“He affects unselfishness, but is in reality fanatically, even maniacally, self-centered…. He is childlike in his pursuit of pleasure, but shrewd and willful in his studied neglect of responsibility. His sensibilities are exquisitely tender, and yet he has a talent for causing pain…He professes universal tolerance and sweetness to all, though is willing to put his friends through shame, fear, and harm rather than see his own comfort threatened.” No, this quote does not refer to Alec Baldwin, apt though it may seem. It is drawn from an essay about Harold Skimpole, a character in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. Revisiting the novel, I was struck by the similarity between Harold Skimpole and Alec Baldwin.
