| Les personnages de ce roman font des monologues tellement longs que je me suis endormie plusieurs fois pendant la lecture. Pas recommandé sauf comme somnifère. |
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Les mouettes, par Sándor Márai
Three Questions, by Leo Tolstoy
This story is an excellent cure for two kinds of people: 1. procrastinators, and 2. those who have a tendency to overthink things or who believe there is some grand theory that will solve all problems if only they knew it. The king in this story is searching for knowledge that will help make him a better king when consistently applied. The hermit demonstrates how much more simple life is. There is no grand theory. You just have to take life as it comes in all its variety and do your best to figure out what is right for each situation.
Twilight and Moonbeam Alley, by Stefan Zweig
I find that there is something almost cinematic about Stefan Zweig’s writings. He has a talent for creating scenes in the reader’s imagination that draws them in and makes them feel what the characters are feeling. Both stories in this collection deal with despair, loneliness, and the isolation of human beings from each other.
Twilight is about a high ranking lady who has fallen out of favor with the king. She is obliged to leave Versailles to stay at her estate in a sleepy rural town. Accustomed to being the center of attention because of her great influence at court, she never realized that she was just as dependent on the flattery and attention of other people as they were on her for the favors she could grant. After living a life that revolved around creating an outward image for the public to admire, she is not capable of cultivating an interior life, and the scant social life in the little town leaves her no scope for her talents. She begins to contemplate suicide, after throwing a lavish party at her estate to give her society friends the impression that her banishment did not affect her too much. A deceptive appearance, however, does not change the underlying reality. Zweig’s portrayal of this woman’s despair while walking alone by candlelight through the rooms of a dark empty chateau, with only the occasional appearance of a servant to do something for her, is very vivid.
Moonbeam Alley is about a man whose pride and avarice drove his own wife away. Despite his repentance and willingness to reconcile, she prefers to support herself as a prostitute, for independence, and also to humiliate him. The atmosphere of this story is reminiscent of a film noir movie—all dark alleys, seedy tenements, and moody, dimly lighted little bars that are all but impossible to recognize in the daytime, since they only come alive at night.
Twilight is about a high ranking lady who has fallen out of favor with the king. She is obliged to leave Versailles to stay at her estate in a sleepy rural town. Accustomed to being the center of attention because of her great influence at court, she never realized that she was just as dependent on the flattery and attention of other people as they were on her for the favors she could grant. After living a life that revolved around creating an outward image for the public to admire, she is not capable of cultivating an interior life, and the scant social life in the little town leaves her no scope for her talents. She begins to contemplate suicide, after throwing a lavish party at her estate to give her society friends the impression that her banishment did not affect her too much. A deceptive appearance, however, does not change the underlying reality. Zweig’s portrayal of this woman’s despair while walking alone by candlelight through the rooms of a dark empty chateau, with only the occasional appearance of a servant to do something for her, is very vivid.
Moonbeam Alley is about a man whose pride and avarice drove his own wife away. Despite his repentance and willingness to reconcile, she prefers to support herself as a prostitute, for independence, and also to humiliate him. The atmosphere of this story is reminiscent of a film noir movie—all dark alleys, seedy tenements, and moody, dimly lighted little bars that are all but impossible to recognize in the daytime, since they only come alive at night.
Winter Is Coming, by Garry Kasparov
| I'm old enough to remember watching the demonstrations and other events associated with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, but my understanding of what followed (the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, the rise of Vladimir Putin and his stand-in Dmitri Medvedev, aggression in Georgia, the Ukraine, and other places), has been quite sketchy. So I'm glad someone in my history book group suggested this for a book of the month selection. It's very informative about Russian political developments from the 1990's to the mid 2010's and really helped me to make sense of them. |
The Dream of Gerontius, by Cardinal John Henry Newman
I listened to a talk by Dr. Peter Kreeft on YouTube called "10 Books No One Should Be Allowed To Die Without Reading", which he had expanded to 26 books, not being able to pick just 10, and this was one. I can't thank Dr. Kreeft enough for recommending it.
It is a speculation by Cardinal Newman on what death, separation from one's body, traveling towards the presence of God, judgment, and the transition to purgatory might be like for a human soul. The imagery and language used to describe Gerontius's and his guardian angel's journey are beautiful and otherworldly enough to suggest what it might be like to suddenly not have a body, or to experience time and space differently from what one is used to in this life.
It is a speculation by Cardinal Newman on what death, separation from one's body, traveling towards the presence of God, judgment, and the transition to purgatory might be like for a human soul. The imagery and language used to describe Gerontius's and his guardian angel's journey are beautiful and otherworldly enough to suggest what it might be like to suddenly not have a body, or to experience time and space differently from what one is used to in this life.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Antigone, by Sophocles
Antigone is well known as the play that indicates that the Greeks understood the primacy of natural law over temporal laws enacted by governments. Antigone is Oedipus’s elder daughter, who after burying her father, wishes to perform the burial rites for her brothers, both killed in the war. The problem is that her uncle Creon has passed a law that prohibits anyone, from burying Polynices, her elder brother, seen as a traitor who made war against his own city. Antigone disobeys this law, on the grounds that the laws of the gods are more important than the laws of man, and suffers the consequences. Like the other two plays, the narrative is simple and direct, the characters lifelike.
The Kreutzer Sonata, by Leo Tolstoy
Probably most people today (and apparently in Tolstoy’s day
too) are victims of a particular kind of cognitive dissonance. They think that they can live a dissolute
lifestyle when young, indulging in a series of short-lived relationships where
they view their partner as little more than an instrument of pleasure, then do
a 180 degree turn on their wedding night to become the perfect, virtuous,
considerate spouse who never loses sight of their husband or wife as a full
human being just like themselves, to be treated with due respect. In The Kreutzer Sonata,
Tolstoy gives his answer to that proposition: Not. Going. To Happen.
The protagonist, a wealthy young aristocrat named Pozdnyshev,
dreams of the ideal marriage to a virtuous woman, while at the same time living
it up with the other debauchees of his social circle. When he finally does fall in love with a beautiful,
virtuous woman and marries her, he finds that the corruption of mind and soul in
which he has been marinating himself for years are impossible to get rid of, influencing
his behavior and how he thinks about his wife, ultimately bringing them both to
tragedy.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Love and the Dignity of Human Life, by Robert Spaemann
This is an interesting trio of essays by philosopher Robert
Spaemann. The first is on the many
meanings and paradoxes of love, especially the tension between desirous love
and beneficent love. The second is on
human dignity, particularly its inalienability when the person does not consent
to its loss. The third on the modern concept of “brain death”—is it the same as
the traditional concept of death, and can a “brain dead” person properly be considered
dead?
Oedipus at Colonus, by Sophocles
Of Sophocles’s three Theban plays, this is the one we didn’t read in high school. It covers the end of Oedipus’s life, years after he has left Thebes, blind, and in shame because of the misfortune he brought to the city. His two sons are at war over who will be the next king of Thebes, and his two daughters are really the only ones left he can rely on. Having learned his lesson on how unwise it is to try to cheat fate, he is obedient to the prophecies when choosing his last resting place—at Colonus, near Athens—and resists entreaties from his two sons to settle near one of them, since there is a new prophecy that says that whomever Oedipus goes to live with will win the war. I didn’t find this one as interesting as the other two plays in the series.
Friday, June 1, 2018
The Wild Duck, by Henrik Ibsen
This play makes one think about truth-telling, how it can be used for good or ill, and how good intentions can very well end in bad results. While being honest is recognized as a morally good thing in general, one's motivations behind telling the truth and realistic expectations of likely consequences do matter when trying to judge whether or not it is a good thing to do in particular situations.
The wild duck, though silent, is in a way the most important character in the play. Apparently they have a tendency, when shot, to plunge all the way down to the bottom of the water, get hold of the weeds that are found on the lake bed, and hang on tight to them until death, never coming back up to the surface.
Ibsen seems to indicate that life is like a lake scene. The water is beautiful and smooth, while at the bottom lie all the weeds and junk that nobody wants to see and that people prefer to not think about. But it's there all the same. The "wild ducks" among us are those who are forced by others, well-intentioned or not, in the name of "honesty" to get down to the bottom of the lake to see all the debris. But once they see it, they are unable to let go and live life on the surface as before, so the sight destroys them.
The wild duck, though silent, is in a way the most important character in the play. Apparently they have a tendency, when shot, to plunge all the way down to the bottom of the water, get hold of the weeds that are found on the lake bed, and hang on tight to them until death, never coming back up to the surface.
Ibsen seems to indicate that life is like a lake scene. The water is beautiful and smooth, while at the bottom lie all the weeds and junk that nobody wants to see and that people prefer to not think about. But it's there all the same. The "wild ducks" among us are those who are forced by others, well-intentioned or not, in the name of "honesty" to get down to the bottom of the lake to see all the debris. But once they see it, they are unable to let go and live life on the surface as before, so the sight destroys them.
Mumu, by Ivan Turgenev
This story made me cry! The Goodreads description says it is about the poverty and brutality of serfdom, but I didn't see anything like that in the story.
While Gerasim, as a serf, is not rich, he lives in comfortable enough circumstances and does not want for any material necessity, and neither do his fellow serfs, whether in the country or city. Rather, Gerasim's problem is isolation and loneliness, brought about by his disability as a deaf-mute and the indifference of those around him, whether serf or free.
The laundress he courts does not return his affection, and it's only after she has spent a few years married to a drunk does she learn something: There's a difference between a man who tries, however awkwardly, to earn her affection and one to whom she has merely been given as an unsuccessful means to cure bad behavior. Big difference.
Gerasim's affection is only welcomed and returned with joy when he rescues a little dog named Mumu. She is the apple of his eye, his faithful shadow, his sole consolation in this life. She's the only one who appreciates him. An ill timed bark and momentary irritation from the old lady (mistress of the house), however, is enough to lead to Gerasim being forced to give her up too, in the most heart wrenching and irrevocable of ways, on top of everything else he's already given up.
The old lady is not a cruel or malicious woman; she is just thoughtless and self centered. She has been so long accustomed to her serfs' following orders, satisfying her wants that she has ceased to think of them as people. To her they're instruments. By the end of the story, she is surprised to find herself in the same spot as King David was, accused of taking away Uriah's one ewe lamb. (King David was surprised too).
Even the other serfs, who know perfectly well what Mumu means to Gerasim, and how capricious their mistress is, fail him. They could have pleaded his case to her or just helped him keep the dog out of her way until she was in a better mood. Instead, her word is law and they obey without question. They don't put themselves in Gerasim's place any more than she does, and putting themselves out for his sake even a little bit doesn't occur to them.
I can see how this story was good for consciousness raising among the Russian nobility of Turgenev's day toward the serfs. But its lessons still apply to our own time--we modern people who use legality as an excuse to dispense with morality, who are becoming accustomed to think of each other in a utilitarian way as instruments rather than as persons.
While Gerasim, as a serf, is not rich, he lives in comfortable enough circumstances and does not want for any material necessity, and neither do his fellow serfs, whether in the country or city. Rather, Gerasim's problem is isolation and loneliness, brought about by his disability as a deaf-mute and the indifference of those around him, whether serf or free.
The laundress he courts does not return his affection, and it's only after she has spent a few years married to a drunk does she learn something: There's a difference between a man who tries, however awkwardly, to earn her affection and one to whom she has merely been given as an unsuccessful means to cure bad behavior. Big difference.
Gerasim's affection is only welcomed and returned with joy when he rescues a little dog named Mumu. She is the apple of his eye, his faithful shadow, his sole consolation in this life. She's the only one who appreciates him. An ill timed bark and momentary irritation from the old lady (mistress of the house), however, is enough to lead to Gerasim being forced to give her up too, in the most heart wrenching and irrevocable of ways, on top of everything else he's already given up.
The old lady is not a cruel or malicious woman; she is just thoughtless and self centered. She has been so long accustomed to her serfs' following orders, satisfying her wants that she has ceased to think of them as people. To her they're instruments. By the end of the story, she is surprised to find herself in the same spot as King David was, accused of taking away Uriah's one ewe lamb. (King David was surprised too).
Even the other serfs, who know perfectly well what Mumu means to Gerasim, and how capricious their mistress is, fail him. They could have pleaded his case to her or just helped him keep the dog out of her way until she was in a better mood. Instead, her word is law and they obey without question. They don't put themselves in Gerasim's place any more than she does, and putting themselves out for his sake even a little bit doesn't occur to them.
I can see how this story was good for consciousness raising among the Russian nobility of Turgenev's day toward the serfs. But its lessons still apply to our own time--we modern people who use legality as an excuse to dispense with morality, who are becoming accustomed to think of each other in a utilitarian way as instruments rather than as persons.
First Love, by Ivan Turgenev
Excellently told story about a 16 year old boy's first experience and understanding of love with the seemingly unattainable young lady who has moved in next door... and his unlikely rival. As with other books by Turgenev, the characters come across as very real such that you can lose yourself in the story. Really enjoyed it.
Spring Torrents, by Ivan Turgenev
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
That's what this book is about--those times in a person's life when he stands at a fork in the road. He must choose only one, and that decision changes his life irrevocably. A young Russian nobleman has just arrived in Frankfurt on his way home after a grand tour in Italy. He expects to stay in Frankfurt only a few hours until his next stagecoach arrives. While walking around the city, he sees a small Italian confectionery shop on a little side street and decides to drop in for a glass of lemonade. This sets off a series of events that culminate in a choice between a life of happiness or one of misery.
I couldn't stop reading until the end!
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
That's what this book is about--those times in a person's life when he stands at a fork in the road. He must choose only one, and that decision changes his life irrevocably. A young Russian nobleman has just arrived in Frankfurt on his way home after a grand tour in Italy. He expects to stay in Frankfurt only a few hours until his next stagecoach arrives. While walking around the city, he sees a small Italian confectionery shop on a little side street and decides to drop in for a glass of lemonade. This sets off a series of events that culminate in a choice between a life of happiness or one of misery.
I couldn't stop reading until the end!
The Russian Question, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
I learned a lot about Russian history reading this book. It's divided into two parts.
The first is an essay written in 1994, just a few years after the fall of the Soviet government, in which Solzhenitsyn poses an important question to the Russian people: To be or not to be? Meaning: Are the Russian people going to take this opportunity to fulfill their potential given the lessons of their history or not? And he gives a quick summary of the successes and failures of the various Tsars from the start of the Romanov dynasty in the 1600's to Nicholas II and on through Soviet times. He shows how the Tsars hampered Russia's progress by their ineptitude in foreign affairs, their propensity to get involved in European quarrels unnecessarily, coupled with a very centralized power structure and a lack of understanding of how to encourage development of their already huge territory and its people. Then the Soviets made things worse by sacrificing the country and its people to a deadly ideology that it was their goal to spread abroad.
The second part is a speech Solzhenitsyn delivered in 1993 to the International Philosophical Society in Liechtenstein about the need to reclaim moral clarity, the application of moral standards in politics, instead of utilitarian or legalistic ones, and, in personal life, the need for self restraint and the recognition that there is more to life than material well being. Many of these themes he also covers in The 1978 Harvard Commencement Address.
The first is an essay written in 1994, just a few years after the fall of the Soviet government, in which Solzhenitsyn poses an important question to the Russian people: To be or not to be? Meaning: Are the Russian people going to take this opportunity to fulfill their potential given the lessons of their history or not? And he gives a quick summary of the successes and failures of the various Tsars from the start of the Romanov dynasty in the 1600's to Nicholas II and on through Soviet times. He shows how the Tsars hampered Russia's progress by their ineptitude in foreign affairs, their propensity to get involved in European quarrels unnecessarily, coupled with a very centralized power structure and a lack of understanding of how to encourage development of their already huge territory and its people. Then the Soviets made things worse by sacrificing the country and its people to a deadly ideology that it was their goal to spread abroad.
The second part is a speech Solzhenitsyn delivered in 1993 to the International Philosophical Society in Liechtenstein about the need to reclaim moral clarity, the application of moral standards in politics, instead of utilitarian or legalistic ones, and, in personal life, the need for self restraint and the recognition that there is more to life than material well being. Many of these themes he also covers in The 1978 Harvard Commencement Address.
The Master Builder, by Henrik Ibsen
Another great play by Henrik Ibsen. It's about a builder named Halvard Solness who experienced tragedy early in his life. Ibsen leaves it ambiguous as to whether the tragedy was an unavoidable accident or due to willful negligence since it resulted in career opportunities for Solness. Since that time, he has been angry at God, and carried out his life as if there isn't one. As far as money and career go, his life has outwardly been very successful; he takes great pride in being a self-made man who owes nothing to anyone (especially God).
But despite the formidable exterior, there are signs that not all is well. The tragedy destroyed his marriage such that his wife is a shell of what she once was, and Solness has been consoling himself with the admiration of younger women. There's a certain type of building Solness refuses to work on: churches. Then there's his odd habit of putting tall church-like spires on all the buildings he designs, and the Norwegian custom of the builder climbing up to the highest part of the building to put a wreath on it on opening day.
In many ways this play brings to mind Icarus and Daedalus, not to mention the Tower of Babel--stories of what happens to people who think they can attain heaven on their own instead of being humble enough to rely on God's grace.
But despite the formidable exterior, there are signs that not all is well. The tragedy destroyed his marriage such that his wife is a shell of what she once was, and Solness has been consoling himself with the admiration of younger women. There's a certain type of building Solness refuses to work on: churches. Then there's his odd habit of putting tall church-like spires on all the buildings he designs, and the Norwegian custom of the builder climbing up to the highest part of the building to put a wreath on it on opening day.
In many ways this play brings to mind Icarus and Daedalus, not to mention the Tower of Babel--stories of what happens to people who think they can attain heaven on their own instead of being humble enough to rely on God's grace.
A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen
I like this even better than Hedda Gabler. Husband Torvald is kind and affectionate to wife Nora, but has a tendency to treat her like a pampered child to spoil, amuse himself with and protect from all cares. However, years ago when they were poorer and Torvald seriously ill, Nora decided to bend the law, risking her own good name to borrow a large sum of money for his extended rest cure in Italy. She has been living in fear ever since that her secret will get out. Meanwhile her creditor wants a favor from her that she has little power to give and he's threatening to talk.
It brings to mind that Bible verse everyone hates but never quotes in its entirety (because they've already blown their top before they get halfway through), Ephesians 5:22-27: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.... This play is about a husband who fell short, a disappointed wife, and the need to do a lot of growing up, not to mention a lot of reflection about what marriage is, before they can be reconciled.
It brings to mind that Bible verse everyone hates but never quotes in its entirety (because they've already blown their top before they get halfway through), Ephesians 5:22-27: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord...Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.... This play is about a husband who fell short, a disappointed wife, and the need to do a lot of growing up, not to mention a lot of reflection about what marriage is, before they can be reconciled.
Hedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen
This has some similarities to Madame Bovary in that the title character is a beautiful woman who marries a good natured man that she finds boring and who looks for excitement elsewhere.
However, Hedda Gabler has a cold calculating nature that I don't remember Emma Bovary as having. She is quite capable of deliberately ruining other people's lives purely for her own entertainment. She has a foil in her friend Mrs. Elvsted and also Aunt Julie--women who freely give of themselves to care for others. The two men who are interested in Hedda are Judge Brack, whose coldness and calculation are quite similar to her own, and Eilert Lovborg, an old beau with a generous, romantic nature and a self-destructive streak. The play is about how these differing personalities affect each other's lives.
However, Hedda Gabler has a cold calculating nature that I don't remember Emma Bovary as having. She is quite capable of deliberately ruining other people's lives purely for her own entertainment. She has a foil in her friend Mrs. Elvsted and also Aunt Julie--women who freely give of themselves to care for others. The two men who are interested in Hedda are Judge Brack, whose coldness and calculation are quite similar to her own, and Eilert Lovborg, an old beau with a generous, romantic nature and a self-destructive streak. The play is about how these differing personalities affect each other's lives.
L'Étrangère, by Sándor Márai
This is a story about a man who is searching for the ultimate meaning of life in all the wrong places, to the point where his life spirals out of control, and he falls into despair, if not insanity. I did find it too slowly paced at times (too much description about the protagonist's random musings and surroundings). Poor guy would have benefited greatly by reading St. Augustine's <i>Confessions</i>, I think, but then Marai wouldn't have had anything to write about if he had.
But then again, maybe Márai might have made a more interesting, complex and better story out of this man's turning his life around and with more material he could have cut out some of the random musings and surroundings that bogged me down.
But then again, maybe Márai might have made a more interesting, complex and better story out of this man's turning his life around and with more material he could have cut out some of the random musings and surroundings that bogged me down.
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