Dear Editor

...Dear Editor In Fashion Well, it's true, as Ray Alan says ("The Big Fashion Story," NL, October 9), that people are too much dominated by fashion, the slaves of a bunch of ragpickers And it is disheartening to see the pathetic looks of longing on the faces of women as they pass by the windows of Lord and Taylor on Fifth Avenue But I think one must be careful to distinguish between fashion and fads The latter change from season to season, and are truly dictated from above to the booboisie and the lower orders Fashion, however, changes over the decades, perhaps over the centuries, otherwise, we would still be wearing variations of togas Moreover, when one of the deep structural changes m fashion occur, as one did at the end of the 18th century, it signifies some basic change in the human consciousness—in the way a man sees himself, and in the way he sees others Fashion, after all, is the creation of images, and therefore is a relative to the arts, particularly painting It deserves serious treatment Chicago, III Mary Schlesinger Peace Reading Hans J Morgenthau's analysis of the Middle East accords, I was struck by a certain lack of historical perspective in his evaluation ("An Unsteady Mideast'Framework,'" NL October 9) It is of course true that the accords have not really addressed themselves to the Palestinian problem, and in general, I agree with the pessimistic assessment Nevertheless, I think there is more involved here than the legal and social aspects he brings up For instance The Arab states—and Egypt most of all-have always, or at least since the early part of this century, vacillated between nationalism and pan-Arabism What is there to prevent another such vacThe New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on any of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words...

...Not really The humor is all abstract, metaphysical, impossible to translate into visual terms The Inspector General has something of this same quality to it That is why Vladimir Nabokov apparently felt it was impossible to be faithful to the text and still come up with a successful play London, England Carey Fein...

...illation on Egypt's part, especially if Sadat is no longer at the helm...

...This is not outside the realm of possibility, it is, in fact, probable It has been widely reported that the Egyptian masses are solidly behind their President and his peace efforts But this situation will remain in effect only if the socio-economic changes Sadat has promised actually follow m the footsteps of a treaty The fact is, though, that Egypt's economic infrastructure—its lack of productive industries—is in such bad shape that a large infusion of money is unlikely to have any noticeable benefit for the average citizen (During the Vietnam war days, the peace movement insisted that once the war ended there would be money available for social programs Instead, we had a recession) Sadat's long range chances, therefore, are not good, and neither by implication are Israel's New York City Wexiam Mintzer Nosing Around Dean Valentine, i think, was a little hard on Liviu Ciulei ("Cutting Up Gogol," NL, October 9) There is an argument to be made that The Inspector General, great as it is, is paradoxically not stageable One can't exactly explain why, but Gogol's story "The Nose" is enlightening It is a very funny story A man loses his nose, which eludes him through the streets of the city The surrealism is hilarious And yet can we imagine a nose sauntering...