Scholars and Eliot devotees have been left wondering why the poet went to such great lengths to undermine the feelings he expressed in them. Michael Wood, an emeritus professor of English at Princeton who was present when the letters were unsealed in October, said it appeared Eliot had been trying to claim the entire relationship was some sort of delusion. “That’s the big surprise: He’s so angry,” Professor Wood said. “I don’t know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to tell a story that he thinks would correct the story the letters would tell on their own.

Source: New York Times January 04, 2020 10:52 UTC