"Haven't you noticed if you are riding through a dark wood at night and see a little light shining ahead, how you forget your fatigue and the darkness and the sharp twigs that whip your face? I work, that you know—as no one else in the country works. Fate beats me on without rest; at times I suffer unendurably and I see no light ahead. I have no hope; I do not like people. It is long since I have loved any one."- Astroff
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Hello Uncle Vanya
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What does this post mean?
ReplyDeleteI suppose one's perception as to the meaning of their life and its' utility or futility depends upon the instant in which it is made. That opinion will likely be "optimistic" if one's future prospects for "their beloved" are good, pessimistic if they are not (or there is no beloved). Love (the light) alleviates and makes the suffering bearable and grants it meaning. It's absence represents the darkness that allows the pain of fate's "twigs in your face" to penetrate and be felt.
ReplyDelete...and the "darkness" is both dispiriting and disheartening.
ReplyDeleteI know that the "Uncle Vanya" clip is long, but I suspect it confirms the conclusion stated above.
ReplyDeleteI should've been more specific.
ReplyDeleteI was looking for a more personal application.
by the way, Papillon is one of my favorite films.
How does it apply to me? I'd have to say that I don't currently believe my life to have been "wasted". But that could change depending upon the fates and/or prospects of those whom I love.
ReplyDeleteI've a very "Montgomery Gentry" outlook on the "value" of life. ;)
ReplyDeleteOuch. Blogger's having issues today I see.
ReplyDeleteAchilles has no opportunity for fame. The Acheans will suffer to hear only praises of their own... and their collectives (ie - Myrmidons).
ReplyDeleteIn the modern era, Homer would be horse-whipped, all writings burned and all rhapsodic recitings of his tales outlawed at festivals.
Perhaps I should address the concept of "wasted" lives on an "epic", as opposed to purely "lyrical" (personal) level...
ReplyDeleteDoes every person's unused "potential" constitute a "waste" to that society? I suspect that this may be true, but only if said society has an "end" in mind...
...and if pursuing happiness be that end, one can hardly talk about "waste" except to that degree that opportunities for its' "pursuit" remain impaired/obstructed by said society (by excessive law and regulation)?
...and in that case, it's not the individual that's doing the 'wasting". It's the government (society) itself.
ReplyDelete