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.
Friday, June 1, 2018
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.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Portrait of a Marriage, by Sandor Marai
This novel is an account of the formation and demise of a marriage told from three points of view: the wife's, the husband's, and the husband's mistress's. The writing and situations were realistic and convincing enough, but there was too much focus on class differences in the book: the husband could be described as upper middle class, the wife lower middle, the mistress (who was the housekeeper in the husband's mother's home), is working class. Since they all knew each other's background before choosing to get involved with each other, I did find it tiresome that they kept on feeling so self-conscious about it, even after getting married. If class differences are that important, why not marry someone else? And I didn't find any of the three main characters likable, so I didn't enjoy the book as much as I could have.
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