Structure
In the novel Isherwood derives meaning and emotion from those around him. Just as his life is characterized by his friends, the novel's four sections are titled after influential people. Beginning with young adulthood, Mr. Lancaster introduces Christopher to the mystery of Berlin and the danger of asceticism. Ambrose inadvertently warns Christopher of isolationism and Waldemar embodies the surreality of heterosexual marriage. Finally, Isherwood encounters a famous male prostitute named Paul. The two men resolve to explore a regimented spiritual lifestyle centered around self-denial and meditation.
Read more about this topic: Down There On A Visit
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“Agnosticism is a perfectly respectable and tenable philosophical position; it is not dogmatic and makes no pronouncements about the ultimate truths of the universe. It remains open to evidence and persuasion; lacking faith, it nevertheless does not deride faith. Atheism, on the other hand, is as unyielding and dogmatic about religious belief as true believers are about heathens. It tries to use reason to demolish a structure that is not built upon reason.”
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