Most of the people in the crowd watching this year’s Rex parade, I suspect, will have never heard of Lafcadio Hearn. Yet this Mardi Gras he is the subject of a Rex parade for the second time. In 1989 the krewe’s theme was “Lafcadio Hearn’s Fantastics.” This year it is “The Two Worlds of Lafcadio Hearn—New Orleans and Japan.”
In ’89 the floats mostly emphasized the writer’s impressions of New Orleans; this year there is more about his favorite foreign destination.
Born in Greece, he lived for a while in Cincinnati, then relocated to New Orleans where he became a prolific writer. He spent time in the French Caribbean and Dublin, Ireland, and then was attracted to Japan where he fell in love with the island and with the woman who would be his wife. Hearn’s writings covered a verbal march to fascinating destinations. Some of his writings were gritty yet compassionate, including this famous comment about New Orleans:
“Times are not good here. The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under taxes and frauds and maladministration’s so that it has become a study for archaeologists…but it is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes than to own the whole state of Ohio.”
That observation is true of course (though Ohio is reportedly not for sale) yet its outspokenness is an indication of why Hearn inspired not only parade themes, but books (his own and those about him), plus high praise, especially from historian Fredrick Starr whose collection included “Inventing New Orleans: Writings of Lafcadio Hearn.”
Hearn (1850-1904) graced New Orleans from 1877 to 1888 where he worked for various newspapers and magazines. It is during that time where, according to Starr, he “crystallized the way Americans viewed New Orleans and its south Louisiana environs.” Hearn provided prolific essays about the city, plus sketches (he was also an artist) and translations in French and Spanish (he was bi-lingual too). Among his most popular topics was the death of Marie Laveau, voodoo and the seamy side of the city.
Yet he also praised the Creole wonders of the town including writing cookbooks (he was also a gourmet) that helped establish the city’s culinary reputation.
He may not have exactly invented New Orleans, but he created the exotic and flavorful reputation that the world would come to know.
According to Starr, “Hearn conjures up a lost New Orleans which later writers such as William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams used to evoke the city as both reality and symbol.”
Later in his career, Hearn would live in Japan where he wrote tales (including ghost stories) of the faraway island that was (at the time) little known to the rest of the world. This year’s Rex parade theme keys in on his Japanese legacy. In the eyes of the Rex organization (which takes seriously its official designation as the “School of Design” and is sometimes inclined to esoteric themes) there are two places on the globe whose images were created by this literary traveler.
And now a stunning side story (stick with me on this, it all comes together at the end). In 1874, what is now Jackson Barracks, the command home of the Louisiana National Guard, was a U. S. Army Military base. One of the officers stationed there was Captain Arthur MacArthur from Massachusetts. According to his biography, while serving there he was invited to attend a Carnival ball, (Because it was during Reconstruction, there were no traditional balls held then, but quite often any social events held during carnival season are referred to as balls.) At that event he met Mary Pinkney Hardy from Norfolk, Va. The meeting went well. They fell in love and the captain’s most lasting march would be down the aisle with Mary. Six years later the couple gave birth to their third son who would one day be known as General Douglas MacArthur whose place in history would be established for commanding the U.S. Pacific forces during World War II.
MacArthur, who could be brash, would eventually be fired by President Harry Truman for insubordination, but his best days were after the Japanese surrender when the General (who co-signed the peace treaty) was given Allied Supreme Commander military control over the island. He was one of the best things to ever happen to Japan. Life was modernized. Democracy was established. The Japanese emperor was no longer a god but a mere mortal with a symbolic crown. Women were given better opportunities and were no longer restricted to the home.
Because of MacArthur, Japan became a major technological powerhouse.
In the end the country that Lafcadio Hearn from New Orleans had made into a literary fascination was reconstructed by a general whose parents had met in New Orleans—at Mardi Gras.
MacArthur would be memorized with statues. Perhaps even better, Lafcadio Hearn’s memory would be preserved by floats.
