The Searcher: Thoughts about Mart

I see Mart as the Godfather of Ardnakelty. He sees his community as his family. Mart makes a point to take Cal under his wing and make sure he learns the ins and outs of living in rural Ireland. After all, Cal is a stranger in town so Mart is ever present, guiding, cajoling, and diverting Cal’s actions. He is the man in charge of just about everything that happens in this rural community. Mart is the orchestrator of delivered warnings to those who might uncover what has happened to Brendan. He tells his crew to beat up Cal, he warns Sheila to take care of Trey or else they will. Even Caroline, Brendan’s ex-girlfriend, receives a warning. All of this is done in an attempt to keep what’s happened to Brendan a secret. Mart shows no remorse for his actions. In his mind what he and the local farmers have done was done for the greater good of the community. Their actions, which caused Brendan’s death, were justified on his mind because now other young local boys won’t die of a drug overdose because they have no hope of a future in the community where they were born.

Mart is bored with his life. He sees himself as the fixer and enforcer of the unspoken rules of the village. He is interested in controlling Cal so that he doesn’t violate the boundaries for living in the village which appear to be shady rather than legal. Mart loves to argue for the sake of argument, loving “arguing like he loves his cookies.” He mooches off of Cal, having Cal buy his cookies and not paying Cal for them. Cal “sometimes suspects that Mart is putting on the gift-of-the-gab yokel act, either for shits and giggles or in order to make Cal more amenable to the cookie run and whatever else he has in mind.” Mart has an opinion about everything and seems to think that his opinion should be accepted for the other person’s betterment and happiness. Even though Cal thinks he is doing the investigation discreetly, Mart seems to know what Cal is doing and wants to know why Cal has stopped asking for Mart’s advice. He invites Cal to the pub with the lads where they all drink Malachy’s poteen. During what seems like an initiation rite, Mart tells Cal “you’re a local man now; you’ll do as we do”–a lightly veiled threat. In the morning, Cal know he was warned. But Cal is “contrary by nature” and the more people try to shoo him away from something, the more he digs his heels in. Mart’s solution to Brendan’s death and coverup is to walk away and ignore that it happened. Mart is not averse to doing what is needed to stop the investigation, even having Sheila beat Trey.

I shared my thoughts about Mart in the last question for our discussion on “Who is the searcher”, but I’ll add one quote here today. And here’s a trigger warning: it involves current events.

This question, yesterday’s question, and Libby and Nancy’s responses have left me with just one response to this question for the moment. It’s this ominous soundbite that has been blasted everywhere, (although it’s not clear whether it refers to the source of the quote, or whether it’s a signal of endorsement and future pardoning to followers).

“He who saves his Country does not violate any law.”

I don’t like Mart, do not trust him. In my view, he is dishonest, manipulative and controlling. There are ample examples in the preceding comments. He is intrusive and presumptuous. I have no patience with Mart’s double speak.

It is not surprising to me that Lena and Noreen have no time for Mart. As different as they are, I think they are both extraordinarily capable women.

In thinking about Katherine’s comments about Mart, I would struggle to see him as a searcher, a designation that I assign to people who want to learn or expand their views. But the ominous quote fits my view of Mart, the idea that laws don’t exist as a fundamental standard but are transactional, defined by whether one achieves a certain objective, even a very self-serving objective. The quote captures the arrogance I see in Mart.

Mart is a fascinating character and I think the author makes him more nuanced and complex than I do. Still, I would not want him as my neighbor or in my business.

Mart thinks he’s a good guy in protecting his village, but the acts that he has no hesitation or remorse in executing are pure evil. He’s decided that he knows best how to solve any particular problem and that he need not consult with anyone else to take action. He doesn’t have any interest in following laws, although other villagers must follow the rules he has unofficially set for the entire community or they could face severe penalties. Not a good guy at all.

Excellent observations from everyone. Mart is a complicated fellow. I feel like if he had been in Northern Ireland he would have been one of the people involved in the Troubles. (Listen to the way he describes “Lord Muck”, he has the bitterness and disgust of the English and upper classes.) He has charm and wit on the surface but a ruthlessness underneath. I think he has the attitude that Ardnakelty must be defended from the moral chaos that is afflicting the town’s youth. He points out they are purposeless and have nothing to hold onto or look forward to. (This is something Cal also thinks about, noting how many young men are just yearning for a horse and cattle.) Mart feels justified in protecting the town from drugs and the violence and destruction that would come with it. Yet, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in helping address the poverty that afflicts the Reddy children after their father abandons them. He, like the other villagers, has a prejudice against the Reddys. It’s not like he can’t be benevolent, as he helps Cal in practical ways with arranging for repair men etc. So one has to wonder if helping Cal was simply self-serving? Probably. Overall, Mart likes to be in control – not only of all the information about everyone in town (perhaps that’s why he doesn’t like Noreen, she undermines his monopoly on gossip) but also who does what in the town. It’s like Libby says he’s the Godfather, the power behind the scenes and can determine who benefits and who doesn’t.

I’m in agreement with the general consensus here— I don’t like Mart. He’s done some good things (like trying to look out for Cal) but he does far more reprehensible things and feels he’s above the law; that somehow he has the right to be judge and jury in Arknakelty. I think you’re spot-on, Katherine, with that statement; it fits him perfectly. He’s elected himself to be the one to set the rules, and feels totally justified in doing so. Law means nothing to him. If you don’t do what he wants, he finds ways to punish you. I see no sign of conscience or guilt feelings in him. He’s smug, arrogant and tricky. Two-faced. Not a nice person at all, despite that false face he shows to to everyone. There seems to be a lot of that in the world today, sadly.

I agree with everyone here regarding Mart. He is not a good dude. I also have an observation regarding the parallels between The Searcher and current events.

Why do we all agree that Mart is a bad person? Does everyone who reads this book come to the same conclusion or are there any readers who believe he is a good person? For us here, I do believe we tend to have the same perspective with respect to what makes a person good or bad, but despite that, we can clearly see that he is arrogant, dishonest, manipulative and controlling, as Jane succinctly described.

With current events, we also see the dishonesty, manipulation and all the rest of that, while others vehemently defend the same behaviours. Why do you think that is? Perhaps it’s because with The Searcher, we are all reading the same book. That is clearly not the same case in today’s world with all the different sources of news and information. We are all living in alternate realities depending on how we choose to inform our perspectives.

So many insightful comments on Mart. I love what Nancy says about Mart being bored. As much as he says he’s not lonely, and advises Cal to get something to occupy his mind, it appears that Mart’s “hobby” is to get into everyone’s business and play power games with their lives. Like Libby says he’s like the Godfather. He’s the dark power behind the scenes who has the benevolent exterior but a dangerous interior. And as Jane mentions Lena and Noreen have no time for him and it makes me wonder and realize Mart really doesn’t care much for women (what he does to Trey and her mother is proof of that). So, as much as he says he is protecting the village he also preys on the weak and is perhaps a part of the problem with keeping things in the village the way they are (both good and bad) for his own benefit.

I think what Susan points out is also so relevant to what’s going on right now. On the surface, Mart seems harmless, friendly, community-minded, a leader who you can trust. He can persuade people to follow his suggestions, and do what he asks. He puts forth a message that what he is doing is for the greater good. Cal doesn’t suspect him of any ill will but it becomes gradually clear that what Mart does is rooted in selfishness and violence and ends up costing a young man his life. So Mart’s “greater good” is a destructive force not a healing one. It’s one based on control and manipulation, not compassion.

Tana French does such a great job of unveiling his menace slowly and how there’s a complicated complicity going on in the village. Some folks are aware of what’s going on and mind their own business, and others are perhaps unaware of the depth of what’s going on. I found Cal’s gradual realization about Mart to be one of the most menacing parts of the book.

Mart is a prime example of a morally grey character. He does bad things to protect the village, their way of life, their traditions. The others know he does questionable thing, but they ignore it because they don’t want to lose their way of life. It’s all they have. So, does that make them all morally grey?