Expecting Rain

Yes or, perhaps, did he even care about that sort of stuff?

From Howard Sounes' Down the Highway, page 279:

'Another threat to Bob & Sara's relationship came in the spring of 1974 when Bob attended an art class at a studio in Carnegie Hall, New York. The class was conducted by Norman Raeben, a seventy-three year old painter who had a commanding presence and acerbic tongue. "You see this vase?" he asked Bob one day. He whipped the vase away. "Draw it!" As Bob started to draw he had realised he had looked at the vase but not really seen it. This was an important lesson in art and also a perspective that he might apply to life in general.

Norman did not know who Bob was when they first met. "Raeben thought he had no money and thought he was a poor kid. Bob was taking this stuff very seriously and working at it and Raeben liked him quite a lot," says mutual friend Jacques Levy. Raeben became concerned that his scruffy student might not have a place to stay, and said Bob could sleep in the studio in return for cleaning up. The misunderstanding endeared Bob to the old man. "Bob really likes the the idea that people don't really know who he is, or don't respond to him in that starry-eyed, awestruck way," says Levy. Indeed, Bob became infatuated with the painter, later describing him as "more powerful than any magician." The infatuation seemed to cause problems with his marriage. "I went home after that and my wife never did understand me ever since that day," he said. "That's when our marriage started breaking up. She never knew what I was talking about. And I couldn't possibly explain it."

Interesting. So here he's saying he only attended two sessions. Raeben must have been ladling out some pretty strong medicine then, for Dylan to elsewhere claim that on his return 'my wife never did understand me, ever since that day'.

Dylan's totally downplaying it now. Typical covering of his (blood on the) tracks....

It does sound good though, doesn't it? '"My art teacher spooked my head, and thereby wrecked my marriage". Beats blaming it on booze n' babes.

Raeben must have been ladling out some pretty strong medicine then, for Dylan to elsewhere claim that on his return 'my wife never did understand me, ever since that day'.

Well, my two cents on the whole Raeben/Dylan thing-

It was just old crackpot meets young crackpot.

Dylan probably inflated the 'lessons' (philosophical/artistic) by Raeben into something deeper,
most likely because Dylan was infatuated by the idea of a guy doling out theories/principles/etc. who didn't give a hoot about who he (Dylan) was. So anybody who isn't blinded by the Dylan charisma/persona is most likely aces in Bob's book.

As for the 'my wife never did understand me' thing that Bob claimed - it's a nice buffer to distract from the real marital problems that were occurring, most likely. It's a little disingenuous and slightly contemptuous of his wife for 'not getting it'. That's like saying, "I went to Arthur Murray Dance Classes, and when I came home and tried to teach my wife the foxtrot, my marriage began to unravel around that time."

Interesting take on it Lily Rose. Convincing, logical and certainly not out of the question.