling Lane about a religious book that she's been reading. In the book, a Russian peasant discovers the secret to praying without ceasing, and Franny is fascinated with the phenomena and how it is not confined to only one religion. Lane's response is to ask if she wants dessert or coffee. Wow.

Franny excuses herself again, but on the way to the restroom, she faints. When she comes to, she's in the restaurant manager's office with Lane. He tries to comfort her and tells her not to worry about the game, that he will call them a cab, and maybe tonight he can sneak into her room for some special hugs. Dude, your girlfriend is in the middle of an emotional breakdown. Not the time. As he leaves, Franny's lips move (praying without ceasing?), and the story ends.

Initially I was frustrated after reading - there was little action, less resolution, and how in the world could this be considered the Best? The mysticism and religious overtones led me to think that perhaps I missed an important point that would unlock the meaning of the story for me, so I turned to my dear friend Shmoop.com and found:

Huh.


Has anyone out there read Franny? Can you help enlighten me?


Spencer Pratt image here.