Slushy Boots
Yesterday the city was smothered in snow. Today, the snow has become dirty slush, brown piles melting in the streets. It's still white outside my window, but here and there the whiteness is interrupted by brown patches of dead grass. I'm sad to see it go so soon, but of course, I have things to do and a flight to catch tomorrow, so it's just as well. What's the use of beauty if it inconveniences me?
All is not lost though:
I wish I had taken a picture of the mountains this morning. Every little peak was dusted with white. It looked amazing. Already, too much of it has melted away.
Today I finished reading Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" for English class. Near the end of the play, I was wondering when the plot twist was going to hit. I knew there had to be one, for I had heard nothing but praise for the play, and halfway through the third act, it hadn't been terribly exciting or thought-provoking. Something else had to happen, I knew, and it did. I enjoyed the message here, and I'm amazed Ibsen dared to express it in 1898. You might call the play "feminist", but in the truest sense, i.e. a reasonable sense. Essentially, a wife wakes up and realizes that her husband and father, the men in her life, had denied her personhood to her. They treated her like an object, a doll, and never allowed her to find out anything about herself or even be herself. I think it's amazing that this story still has something to say over a century later. Shouldn't we be over these sorts of marriages/relationships by now? Of course, we're not.
Initially, I felt some sympathy for the husband. He seems interested in changing, but he also shows now remose. His defense states that "no man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves." She replies, "It is a thing hundreds of thousands of women have done," which is really quite true. I don't think the husband wanted to change very much, if at all. He was simply afraid to lose his doll. My inclination says, and here I am a hopeless romantic, that if he does truly change, he will find her again, and they will be able to come together.
Life is hard to generalize into rules. No wonder society is so screwed up - we continually try to objectify (law) the subjective (life). What do I mean? Well as a rule, I'm against divorce, except in the case of infidelity. On the other hand, you have Nora in "A Doll's House". Shouldn't she have left him? Well, I would have preferred she stay and work it out, but if I am right, and her husband had no true interest in working it out, then what? She should sacrifice her individuality and soul for someone who doesn't even see the sacrifice being made, much less appreciate or return? It's a hard question, I think.
But enough of that. You can read the play yourself at The Project Gutenberg.
At some point today, I need to write a new chapter for my novel. I should probably be turning a non-fiction story in creative writing class today too, but quite honestly, I have no good story to tell, and I don't really care. So I'm just not doing it. The final portfolio for the whole year is due next Thursday - perhaps I will prepare a story for then. On the other hand, I have a final paper due in ethics on Wednesday, another paper in English on Thursday, not to mention compiling the rest of my portfolio for Thursday. Phew! And I'm going to be gone this weekend to Spokane, searching for apartments. When am I going to do all this? I have no idea. Normally Monday would be a good day for this, but I work until closing, so I'm not sure how that will work.
It's shaping up to be a busy week here. Hopefully I'll be able to keep posting more blogs over the weekend though.
This weekend will be bittersweet. I'm seeing my girlfriend again, after she went home on Sunday, but I also know that after I come back from Spokane, I won't see her again until mid-January. Ick :( On the other hand, I'll actually be living near her then, instead of just visiting, which is a definite improvement in matters as far as I'm concerned. Like I said, bittersweet. I can't help but miss a face like this:
:)
All is not lost though:
I wish I had taken a picture of the mountains this morning. Every little peak was dusted with white. It looked amazing. Already, too much of it has melted away.
Today I finished reading Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" for English class. Near the end of the play, I was wondering when the plot twist was going to hit. I knew there had to be one, for I had heard nothing but praise for the play, and halfway through the third act, it hadn't been terribly exciting or thought-provoking. Something else had to happen, I knew, and it did. I enjoyed the message here, and I'm amazed Ibsen dared to express it in 1898. You might call the play "feminist", but in the truest sense, i.e. a reasonable sense. Essentially, a wife wakes up and realizes that her husband and father, the men in her life, had denied her personhood to her. They treated her like an object, a doll, and never allowed her to find out anything about herself or even be herself. I think it's amazing that this story still has something to say over a century later. Shouldn't we be over these sorts of marriages/relationships by now? Of course, we're not.
Initially, I felt some sympathy for the husband. He seems interested in changing, but he also shows now remose. His defense states that "no man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves." She replies, "It is a thing hundreds of thousands of women have done," which is really quite true. I don't think the husband wanted to change very much, if at all. He was simply afraid to lose his doll. My inclination says, and here I am a hopeless romantic, that if he does truly change, he will find her again, and they will be able to come together.
Life is hard to generalize into rules. No wonder society is so screwed up - we continually try to objectify (law) the subjective (life). What do I mean? Well as a rule, I'm against divorce, except in the case of infidelity. On the other hand, you have Nora in "A Doll's House". Shouldn't she have left him? Well, I would have preferred she stay and work it out, but if I am right, and her husband had no true interest in working it out, then what? She should sacrifice her individuality and soul for someone who doesn't even see the sacrifice being made, much less appreciate or return? It's a hard question, I think.
But enough of that. You can read the play yourself at The Project Gutenberg.
At some point today, I need to write a new chapter for my novel. I should probably be turning a non-fiction story in creative writing class today too, but quite honestly, I have no good story to tell, and I don't really care. So I'm just not doing it. The final portfolio for the whole year is due next Thursday - perhaps I will prepare a story for then. On the other hand, I have a final paper due in ethics on Wednesday, another paper in English on Thursday, not to mention compiling the rest of my portfolio for Thursday. Phew! And I'm going to be gone this weekend to Spokane, searching for apartments. When am I going to do all this? I have no idea. Normally Monday would be a good day for this, but I work until closing, so I'm not sure how that will work.
It's shaping up to be a busy week here. Hopefully I'll be able to keep posting more blogs over the weekend though.
This weekend will be bittersweet. I'm seeing my girlfriend again, after she went home on Sunday, but I also know that after I come back from Spokane, I won't see her again until mid-January. Ick :( On the other hand, I'll actually be living near her then, instead of just visiting, which is a definite improvement in matters as far as I'm concerned. Like I said, bittersweet. I can't help but miss a face like this:
:)
posted by Mike at 2:02 PM
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