I've come to the decision that I am not going to post on this blog any longer. Instead, I have created a more theme specific blog called "At the Study" http://atthestudy.blogspot.com/. I do plan to continue my photos blog. There is a description below of my new blog, but first I want to describe more specifically where I want to go with this blog.
Since not all my readers will be Christians, I will be sensitive to their needs and post more than Christian thoughts. Much of this blog will be mere commentary on current events, media, and modern moral. On Sundays, however, I do hope to post devotionals or Christian specific posts. Mondays will be about my own personal shelf life (in other words my personal weekly blog post that more often than not will have to do with my efforts to become healthier and lose weight). Tuesdays will be random. Wednesdays will be Bookmobile book review days. Thursdays and Fridays will also be random and Saturdays will be for movie reviews on new movies. Random days will include anything from politics to TV shows to movies I already own or check out to music I listen to, to commentaries on news and all of the above.
I've barely started, but please support me. Here's a more general description:
In the Study...At the Library...This is where you will find movie, book, music, and show reviews. In my own little corner of the world I review various things and comment on current events (mostly events having to do with Hollywood, Broadway, and Opera worlds). Please join me in a venture to look at all the movies and books in my library as well as shows (I have programs to) that I've gone to and music I listen to. Let us explore this world together and examine it as it changes. How do those changes show up in the media? Let us not let these things merely go up on the shelf. Let us explore these things, even to the extent of children's books and movies.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Resisting the Night
Radio host Jerry Klein recently proposed “all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shape tattoo or a distinctive arm band.” Shockingly, many callers agreed. At the end of the show, Klein unveiled his hoax, commenting that his callers demonstrated "how the German people allowed what happened to the Jews to happen.” He’s right. We need reminders of what the Holocaust involved and what allowed it to happen. Elie Wiesel attempts such a reminder in his novel, Night.
The book, which follows Wiesel’s teen years in German concentration camps, calls readers out of the darkness. People should learn from the past, keep informed, and resist the night, or ignorance. The Holocaust caused an entire people group to change for the worse, obfuscating and challenging everything they believed. Night doesn’t just deal with what happened; it deals with who let it happen.
Was it really such a shock that the Germans permitted the Holocaust? Nietzsche, Darwin, Spencer, and Materialism all supported the idea of the survival of the fittest, intellectual pride, and separation from God. Nobody thought it humanly possible to wipe out an entire people, especially in such a cultured nation as Germany. What was putatively thought of as a good thing (intellectual excellence) turned out for the worse. Wiesel tried to encourage his father, stating that humanity was their ally.
I told him that I did not believe that they could burn people in our age, that humanity would never tolerate it.
“Humanity? Humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed, even these crematories….” (30)
Wiesel soon lost his own faith in humanity when he became a number: A-7713. Man’s sinful nature had vanquished humanity as a standard of morality. The Germans thought themselves superior and condemned all others, redefining “humanity.”
The Jews denied the danger. They forfeited their chance: the elders kept the younger from rebelling. If they tolerated God’s test, they thought, He would deliver them. Besides, it couldn’t get any worse. The point of no return came for Wiesel and his companions when their deportation train stopped at the Czechoslovak frontier. “We realized then that we were not going to stay in Hungary. Our eyes were open, but too late (21).” What chance of escape remained in revolt disappeared.
Since the Jews clung to such false hopes, did they bring this upon themselves? They hadn’t thought anything of the rumors of German violence; the Germans acted kindly when they quartered in Jews’ homes.
Our first impressions of the Germans were reassuring…. They never demanded the impossible, made no unpleasant comments, and even smiled occasionally at the mistress of the house. One German… brought Madame Kahn a box of chocolates. The optimists rejoiced. (7)
Even corralled into ghettos, the Jews were content.
We were entirely self-contained. A little Jewish republic…. We appointed a… whole government machinery. Everyone marveled at it.... Our fear and anguish were at an end. We were living among Jews, among brothers…. (9)
After the Nazis expelled Moshe the Beadle with all the foreign Jews, “people were saying that they had arrived in Galicia, were working there, and were even satisfied with their lot (4).” Moshe had a different story. He managed to escape death and warn his fellow Jews of the coming Holocaust, but no one believed him.
Wiesel doesn’t blame the Jews, however. Wiesel blames God and never forgives him. His works question how God would let something like this happen. He wrote his first version of Night in Yiddish, but as he began to interpret his memories and they evolved in his mind, he began to bash Jewishness. He did not bash the Jews themselves; it was more about his own faith. Before the Holocaust, Wiesel studied and prayed regularly. By the end, he had lost his faith and did not know what to believe.
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the faces if the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. (32)
When a young boy is hung, Wiesel comments that God is there hanging with him (62).
Night is as theological as historical. As Gary Henry says in his analytical essay, Story and Silence: Transcendence in the Work of Elie Wiesel,
He has assumed the role of messenger…. But he does not continue to retell the tales of the dead only to make life miserable for the living, or even to insure that such an atrocity will not happen again. Rather, Elie Wiesel is motivated by a need to wrestle theologically with the Holocaust. (1)
Wiesel proclaims himself a messenger for victims of the Holocaust. Many survivors disagree. Although memories torture most, some have healed. Peter Wood, who worked with Wiesel at Boston University as Associate Provost, says survivors he knows dislike talking about Wiesel.
Some survivors do not think their lives are about the past. My friend Sam loves people. That’s what you’re supposed to take away from these terrible times. Sam pours himself out to others and to his family.
Wiesel mirrors the opposite of this. He never forgives.
As his interest in theology grew, Wiesel’s memories evolved. As his memories turned into one, solid account in his mind, they became stereotypes. Primo Levi discusses how a memory can become a stereotype in his book, The Drowned and the Saved.
[A] memory evoked too often, and expressed in the form of a story, tends to become fixed in a stereotype, in a form tested by experience, crystallized, perfected, adorned, installing itself in the place of a raw memory and growing at its expense. (23-24)
The perfecting of Wiesel’s story accounted for the increasing number of translations of his books and his increasing popularity. As Wiesel tailored his books to what the audience wants and what the author now wants, they evolved into the very picture and representation of the Holocaust. Wiesel’s image has advanced to where few question him. Wiesel has published 16 books; Oprah Winfrey interviewed him for both her magazine and her TV show; and PBS and History Channel documentaries have used him.
Wood questions Wiesel, saying he has done much for Boston University, but with few scruples.
He sold papers to the university archives and never delivered them. Also, after winning the Nobel Prize, he didn’t have to teach as much. He flew in once a week for a hand selected class of five students. Yet the university continued to use his name as a ploy to get new students, and it worked.
Henry suggests that the “drive to justify every second of his existence (3)” motivates Wiesel, but Wood suggests that part of Weisel’s motivation might be the desire to win the Nobel Prize. Both are right. As his stories developed and Wiesel began to question how he, of all the Jews, managed to survive, he gained a proclivity for questioning God and humanity even more. This motivated him to insert more theological background into his works and to promote his own work. Since he wondered how he of all people survived, he felt his life needed to have worth. He climbed to the top, preserving himself and his message just as he preserved himself during the holocaust. At the camps, Wiesel struggled with whether or not he wanted his father to die. He felt he would have a better chance of survival without his father, but knew that thinking this was wrong. Today, it is Wiesel's message that is left behind to die. He's allowed the stereotyped story to take over and kill the original, factual story. While he may have started out with good intentions, everything he appears to be about has become just a perfected story. Wood said he sees only the performer in Wiesel. “His story became what he was about. Who knows what’s underneath the performer.”
Readers can forgive Wiesel’s doubts, knowing what the Holocaust did to him. Furthermore, Wiesel will doesn’t want the holocaust to happen again. According to Night, a number of things contributed, to the holocaust, including Germany’s pride and the Jew’s ignorance; all revolving around God and whether He is just. If Wiesel believes that he is the voice of the Holocaust victim, let him. He may not represent all his fellows, but he remains a messenger to the world. We need someone to remind us. In a day of Muslim threats and invading immigrants, we should apply the lessons of history. Looking at what caused past holocausts, we can help prevent future ones.
The book, which follows Wiesel’s teen years in German concentration camps, calls readers out of the darkness. People should learn from the past, keep informed, and resist the night, or ignorance. The Holocaust caused an entire people group to change for the worse, obfuscating and challenging everything they believed. Night doesn’t just deal with what happened; it deals with who let it happen.
Was it really such a shock that the Germans permitted the Holocaust? Nietzsche, Darwin, Spencer, and Materialism all supported the idea of the survival of the fittest, intellectual pride, and separation from God. Nobody thought it humanly possible to wipe out an entire people, especially in such a cultured nation as Germany. What was putatively thought of as a good thing (intellectual excellence) turned out for the worse. Wiesel tried to encourage his father, stating that humanity was their ally.
I told him that I did not believe that they could burn people in our age, that humanity would never tolerate it.
“Humanity? Humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed, even these crematories….” (30)
Wiesel soon lost his own faith in humanity when he became a number: A-7713. Man’s sinful nature had vanquished humanity as a standard of morality. The Germans thought themselves superior and condemned all others, redefining “humanity.”
The Jews denied the danger. They forfeited their chance: the elders kept the younger from rebelling. If they tolerated God’s test, they thought, He would deliver them. Besides, it couldn’t get any worse. The point of no return came for Wiesel and his companions when their deportation train stopped at the Czechoslovak frontier. “We realized then that we were not going to stay in Hungary. Our eyes were open, but too late (21).” What chance of escape remained in revolt disappeared.
Since the Jews clung to such false hopes, did they bring this upon themselves? They hadn’t thought anything of the rumors of German violence; the Germans acted kindly when they quartered in Jews’ homes.
Our first impressions of the Germans were reassuring…. They never demanded the impossible, made no unpleasant comments, and even smiled occasionally at the mistress of the house. One German… brought Madame Kahn a box of chocolates. The optimists rejoiced. (7)
Even corralled into ghettos, the Jews were content.
We were entirely self-contained. A little Jewish republic…. We appointed a… whole government machinery. Everyone marveled at it.... Our fear and anguish were at an end. We were living among Jews, among brothers…. (9)
After the Nazis expelled Moshe the Beadle with all the foreign Jews, “people were saying that they had arrived in Galicia, were working there, and were even satisfied with their lot (4).” Moshe had a different story. He managed to escape death and warn his fellow Jews of the coming Holocaust, but no one believed him.
Wiesel doesn’t blame the Jews, however. Wiesel blames God and never forgives him. His works question how God would let something like this happen. He wrote his first version of Night in Yiddish, but as he began to interpret his memories and they evolved in his mind, he began to bash Jewishness. He did not bash the Jews themselves; it was more about his own faith. Before the Holocaust, Wiesel studied and prayed regularly. By the end, he had lost his faith and did not know what to believe.
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the faces if the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. (32)
When a young boy is hung, Wiesel comments that God is there hanging with him (62).
Night is as theological as historical. As Gary Henry says in his analytical essay, Story and Silence: Transcendence in the Work of Elie Wiesel,
He has assumed the role of messenger…. But he does not continue to retell the tales of the dead only to make life miserable for the living, or even to insure that such an atrocity will not happen again. Rather, Elie Wiesel is motivated by a need to wrestle theologically with the Holocaust. (1)
Wiesel proclaims himself a messenger for victims of the Holocaust. Many survivors disagree. Although memories torture most, some have healed. Peter Wood, who worked with Wiesel at Boston University as Associate Provost, says survivors he knows dislike talking about Wiesel.
Some survivors do not think their lives are about the past. My friend Sam loves people. That’s what you’re supposed to take away from these terrible times. Sam pours himself out to others and to his family.
Wiesel mirrors the opposite of this. He never forgives.
As his interest in theology grew, Wiesel’s memories evolved. As his memories turned into one, solid account in his mind, they became stereotypes. Primo Levi discusses how a memory can become a stereotype in his book, The Drowned and the Saved.
[A] memory evoked too often, and expressed in the form of a story, tends to become fixed in a stereotype, in a form tested by experience, crystallized, perfected, adorned, installing itself in the place of a raw memory and growing at its expense. (23-24)
The perfecting of Wiesel’s story accounted for the increasing number of translations of his books and his increasing popularity. As Wiesel tailored his books to what the audience wants and what the author now wants, they evolved into the very picture and representation of the Holocaust. Wiesel’s image has advanced to where few question him. Wiesel has published 16 books; Oprah Winfrey interviewed him for both her magazine and her TV show; and PBS and History Channel documentaries have used him.
Wood questions Wiesel, saying he has done much for Boston University, but with few scruples.
He sold papers to the university archives and never delivered them. Also, after winning the Nobel Prize, he didn’t have to teach as much. He flew in once a week for a hand selected class of five students. Yet the university continued to use his name as a ploy to get new students, and it worked.
Henry suggests that the “drive to justify every second of his existence (3)” motivates Wiesel, but Wood suggests that part of Weisel’s motivation might be the desire to win the Nobel Prize. Both are right. As his stories developed and Wiesel began to question how he, of all the Jews, managed to survive, he gained a proclivity for questioning God and humanity even more. This motivated him to insert more theological background into his works and to promote his own work. Since he wondered how he of all people survived, he felt his life needed to have worth. He climbed to the top, preserving himself and his message just as he preserved himself during the holocaust. At the camps, Wiesel struggled with whether or not he wanted his father to die. He felt he would have a better chance of survival without his father, but knew that thinking this was wrong. Today, it is Wiesel's message that is left behind to die. He's allowed the stereotyped story to take over and kill the original, factual story. While he may have started out with good intentions, everything he appears to be about has become just a perfected story. Wood said he sees only the performer in Wiesel. “His story became what he was about. Who knows what’s underneath the performer.”
Readers can forgive Wiesel’s doubts, knowing what the Holocaust did to him. Furthermore, Wiesel will doesn’t want the holocaust to happen again. According to Night, a number of things contributed, to the holocaust, including Germany’s pride and the Jew’s ignorance; all revolving around God and whether He is just. If Wiesel believes that he is the voice of the Holocaust victim, let him. He may not represent all his fellows, but he remains a messenger to the world. We need someone to remind us. In a day of Muslim threats and invading immigrants, we should apply the lessons of history. Looking at what caused past holocausts, we can help prevent future ones.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
New Blog
I've been thinking. I've decided to make this blog for all my writings, but I'm going to start more theme specific blogs as well. My first try at this is http://atthestudy.blogspot.com/. There is a description below. I've barely started, but please support me.
In the Study...
At the Library...
This is where you will find movie, book, music, and show reviews. In my own little corner of the world I review various things and comment on current events (mostly events having to do with Hollywood, Broadway, and Opera worlds). Please join me in a venture to look at all the movies and books in my library as well as shows (I have programs to) that I've gone to and music I listen to. Let us explore this world together and examine it as it changes. How do those changes show up in the media? Let us not let these things merely go up on the shelf. Let us explore these things, even to the extent of children's books and movies.
In the Study...
At the Library...
This is where you will find movie, book, music, and show reviews. In my own little corner of the world I review various things and comment on current events (mostly events having to do with Hollywood, Broadway, and Opera worlds). Please join me in a venture to look at all the movies and books in my library as well as shows (I have programs to) that I've gone to and music I listen to. Let us explore this world together and examine it as it changes. How do those changes show up in the media? Let us not let these things merely go up on the shelf. Let us explore these things, even to the extent of children's books and movies.
“The Cobra King of Kathmandu” book review
The “Children of the Lamp” series, written by P.B. Kerr, finds itself in line with a long list of well known children’s books. In fact, it’s making its way to the top, right behind Harry Potter. I started reading the series when the first book, “Akhenaten Adventure,” came out. Ever since, I’ve been watching book stores for the following books. I’ve just finished reading the third in the series, “Cobra King of Kathmandu,” and a fourth is scheduled to come out in September. I’ll make a few short predictions for the fourth book later. The series follows the Potter books in more than one way. It’s magical, it’s creative, and it’s a good series for both children and adults. The plots get better in each book. Before I get on with my short review of the third book, here’s a review of the plots in each book, in case you haven’t read them. I copied them out of the description on the books.
Book 1:
A one armed chauffer? Plus two djinn? Plus three wishes? Qwertuiop! What does it all add up to? An amazing adventure, for sure (and that’s not counting the Rottweilers. Alan and Neil, who are not exactly th
e pets they seem to be. Meet John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve-year old twins who one day discover themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn. All of a sudden, they have the power to grant wishes, travel to extraordinary places (and not necessarily on public transportation), and make people and objects disappear. Luckily (and luck does have something to do with it), the twins are introduced to their eccentric djinn-uncle Nimrod, who will teach them how to harness their newly found power. And not a moment too soon! Because John and Philippa are about to embark on a search to locate a monstrous looking (but supposed to be dead) pharaoh named Akhenaten, and his tomb, which may be holding seventy lost djinn. Will the twins be strong and skilled and clever enough to outwit Ilbis, the most evil djinn in the universe and live to see another say – another city – another adventure?
Book 2:
John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve year old twins who recently discovered themse
lves to be descended from a long line of djinn (which are commonly called genies) and who are now in possession of great magical powers, have only just returned from their adventures battling an evil djinn in Cairo and London. Now the mystery surrounding a powerful book of djinn magic lures the twins straight into their next extraordinary adventure. When the Solomon Grimoire is reported missing, John and Philippa are called upon to retrieve it. They travel across the globe, from New York to Istanbul, but, little do they know, a trap has been set and the djinn twins are about to walk right into it. Soon, John must embark on an epic journey to save his sister… before it’s too late.
Book 3:
Break-ins, a mysterious talisman, murder… too many bizarre events that just don’t add up. In the third book of the bestselling Children of the Lamp Series, the djinn twins, John and Philippa Gaunt, are on the trail of another magical mystery. As they travel from New York to London to Nepal to India on a whirlwind adventure, the twins try to help their friend and fellow djinn Dybbuk find out who murdered his best friend, using the venomous snakebite of the king cobra. All too soon, John and Philippa find themselves caught up in the lethal world of the cult of the Nine Cobras, only to discover that they themselves are a target of the creepy cobra cult. Now, the twins must find the invaluable Cobra King talisman, and stop the cobra leader’s deadly plan!
“The Cobra King of Kathmandu”
Rating: four out of five stars
Analysis: Out of the three books released so far, the third is by far the best. While the plots in the first two are entertaining and well written, the third book’s plot comes in as the most big screen worthy. Actually, following the example of the hit “Harry Potter” movies and other films based on children’s books, Dreamworks studios plans to make a movie based on the first book. The first and second book come together in the third book. Cliffhangers from the second book and enemies from the first book come back and new enemies are raised. “Cobra” starts out slower than the first two books and takes longer to capture your attention, but once you are deep into the book you can’t put it down. All the characters are separated and each holds a piece of the mystery. You don’t know the solution to the mystery until everything comes together in an unpredictable way. The book opens with a prologue taking place long before the first book. The opening seems pointless and irrelevant to the rest of the book. At the end of the book the opening prologue makes sense. New cliffhangers are created, as well. Kerr makes it obvious what forthcoming plots might include, but there’s no way to predict how they will unfold. Ilbis, the villain in the first book who is present in the background of the third book, has yet to get his chance at revenge against the twins. We are also introduced to the character of Faustina, the sister of Dybbuk, a friend of the twins. She has been missing for years and there is a chance that someone will find her in a future book. The twin’s mother leaves them to take on the ultimate djinn job in the third book. Kerr implies that Faustina could take her place. We also learn that Ilbis is Dybbuk’s father, so there is potential conflict there. Whatever happens, we can expect great things from this series.
Christian Content: Reference to stories from the Bible appear here and there in the books. Raised a Baptist, Kerr does have a Christian background, although he professes to believe in no particular religion. The djinn element in general plays more on the Islamic side of things, although even there it is not completely in tune with Muslim beliefs. Angels are also present in the third book to reward those who help them. Still, the series contains the classic battles of good versus evil, which I expect will show itself even more in future installments. Kerr’s books are no worse than stories of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. As long as you don’t take the non-Christian elements as truth they make a good read.
Book 1:
A one armed chauffer? Plus two djinn? Plus three wishes? Qwertuiop! What does it all add up to? An amazing adventure, for sure (and that’s not counting the Rottweilers. Alan and Neil, who are not exactly th
e pets they seem to be. Meet John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve-year old twins who one day discover themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn. All of a sudden, they have the power to grant wishes, travel to extraordinary places (and not necessarily on public transportation), and make people and objects disappear. Luckily (and luck does have something to do with it), the twins are introduced to their eccentric djinn-uncle Nimrod, who will teach them how to harness their newly found power. And not a moment too soon! Because John and Philippa are about to embark on a search to locate a monstrous looking (but supposed to be dead) pharaoh named Akhenaten, and his tomb, which may be holding seventy lost djinn. Will the twins be strong and skilled and clever enough to outwit Ilbis, the most evil djinn in the universe and live to see another say – another city – another adventure?Book 2:
John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve year old twins who recently discovered themse
lves to be descended from a long line of djinn (which are commonly called genies) and who are now in possession of great magical powers, have only just returned from their adventures battling an evil djinn in Cairo and London. Now the mystery surrounding a powerful book of djinn magic lures the twins straight into their next extraordinary adventure. When the Solomon Grimoire is reported missing, John and Philippa are called upon to retrieve it. They travel across the globe, from New York to Istanbul, but, little do they know, a trap has been set and the djinn twins are about to walk right into it. Soon, John must embark on an epic journey to save his sister… before it’s too late.Book 3:
Break-ins, a mysterious talisman, murder… too many bizarre events that just don’t add up. In the third book of the bestselling Children of the Lamp Series, the djinn twins, John and Philippa Gaunt, are on the trail of another magical mystery. As they travel from New York to London to Nepal to India on a whirlwind adventure, the twins try to help their friend and fellow djinn Dybbuk find out who murdered his best friend, using the venomous snakebite of the king cobra. All too soon, John and Philippa find themselves caught up in the lethal world of the cult of the Nine Cobras, only to discover that they themselves are a target of the creepy cobra cult. Now, the twins must find the invaluable Cobra King talisman, and stop the cobra leader’s deadly plan!
“The Cobra King of Kathmandu”
Rating: four out of five stars
Analysis: Out of the three books released so far, the third is by far the best. While the plots in the first two are entertaining and well written, the third book’s plot comes in as the most big screen worthy. Actually, following the example of the hit “Harry Potter” movies and other films based on children’s books, Dreamworks studios plans to make a movie based on the first book. The first and second book come together in the third book. Cliffhangers from the second book and enemies from the first book come back and new enemies are raised. “Cobra” starts out slower than the first two books and takes longer to capture your attention, but once you are deep into the book you can’t put it down. All the characters are separated and each holds a piece of the mystery. You don’t know the solution to the mystery until everything comes together in an unpredictable way. The book opens with a prologue taking place long before the first book. The opening seems pointless and irrelevant to the rest of the book. At the end of the book the opening prologue makes sense. New cliffhangers are created, as well. Kerr makes it obvious what forthcoming plots might include, but there’s no way to predict how they will unfold. Ilbis, the villain in the first book who is present in the background of the third book, has yet to get his chance at revenge against the twins. We are also introduced to the character of Faustina, the sister of Dybbuk, a friend of the twins. She has been missing for years and there is a chance that someone will find her in a future book. The twin’s mother leaves them to take on the ultimate djinn job in the third book. Kerr implies that Faustina could take her place. We also learn that Ilbis is Dybbuk’s father, so there is potential conflict there. Whatever happens, we can expect great things from this series.
Christian Content: Reference to stories from the Bible appear here and there in the books. Raised a Baptist, Kerr does have a Christian background, although he professes to believe in no particular religion. The djinn element in general plays more on the Islamic side of things, although even there it is not completely in tune with Muslim beliefs. Angels are also present in the third book to reward those who help them. Still, the series contains the classic battles of good versus evil, which I expect will show itself even more in future installments. Kerr’s books are no worse than stories of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. As long as you don’t take the non-Christian elements as truth they make a good read.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Potential Aida Movie
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/07/beyonce-in-talks-to-lead-disneys-aida-source-says/
I love the music in Disney's version of Aida (even if the opera is better), but I never actually saw the musical on stage. I've only listened to the recording. I think I'd be open to a movie version of it. I guess disney is considering making their own musical movies. Musical movies has been a trend lately. Hairspray and Mamma Mia are on their way to the bigscreen. I'm glad to see how musical movies have progressed since "Moulin Rouge" came out, which was a total laugh, but the musicals today lack the classic, clean humor and light heart aspect of older musical films, but it's still nice to see them appreciated again. It does seem strange to me that Disney would choose to do a movie version of Aida, however. If I remember right, it was not out for very long and did not get very good reviews. I'm not too keen on Beyonce playing the title role, either. She has an ok voice, but she's a terrible actress. Plus, I hate how she dresses: just like all teenage girls today she refuses to dress modestly. I can only hope.
I love the music in Disney's version of Aida (even if the opera is better), but I never actually saw the musical on stage. I've only listened to the recording. I think I'd be open to a movie version of it. I guess disney is considering making their own musical movies. Musical movies has been a trend lately. Hairspray and Mamma Mia are on their way to the bigscreen. I'm glad to see how musical movies have progressed since "Moulin Rouge" came out, which was a total laugh, but the musicals today lack the classic, clean humor and light heart aspect of older musical films, but it's still nice to see them appreciated again. It does seem strange to me that Disney would choose to do a movie version of Aida, however. If I remember right, it was not out for very long and did not get very good reviews. I'm not too keen on Beyonce playing the title role, either. She has an ok voice, but she's a terrible actress. Plus, I hate how she dresses: just like all teenage girls today she refuses to dress modestly. I can only hope.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Harry Potter Week
http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/06/new-clip-from-harry-potter-5-turns-up/In honor of Harry Potter week, I thought I would post something about the upcoming movie and book. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm also a Christian. No, that's not redundant.
If you'd like a good read, check out the book "Looking for God in Harry Potter" by John Granger. I give it five stars! Actually, I've only been a fan since the first movie came out. Recently, my uncle told me it was blasphemous, so I went out and bought Granger's book and am now totally convinced that there is nothing wrong with Harry Potter.To tell the truth, the fifth book was my least favorite book.
Then again, the fourth book was my favorite book, but the fourth movie was my least favorite movie. I have a feeling that the fifth movie is going to be really good. So far, my favorite movie is the third one. I'm hoping to see this next installment on IMAX. It should be good. I'll post a review once it comes out.I'm also anxious for the last book to come out. Any predictions?
By the way, the link at the top of this post takes you to a short article on the upcoming movie that is accompanied by an extra movie clip.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
A laugh for any dog lover
I have two dogs. One is a mutt and the other is half pit half lab. Freckles and Tucker are great dogs, but they love to rest on our beds and couches. We only "allow" them up on the bed when we invite them, but even then they take up all the space. Often, my dad will have to yell (in a kind way) "get off of my bed!" The dogs do fairly well with instructions, but still climb up when we're not looking every once in a while. What I really hate is when they lick your sheets and get them soaked with dog slobber! LOL! Anyway, I thought I would post these pics/comics on here because I think anyone with a dog can relate to them, and anyone in general can enjoy them.
(From the "Bed Hog" collector plate series by Gary Patterson, marketed by Danbury Mint.)
(From the "Bed Hog" collector plate series by Gary Patterson, marketed by Danbury Mint.)
Details in a Masterpiece
Every time I go on a tour, I think, “Do I have to? Tours are boring and the tour guides are always such dull, old people! Do I really want to risk getting a bad tour guide?” Most tours may not take money out of your pocket, but they can take a lot out of you physically and mentally. If you do not get lucky, you spend your entire time wondering how much longer the tour will last and thinking about the wasted time. As I walked down 5th Avenue on my way to the New York Public Library, I wondered whether I would get lucky. On a hot, Sunday afternoon, I did not feel like going anywhere. Would anyone else show up for the tour? After all, the library gives tours once every Sunday and twice every weekday except for Monday. Who would want to go on an indoor tour when they could go to the beach or some park and get a tan? I soon found that a small tour group, consisting of about five people, with a personable, middle-aged woman as your tour guide can push all the boredom and risks away.
I arrived five minutes early in a hurry to get the tour over with, and the tour guide came five minutes later in a hurry to start the tour on time. The hostess introduced herself to the five of us and asked some questions about our backgrounds. Then she started with a few basic facts. Two families brought their book collections together to found the library in 1895. The main library on 5th Avenue houses over 88 miles of bookshelves, and even more books are stored under the adjacent Bryant Park. It also contains the largest collection of Jewish books and newspapers in the country. You can read a Yiddish version of Sherlock Holmes or Hebrew text books.
Various artifacts and historical items throughout the library compete to sidetrack your attention. During the baseball season, the library displays a collection of valuable baseball cards. It also displays the Gutenberg Bible and a small globe made around the time when Columbus discovered the Americas. One of the hallways contains prints of maps and drawings of the American Revolution. Our guide told us that Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Declaration of Independence was edited before its passage because the states would not unanimously pass the original. Only two unedited versions of the original document exist, and the library puts one of them on display during July every year.
Air conditioning cools individual rooms, but the building as a whole does not have air conditioning. Inside, a new building exists, not visible from the street. The building is a masterpiece. The builders constructed Astor Hall completely with marble from Vermont. Marble from Greece makes up the hallways of the library. Our hostess pointed out that you can feel the difference between the marble from Vermont and the marble from Greece in their texture. One of the exhibition rooms is made of Italian marble, as well. The main exhibition room contains the only wooden ceiling in the building, and its bronze doors are modeled after doors found at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Stucco makes up the wooden look the rest of the ceilings possess. The tour guide pointed out small, interesting facts you normally would not think important for a tour. She told us about the areas where drinking fountains were located. The structures of the fountains still exist, but due to lead pipes, the library cut the water supply.
Our hostess pointed out two things, however, that captured my attention above all else. First, the design of the building and its contents interested me. Most specifically, the use of nature and animals throughout the building caught my eye. As you enter the building, two lions greet you. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. Early art critics thought they looked too friendly, but studies later proved their realistic nature. The sculptor of the lions received the job after he made two similar lionesses at nearby Morgan Library. At one time, people decorated Patience and Fortitude for the holidays. For the baseball season, the lions would wear baseball caps, but the decorating stopped when the embellishments began to harm the lion’s marble. Looking up above the columns in Astor Hall, you notice a small Bumblebee carved into the marble ceiling. The light fixtures in Astor Hall follow a beast motif with beast-like creatures carved into the fixtures. On one of the ceilings in the building, a woman, made of leaves from the waste down, looks down at you. In the Rose main reading room, original tables depict serpents, benches show gryphons and New York State’s seal with a beaver, and carved dolphins decorate the wooden walls.
The second thing that won my immediate attention was the McGraw Rotunda room, full of huge paintings depicting different forms of print. A large ceiling painting watches over four other images. One painting shows Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. Another painting shows a monastery where monks copy books. The latter painting depicts two books: a prayer book for the entire monastery and a girdle book, a prayer book for personal use. The Gutenberg Bible appears in another painting, but the artist, Edward Lanning, leaves the most intriguing piece of art in the last of these paintings. The last image on a large scale portrays an old fashion newspaper company in New York City, but if you look closely, you’ll find the artist chose to leave his signature on a small part of this painting. In the bottom right corner, on an image of a small piece of paper left on the ground of the newspaper company, the artist signs his name. The painting also depicts a letter to Phelps Stokes, the man who enabled Lanning to take on the painting job. The letter seems small compared to the large paintings in the room, but once someone points it out, you cannot forget that individual part of the painting.
The small details in such a huge building make the New York Public Library unique. Our tour guide made sure we knew her own personal favorite elements of the building as well as the details that help the library to stand out from all other libraries. I have always appreciated art, and this tour gave me a chance to gain a deeper understanding of it. The building captured my heart. I went in anxious to leave, I left anxious to return.
I arrived five minutes early in a hurry to get the tour over with, and the tour guide came five minutes later in a hurry to start the tour on time. The hostess introduced herself to the five of us and asked some questions about our backgrounds. Then she started with a few basic facts. Two families brought their book collections together to found the library in 1895. The main library on 5th Avenue houses over 88 miles of bookshelves, and even more books are stored under the adjacent Bryant Park. It also contains the largest collection of Jewish books and newspapers in the country. You can read a Yiddish version of Sherlock Holmes or Hebrew text books.
Various artifacts and historical items throughout the library compete to sidetrack your attention. During the baseball season, the library displays a collection of valuable baseball cards. It also displays the Gutenberg Bible and a small globe made around the time when Columbus discovered the Americas. One of the hallways contains prints of maps and drawings of the American Revolution. Our guide told us that Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Declaration of Independence was edited before its passage because the states would not unanimously pass the original. Only two unedited versions of the original document exist, and the library puts one of them on display during July every year.
Air conditioning cools individual rooms, but the building as a whole does not have air conditioning. Inside, a new building exists, not visible from the street. The building is a masterpiece. The builders constructed Astor Hall completely with marble from Vermont. Marble from Greece makes up the hallways of the library. Our hostess pointed out that you can feel the difference between the marble from Vermont and the marble from Greece in their texture. One of the exhibition rooms is made of Italian marble, as well. The main exhibition room contains the only wooden ceiling in the building, and its bronze doors are modeled after doors found at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Stucco makes up the wooden look the rest of the ceilings possess. The tour guide pointed out small, interesting facts you normally would not think important for a tour. She told us about the areas where drinking fountains were located. The structures of the fountains still exist, but due to lead pipes, the library cut the water supply.
Our hostess pointed out two things, however, that captured my attention above all else. First, the design of the building and its contents interested me. Most specifically, the use of nature and animals throughout the building caught my eye. As you enter the building, two lions greet you. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. Early art critics thought they looked too friendly, but studies later proved their realistic nature. The sculptor of the lions received the job after he made two similar lionesses at nearby Morgan Library. At one time, people decorated Patience and Fortitude for the holidays. For the baseball season, the lions would wear baseball caps, but the decorating stopped when the embellishments began to harm the lion’s marble. Looking up above the columns in Astor Hall, you notice a small Bumblebee carved into the marble ceiling. The light fixtures in Astor Hall follow a beast motif with beast-like creatures carved into the fixtures. On one of the ceilings in the building, a woman, made of leaves from the waste down, looks down at you. In the Rose main reading room, original tables depict serpents, benches show gryphons and New York State’s seal with a beaver, and carved dolphins decorate the wooden walls.
The second thing that won my immediate attention was the McGraw Rotunda room, full of huge paintings depicting different forms of print. A large ceiling painting watches over four other images. One painting shows Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. Another painting shows a monastery where monks copy books. The latter painting depicts two books: a prayer book for the entire monastery and a girdle book, a prayer book for personal use. The Gutenberg Bible appears in another painting, but the artist, Edward Lanning, leaves the most intriguing piece of art in the last of these paintings. The last image on a large scale portrays an old fashion newspaper company in New York City, but if you look closely, you’ll find the artist chose to leave his signature on a small part of this painting. In the bottom right corner, on an image of a small piece of paper left on the ground of the newspaper company, the artist signs his name. The painting also depicts a letter to Phelps Stokes, the man who enabled Lanning to take on the painting job. The letter seems small compared to the large paintings in the room, but once someone points it out, you cannot forget that individual part of the painting.
The small details in such a huge building make the New York Public Library unique. Our tour guide made sure we knew her own personal favorite elements of the building as well as the details that help the library to stand out from all other libraries. I have always appreciated art, and this tour gave me a chance to gain a deeper understanding of it. The building captured my heart. I went in anxious to leave, I left anxious to return.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Independence Day
Hope everyone had a good 4th of July. To view some of my favorite pics from my family fireworks night go to http://declarationphotos.blogspot.com/. To view all my photos go to: http://nycindividual.fotki.com/2007-pictures/fireworks-4th-of-ju/
Psalm 119:45I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
Isaiah 61:1-3 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Luke 4:18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
Romans 8:21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Psalm 119:45I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
Isaiah 61:1-3 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Luke 4:18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
Romans 8:21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The Radical Heart of George Macdonald
“Where are ye going?” said a voice with a strong Scotch accent. I stopped and looked…. On one of the rocks sat a very tall man, almost a giant, with a flowing beard….
“I – I don’t quite know,” said I.
“Ye can sit and talk to me, then,” he said, making room for me on the stone.
“I don’t know you, Sir,” said I, taking my seat beside him
“My name is George,” he answered. “George Macdonald.” (Lewis 64-65)
In this passage from The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis depicts a kind, elderly man who invites him to sit, talk, and learn. Lewis’ depiction of this man, old, yet strong and wise, fits the person of the real George Macdonald. In his writings, Macdonald invites the reader to sit down, relax, and learn something. He incorporates real-life lessons with spiritual lessons. Unfortunately, most of his books remain lost or rarely published in the modern world. He found fame during his own life, but his legacy found its realized expression in the works of others. Macdonald’s influence extended to writers such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Mark Twain. Inserting doctrine into his stories made his stories dull at times and kept his name from the fame his fellow writers received in the future, but his writings influenced some of the greatest works we have today.
A 19th century Scottish writer, Macdonald grew up with a Calvinistic background, . He was born on December 10, 1824, the son of a farmer. At only 16 years of age, he attended Aberdeen University, where he studied chemistry and physics. He hoped to go into medicine, but financial problems forced him to leave. Macdonald decided to go into the ministry and attended Highbury College in London for the Congregationalist ministry. In 1850, he became a pastor. Three years later, the leaders of the church he pastored sent him away for radical beliefs. In 1851, he married Louisa Powell. They had eleven children together, but disease killed several of them. Tuberculosis followed Macdonald’s family. He had his first attack in late 1850 and his father died of tuberculosis in the bones.
Unable to return to the ministry, Macdonald found support in writing. He started with poetry, his favorite kind of writing, and in 1855 he published Within and Without. He also wrote short stories, essays, and commentaries. This paved the way to his full-length novels. He covered several genres, but fantasy earned him most of his fame. His first book of this genre, Phantastes, came out in 1958. Queen Victoria gave him a pension of one hundred pounds per year in 1873 and he traveled the United States and a few Canadian locations on a lecture tour during the 1870’s. He spent most of his latter years in Italy, where the warm climate improved his health. Macdonald died in Ashtead, England on September 18, 1905.
Although he never wrote an autobiography, modern audiences can pick out some of Macdonald’s life experiences in several of his books. Alec Forbes of Howglen takes place in northern Scotland and contains many glimpses into Macdonald’s memories of Scotland. Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood is set near the area where Macdonald tried his hand at pasturing a church. Another of Macdonald’s novels, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood presents a happier side of Macdonald’s childhood, and Malcolm or The Fisherman’s Lady, Sir Gibbie, and Thomas Wingfold served as a trilogy in his biography-like books. Writer Michael Philips describes Macdonald’s novel, Robert Falconer, on his website about Macdonald:
The reader gains a rare glimpse into MacDonald's own boyhood, with his internal struggles, his relationship with his grandmother (who largely raised him after the death of his mother) and his spiritual search as a young man attempting to discover God's love amid the hellfire Calvinism of his upbringing. Robert Falconer's resolution of this conflict is a wonderful window into the roots and development of MacDonald's own faith which would turn generations to come toward the Fatherhood of a loving God. (“The Original Writings of George MacDonald”)
Macdonald lived in a time of new ideas. Ideas of English and German Romanticism filled his head. As his views expanded and changed, he became less Calvinist and more Universalist. Victor Shepherd wrote in Fellowship Magazine:
Although the Scots had a reputation for theological precision, MacDonald thought it to be the product of the dissecting knife: fine work done on something lifeless. For doctrine (as he had seen it handled) appeared to have been made a substitute for living faith where the believer's heart is rightly related to the heart of God. (“Heritage”)
Macdonald argued that the Christian life involved more than believing in the right doctrine. One should exhibit their faith through the “fruits of the spirit” and strive to follow Christ’s example. Furthermore, he believed in a more personal relationship with God. God loves everyone and wants to save everyone. Macdonald rejected the idea of predestination and believed that everyone would eventually come to know Christ. In his article, “George Macdonald: Theology,” Mike Partridge summarizes Macdonald’s beliefs:
God is the Father welcoming his prodigal children home not just their creator or judge. Whether we realise [sic] it or not we are all on a road leading back to him. He is our Home. MacDonald believed that people were either responding to God or turning away from him. For MacDonald there was no absolute need for a moment of conversion as traditionally understood. We are all at different stages on the journey - a journey that has its beginning and end in God.
For Macdonald, life was an exploration to find God. You create your own hell when you reject God. Hell is the knowledge that you are separated from God forever. Christ came as God’s revelation to give us a clear vision of God. Once we receive this vision we should “be so overwhelmed by his [God’s] love that all wrongdoing would be immediately set aside. Seeing right was the beginning of acting right” (“George Macdonald: Theology”). God calls us home and wishes us to obey Him with all our hearts.
Macdonald inserted his beliefs in his letters to friends and family. The Heart of George Macdonald, a collection of Macdonald’s works edited and introduced by Rolland Hein, publishes a series of letters Macdonald wrote. In his condolence letters and his letters to ill friends, he emphasized God as father and Heaven as home. In a letter to Andrew Pym, he wrote that God cares for all His creation, particularly humans. He writes:
I want you to think over and over again… that God is just the one haven you have to make for in this storm. Say to him, My Father, I belong to thee, and I am ill, and I cannot help myself; be my Father and keep near me, and do what thou wilt with me. (Hein 9)
When he encouraged friends to think of Heaven as their future home where they would see their loved ones again, he also encouraged faith in the person to whom he wrote. The person should keep faith in God’s love and faith in the reality of Heaven. To Adelaide Pym he wrote a letter that compared the earth to a nursery. God puts us in the nursery, and some of our playmates in the nursery are taken home before others. In his letter to Susan Scott, he wrote:
God knows and cares, and uses for us as a means of education for our hearts and spirits which we do not ourselves understand. It is not needful that we understand the motive power in the processes that go on within us. It is enough to him who believes it that the Lord did rise again, although after that he was hidden from their sight. Yes, I will believe that I shall hold my own in my arms again, their hearts are nearer to mine than ever before. (Hein 10)
One of Macdonald’s last works, Diary of an Old Man’s Soul, details his relationship with God through a collection of short poems, one for every day of the year. On day three of January, he wrote about longing for his Heavenly home:
Sometimes I wake, and lo, I have forgot,
And drifted out upon an ebbing sea!
My soul that was at rest now resteth not,
For I am with myself and not with thee;
Truth seems a blind moon in a glaring morn,
Where nothing is but sick-heart vanity:
Oh, thou who knowest, save thy child forlorn. (Macdonald 4, Diary of an Old Soul)
Macdonald published a series of sermons as well as a few doctrinal books, but he constantly inserted himself and his beliefs in his other writings, as well. Many of his novels focused on father-and-child relationships. Mary Marston exemplified his views on obedience to God and obedience to parents. In Marston, he specifically writes to young women, encouraging them in their dedication to Christ.
Macdonald’s talent lay with his ability to apply his stories to the lives of his readers. Phillips writes in his introduction to The Fisherman’s Lady, “It is as though he were continually weaving two parallel stories - that of a ‘plot’ and that of the partially submerged spiritual journeys being traveled in a parallel plane by those characters involved in the story” (“Why new edited editions of George MacDonald's books?”). Macdonald added sermons and long speeches into several of his novels. Unfortunately, while this attracted an audience of great thinkers and writers of his time, it kept his books from gaining a permanent popular following. Readers must bear through these elements patiently. Paying careful attention to the contents, even the slow-going contents, often turns up unique and interesting ideas. Macdonald wrote most of his works in Scottish dialect, as well, which makes them hard for the modern reader to understand.
Macdonald experimented with various genres and decided on fantasy. Realism limited the imagination too much, and he believed that fantasy conveyed double meanings better than any other genre. Jesus used parables to get across his messages, and the Bible is full of symbolism, metaphor, and analogy. He could write a story and a message into a fantasy. Fantasy fills a story with symbolism. Macdonald took advantage of this genre, using the symbolism to pass on his religious beliefs.
Even though Macdonald filled his fantasies with unrealistic elements, he made his characters seem real. His characters depicted the average-Joe of his time. These characters appealed to Macdonald’s audience. He wrote two adult fantasy novels, Phantastes: A Fairie Romance for Men and Women and Lilith, and he wrote several children’s fantasy books and stories, including The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie. Goblin made it to film in 1994 as a cartoon.
One of Macdonald’s better-known short stories was a fantasy. “The Light Princess” first came out with a series of other short stories. They formed stories within a story in Adela Cathcart, a collection similar to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In it, a cluster of travelers gathers for shelter in an inn and share stories with one another. Macdonald later published “Light Princess” in a few other collections as well, including, Dealings with the Fairies, his first book of short stories, and Works of Fancy and Imagination, another collection of various stories he wrote.
The story of “Light Princess” follows a plot similar to Charles Perrault’s “The Beauty of Sleeping Wood” (Sleeping Beauty). A king and queen have a daughter, but forget to invite the king’s sister to the baby’s christening. Macdonald describes the child’s aunt:
[She was] a sour, spiteful creature. The wrinkles of contempt crossed the wrinkles of peevishness, and made her face as full of wrinkles as a pat of butter. If ever a king could be justified in forgetting anybody, this king was justified in forgetting his sister, even at a christening. She looked very odd, too. Her forehead was as large as all the rest of her face, and projected over it like a precipice. When she was angry, her little eyes flashed blue. When she hated anybody, they shone yellow and green. What they looked like when she loved anybody, I do not know; for I never heard of her loving anybody but herself, and I do not think she could have managed that if she had not somehow got used to herself. (Macdonald 6, “The Light Princess”)
The sister casts a spell on the baby princess that takes away her gravity. For the next several years, the princess cannot walk. She can only float. She regains her gravity when she swims in a nearby lake, but loses it again as soon as she leaves the water. Swimming in the lake gives her great joy, and she spends most of her time there.
A side effect of the spell causes her to never cry. She can only laugh. She cannot take things seriously and thinks everything should revolve around her. Her character is immature and selfish. Macdonald narrates, “When she was told, for the sake of experiment, that General Clanrunfort was cut to pieces with all his troops, she laughed; when she heard that the enemy was on his way to besiege her papa's capital, she laughed hugely” (Macdonald 23, “The Light Princess”).
Everything changes one day when she meets a prince looking for a bride. The prince falls in love with her at once, but she rejects his thoughts of love and laughs at him. Still, they swim together in the evenings and the princess’ joy continues to grow. Her aunt, however, cannot rejoice at the princess’ happiness. When she sees how happy the lake makes the princess, the aunt casts a spell to take away all the water of the lake. The king and queen discover that in order for the lake water to return, a man must willingly sacrifice himself for the princess. He must find the hole in the lake and place himself in it like a cork. Once he does this, the water will return and drown him.
The prince decides to volunteer because he loves the princess, but he makes the princess come out with him on a boat to feed him until the water drowns him. As the water covers him and he takes his last breath, the princess screams and jumps in to rescue him. She takes him back to the palace, hoping the doctors can restore him. For the first time, she cries out of sorrow. Her tears bring rain to fill the lake. She regains her gravity and the palace rejoices. The prince revives and marries the princess. They live happily ever after, while the aunt’s caverns under the lake collapse with her in them.
Macdonald’s “Light Princess” can symbolize more than one thing. God sacrificed Jesus for our salvation, just as the prince willingly sacrificed himself for the joy of the princess. The immature and frivolous nature of the princess before she saves the prince represents human nature. As humans, we do not take the time to stop and see the truth found in God’s word. Macdonald believed that we should respond to Christ and rediscover God in nature and in scripture. In “Light Princess,” he also stresses the importance of love in a relationship. Our relationship with God should come from the heart. Love saves the prince and princess just as God’s love saves us. The conflict of “Light Princess” also revolves around life-giving water. The lake water gives life to the princess and her kingdom and, similarly, Christ exists as our living water. Bob Trexler points out in his article, “George MacDonald and the ‘Light Princess,’” the common themes evident in Macdonald’s stories:
All MacDonald's ideas derive from and point toward two central themes: The Fatherhood of God and the obedience of the Son. But in choosing these two themes, it would be necessary to include death as the major subheading under the obedience of the son, for it is clear from MacDonald's writings that our obedience is to be modeled after that of Jesus Christ, who became obedient unto death.
In “Light Princess,” the princess' willingness to risk joining her savior-prince in death illustrates Macdonald's belief that one must die to oneself in order to live unto Christ.
A letter to a man Macdonald once met at an inn confirms the theme Trexler points to. Macdonald states that belief in an idea in the Bible and the understanding and explaining of an idea in the Bible does not confirm your faith. He writes:
It [faith] is to take him as our Lord and Master, obey his words, be prepared to die for him; it is to take on us the yoke his father laid on him and regard the will of God as the one thing worthy of a man’s care and endeavour – as indeed out very life – that, and nothing less than that, is faith in the Son of God. (Hein 6)
Later, in the same letter, Macdonald says that people too often focus on understanding instead of acting. They tell others what to do instead of doing it themselves. Macdonald’s beliefs on faith and salvation resembled the book of James in the Bible. Yes, faith saves, but works, or the fruits of the spirit, accompany true faith. Preaching doctrine does not always save and sometimes deters people from focusing on the Bible as a whole. Thinking in terms of doctrine alone limits God. Macdonald wanted the kind of faith that moves mountains, a faith that acts.
Macdonald’s spiritual themes influenced G.K. Chesterton. In his introduction to the biography written by Macdonald’s son, George Macdonald and His Wife, he cites Macdonald’s book, The Princess and the Goblin, as his favorite George Macdonald book. Chesterton says, “[It] helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; a vision of things which even so real a revolution as a change of religious allegiance has substantially only crowned and confirmed” (“George Macdonald”). Chesterton admires Macdonald’s use of real world issues in a fantasy and enjoys the ability to apply a fantasy story to his own life. In the introduction to Macdonald and His Wife, he notes how Macdonald’s descriptions make him feel as if the plot could take place inside his own home. Chesterton says:
There is something not only imaginative but intimately true about the idea of the goblins being below the house and capable of besieging it from the cellars. When the evil things besieging us do appear, they do not appear outside but inside. (“George Macdonald”)
C.S. Lewis read Macdonald’s novel, Phantastes, as a teenager. It initiated his imagination and inspired him to begin considering Christianity. An atheist at the time, Lewis slowly found himself drawn to Christ’s amazing love and redeeming power. Later in his life, Lewis published George Macdonald: An Anthology, a collection of his favorite Macdonald works along with his own comments showing his appreciation to the author. Like Chesterton, Lewis found inspiration in The Princess and the Goblin. He claimed that of those who inspired him to write The Chronicles of Narnia, Macdonald played a key role. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Macdonald’s Princess and the Goblin share many common themes. Most noteworthy, both stories appeal to the childlike nature of the average reader. Characters reflect the reader’s desire to become fully childlike and the reader’s inability to gain the perfect childlike attitude.
Exploring Lewis’ and Macdonald’s books in more detail reveals that they both make an effort to distinguish between the childish and the childlike. The childish character starts out selfish, but slowly transforms into the innocent, childlike character. Edmund Pevensie demonstrates this character in Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, part of the Narnia series. Edmund desires power over his brother and sisters and betrays them to the White Witch when she promises to give him power and riches. Subsequently, the witch does not keep her promise, and Aslan, the lion ruler of Narnia, sacrifices himself to save Edmund. Aslan redeems Edmund. Edmund realizes the full truth and accepts it, putting his sins behind him and moving forward.
Macdonald uses this transition in his characters to symbolize redemption. Dr. Don W. King, of the department of English at Montreat College, observes this in Macdonald’s adult fantasy novel, Lilith:
Mr. Vane in Lilith is a striking example. Throughout most of the story he is vain, short-sighted, ego-centric, conceited, stubborn, and over-confident. It is only through his relationship with Mr. Raven (Adam) and after a series of misadventures that almost lead to a catastrophe for the innocent who inhabit Lilith's world that Vane finally comes to see his short-comings; and, in the end, after he gains a childlike attitude toward life, he experiences a kind of inner healing. (“The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis”)
Curdie, in Macdonald’s Princess and the Goblin, gives us another example of the childish character. A worker in the mines, he finds himself forced into an adult mindset at an early age. He becomes friends with Princess Irene and later discovers the plot of the goblins to take over the kingdom. The goblins capture Curdie, but Irene saves him with the help of her mystical grandmother’s invisible thread, which leads her to Curdie’s location. Curdie refuses to believe in the invisible thread and Irene’s grandmother. He remains unconvinced until Irene’s grandmother appears to him and heals a wound the goblins inflicted on him. This reminds us of Thomas’ unbelief in the Bible. He would not believe in Jesus’ resurrection unless Jesus appeared to him.
Similar to Curdie’s unbelief, the brothers and sister of the character, Lucy, in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, refuse to believe in a magical world called Narnia that Lucy finds in a wardrobe. In Prince Caspian, another book in the Narnia series, Aslan only appears to Lucy. He tells her which way to go when she and her siblings are lost, but her brothers and sister do not believe her story and decide to go the opposite way of Aslan’s directions. Lucy goes with them and after a long, tiring journey, Aslan appears to her once more. He points out her failure to obey and shows her the right path again. In this, Lewis points out that no one can achieve perfection, but hope still exists. Although Lucy fails to obey Aslan the first time, Aslan continues to appear only to her.
Lucy and Princess Irene represent the childlike character in Lewis’ and Macdonald’s books. With a childlike heart, these characters long for something more than what they have. Dr. King points out, “the child within, our childlike self, enables us to see, even if momentarily, that there is more to life than the physical reality about us” (“The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis.”). Macdonald’s wording becomes playful in The Princess and the Goblin when he describes Irene’s desire for something more. She lives in a great house in the mountains, built on top of the caverns the goblins inhabit. Macdonald narrates:
She [Princess Irene] got very tired, so tired that even her toys could no longer amuse her. You would wonder at that if I had time to describe to you one half of the toys she had. But then, you wouldn't have the toys themselves, and that makes all the difference: you can't get tired of a thing before you have it. It was a picture, though, worth seeing − the princess sitting in the nursery with the sky ceiling over her head, at a great table covered with her toys. If the artist would like to draw this, I should advise him not to meddle with the toys. I am afraid of attempting to describe them, and I think he had better not try to draw them. He had better not. He can do a thousand things I can't, but I don't think he could draw those toys.
Irene’s curiosity and longing for something new leads her up three flights of stairs to several passageways filled with mysterious doors. Eventually, one particular door leads her to the spirit of her grandmother. This contains similarities to the wardrobe door through which Lucy enters the land of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Irene’s grandmother tests her childlike faith, telling her to come back in a week if she still believes that her grandmother is real. She returns and her grandmother rewards her, showing her various mystical items, including the invisible thread that leads Irene to Curdie’s prison.
Lewis and Macdonald often drew ideas from each other, as shown in the similarities between The Chronicles of Narnia and The Princess and the Goblin. The two writers link humility and innocence with a childlike attitude. In this state, a character believes what seems unbelievable. Lewis and Macdonald harken back to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 18:3: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Heart of George Macdonald contains excerpts from some of Macdonald’s sermons. Macdonald gave more insight to his views on the childlike state in his sermon, “The Child in the Midst.” Referring to Matthew 18, Macdonald said:
[W]hen the child was employed as a manifestation, utterance, and sign of the truth that lay in his childhood, in order that the eyes as well as the ears should be channels to the heart, it was essential – not that the child should be beautiful – that the child should be childlike. (Hein 323-324)
Macdonald said Matthew 18:3 calls us to become humble and discontinue fighting over who will be the greatest in Heaven. He saw that the Calvinist preachers of his own time missed this essential requirement for entering the Kingdom of God.
Lewis describes this in chapter 9 of his book, The Great Divorce, when the character of Macdonald shows to Lewis ghosts that come to the edge of Heaven. Macdonald is the teacher at the edge of heaven. The spirits of Heaven try to convert the ghosts. The ghosts can gain joy if they accept it and put away their sins, but they come to the edge of Heaven only to spit at its gates or to tell others about Hell. Some preach about the sins of other ghosts and the statistics of Hell, ignoring their own sins. Some do not ignore their sins; rather, they think their numerous sins give them authority. One particular ghost longs for his earthly fame. The fact that everyone has equal fame in Heaven appalls him. When he discovers that people do not remember him back on earth, he rushes away to gain back his fame. We also see a reference to the ministers of Macdonald’s time when Macdonald’s character states,
There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself… as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some many who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. (Lewis 71)
Macdonald and Lewis spend much of the chapter talking about the nature of Heaven and Hell. This chapter gives more insight to Macdonald’s own views on Hell. According to the character, Macdonald, Hell is a state of mind. Many choose Hell over the joy of Heaven because they cling to their passions and sins. They cling so hard that they become their passions and sins. Even when presented with the chance to gain joy and put away Hell, these people choose Hell. They would rather be master of their own Hell than serve God. On earth they knew the truth and rejected it, and they do the same in the afterlife. As Macdonald tells Lewis in the book, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it” (Lewis 72). It is hard to tell whether Macdonald would believe that the Hell depicted in Lewis’ Divorce should be taken literally or allegorically. Lewis seems to suggest that it is more allegorical: All people have the chance to go to heaven, but they choose Hell when they reject Christ.
It was not through his doctrine alone that Macdonald influenced his peers. Macdonald’s influence expanded with his children. One popular author of the time, Lewis Carol, became good friends with the Macdonald family and would not publish his book, Alice and Wonderland, until Macdonald’s children had read and approved it. Another writer Macdonald became friends with was Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Macdonald’s method of storytelling attracted Clemens. Macdonald’s and Clemens’ diction and style resembled each other. Both drew from their own experiences for inspiration, and both captured the language of their homelands in the dialogues of their texts.
Clemens’ first encounter with Macdonald’s work was Robert Falconer. Reading it with his wife, Olivia, he enjoyed the first half of it, but hated the book as a whole. Thus, Clemens and Macdonald got off to a rough start, but they soon became well acquainted in America when Macdonald went on his lecture tour. Both took interest in a group of freed slaves called the Jubilee Singers. At the time, the Macdonalds lived in England. Clemens eventually visited England, and he and his wife attended one of the Macdonalds’ garden parties, which the Jubilee Singers also attended. By this time, Clemens and Macdonald had become intimate friends. In her article, “Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet,” Kathryn Lindskoog asks, “Is it possible that the two men conceived of a story about a white orphan boy whose friend was a good-hearted black man? Within thirteen years they both happened to write and publish such a story.” Clemens came out with Tom Sawyer soon after Macdonald wrote Thomas Wingfold, Curate. Macdonald’s Sir Gibbie contained similar characters. Lindskoog pointed out in her article,
On May 10, 1880, Mark Twain bought a new book from the J. R. Barlow bookstore in his home city of Hartford, Connecticut: Sir Gibbie, by his British friend George MacDonald. It was in a paperback Seaside Library Edition, and it cost twenty cents. In July, Twain received a bill for the book. On July 5, 1880, he paid the twenty cents. And that long-forgotten twenty-cent purchase may have contributed to Huckleberry Finn. (“Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet”)
Sir Gibbie and Huckleberry Finn share many themes and story elements. Lindskoog continues:
Both Sir Gibbie and Huckleberry Finn explore questions of ethics and truth through the life of an unusually bright and unusually unfortunate boy. Both are set in the colourful [sic] region where the author spent his boyhood. Both were written for children as well as adults. And they have at least twenty plot elements in common. (“Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet”)
Once, Macdonald proposed that Clemens help him write a sequel to Sir Gibbie, but it did not work out. The two authors also exchanged books written by others and by themselves. At the Back of the North Wind, one of Macdonald’s better-known novels, played a special role in Clemens’ home. Twain’s children often convinced him to make up stories about the book’s main character, little Diamond. Scholars have also proposed similarities between Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Macdonald’s Lilith.
Macdonald became a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, who took some inspiration from Macdonald’s fantasies for his The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although Macdonald never got the chance to join Tolkien’s famous group for writers and thinkers known as the “Inklings,” he gathered around him various types of fellow writers. While his beliefs kept him from a typical career in the ministry, they enabled him to preach his message in other ways. He lectured and he wrote. His theology and his writing style attracted readers and inspired great thinkers. Macdonald brought about a new way to write. While many of his peers wrote entirely realistic works, Macdonald maintained a realistic message within a fantasy story. C.S. Lewis took a few cues from Macdonald when he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. Others, such as Samuel Clemens, merely exchanged ideas with him. G.K. Chesterton looked to him as a role model.
Macdonald stood out from the crowd. In his lifetime, he wrote over 50 books. While his books are not as popular as they once were, his ideas live on in the writings of others. As readers sit down with a book by C.S. Lewis or G.K. Chesterton, they are still invited to learn from the old, kind man with a flowing beard.
Works Cited
Chesterton, G K. "George Macdonald." The American Chesterton Society. 1924. 17 Apr. 2007.
King, Don W. "The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis." Into the Wardrobe: a C.S. Lewis Web Site. Summer 1986. Dept. of English, Montreat C. 16 Apr. 2007.
Lewis, C S. The Great Divorce. New York: Macmillan, 1976.
Lindskoog, Kathryn. "Mark Twain and George Macdonald: the Salty and the Sweet." The Mark Twain Journal 30 (1992). 17 Apr. 2007.
Macdonald, George. Diary of an Old Soul. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 3-4.
Macdonald, George. The Heart of George Macdonald. Ed. Rolland Hein. Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College, 2004.
Macdonald, George. "The Light Princess." The Complete Fairy Tales. Ed. U C. Knoepflmacher. Penguin Group, 1999.
Macdonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. enotes.com. 25 Apr. 2007.
Partridge, Mike. "George Macdonald: Theology." George Macdonald WWW Page. 2001. 17 Apr. 2007.
Phillips, Michael. "The Original Writings of George MacDonald." George Macdonald & Michael Phillips. 17 Apr. 2007.
Phillips, Michael. "Why New Edited Editions of George MacDonald's Books?" George Macdonald & Michael Phillips. 1982. 17 Apr. 2007.
Shepherd, Victor. "Heritage." Sermons and Writings of Victor Shepherd. Prof. of Systematic and Historical Theology, Tyndale. 18 Apr. 2007.
Trexler, Bob. "George Macdonald and the "Light Princess"" George Macdonald WWW Page. Mar.-Apr. 1999. 18 Apr. 2007.
“I – I don’t quite know,” said I.
“Ye can sit and talk to me, then,” he said, making room for me on the stone.
“I don’t know you, Sir,” said I, taking my seat beside him
“My name is George,” he answered. “George Macdonald.” (Lewis 64-65)
In this passage from The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis depicts a kind, elderly man who invites him to sit, talk, and learn. Lewis’ depiction of this man, old, yet strong and wise, fits the person of the real George Macdonald. In his writings, Macdonald invites the reader to sit down, relax, and learn something. He incorporates real-life lessons with spiritual lessons. Unfortunately, most of his books remain lost or rarely published in the modern world. He found fame during his own life, but his legacy found its realized expression in the works of others. Macdonald’s influence extended to writers such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Mark Twain. Inserting doctrine into his stories made his stories dull at times and kept his name from the fame his fellow writers received in the future, but his writings influenced some of the greatest works we have today.
A 19th century Scottish writer, Macdonald grew up with a Calvinistic background, . He was born on December 10, 1824, the son of a farmer. At only 16 years of age, he attended Aberdeen University, where he studied chemistry and physics. He hoped to go into medicine, but financial problems forced him to leave. Macdonald decided to go into the ministry and attended Highbury College in London for the Congregationalist ministry. In 1850, he became a pastor. Three years later, the leaders of the church he pastored sent him away for radical beliefs. In 1851, he married Louisa Powell. They had eleven children together, but disease killed several of them. Tuberculosis followed Macdonald’s family. He had his first attack in late 1850 and his father died of tuberculosis in the bones.
Unable to return to the ministry, Macdonald found support in writing. He started with poetry, his favorite kind of writing, and in 1855 he published Within and Without. He also wrote short stories, essays, and commentaries. This paved the way to his full-length novels. He covered several genres, but fantasy earned him most of his fame. His first book of this genre, Phantastes, came out in 1958. Queen Victoria gave him a pension of one hundred pounds per year in 1873 and he traveled the United States and a few Canadian locations on a lecture tour during the 1870’s. He spent most of his latter years in Italy, where the warm climate improved his health. Macdonald died in Ashtead, England on September 18, 1905.
Although he never wrote an autobiography, modern audiences can pick out some of Macdonald’s life experiences in several of his books. Alec Forbes of Howglen takes place in northern Scotland and contains many glimpses into Macdonald’s memories of Scotland. Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood is set near the area where Macdonald tried his hand at pasturing a church. Another of Macdonald’s novels, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood presents a happier side of Macdonald’s childhood, and Malcolm or The Fisherman’s Lady, Sir Gibbie, and Thomas Wingfold served as a trilogy in his biography-like books. Writer Michael Philips describes Macdonald’s novel, Robert Falconer, on his website about Macdonald:
The reader gains a rare glimpse into MacDonald's own boyhood, with his internal struggles, his relationship with his grandmother (who largely raised him after the death of his mother) and his spiritual search as a young man attempting to discover God's love amid the hellfire Calvinism of his upbringing. Robert Falconer's resolution of this conflict is a wonderful window into the roots and development of MacDonald's own faith which would turn generations to come toward the Fatherhood of a loving God. (“The Original Writings of George MacDonald”)
Macdonald lived in a time of new ideas. Ideas of English and German Romanticism filled his head. As his views expanded and changed, he became less Calvinist and more Universalist. Victor Shepherd wrote in Fellowship Magazine:
Although the Scots had a reputation for theological precision, MacDonald thought it to be the product of the dissecting knife: fine work done on something lifeless. For doctrine (as he had seen it handled) appeared to have been made a substitute for living faith where the believer's heart is rightly related to the heart of God. (“Heritage”)
Macdonald argued that the Christian life involved more than believing in the right doctrine. One should exhibit their faith through the “fruits of the spirit” and strive to follow Christ’s example. Furthermore, he believed in a more personal relationship with God. God loves everyone and wants to save everyone. Macdonald rejected the idea of predestination and believed that everyone would eventually come to know Christ. In his article, “George Macdonald: Theology,” Mike Partridge summarizes Macdonald’s beliefs:
God is the Father welcoming his prodigal children home not just their creator or judge. Whether we realise [sic] it or not we are all on a road leading back to him. He is our Home. MacDonald believed that people were either responding to God or turning away from him. For MacDonald there was no absolute need for a moment of conversion as traditionally understood. We are all at different stages on the journey - a journey that has its beginning and end in God.
For Macdonald, life was an exploration to find God. You create your own hell when you reject God. Hell is the knowledge that you are separated from God forever. Christ came as God’s revelation to give us a clear vision of God. Once we receive this vision we should “be so overwhelmed by his [God’s] love that all wrongdoing would be immediately set aside. Seeing right was the beginning of acting right” (“George Macdonald: Theology”). God calls us home and wishes us to obey Him with all our hearts.
Macdonald inserted his beliefs in his letters to friends and family. The Heart of George Macdonald, a collection of Macdonald’s works edited and introduced by Rolland Hein, publishes a series of letters Macdonald wrote. In his condolence letters and his letters to ill friends, he emphasized God as father and Heaven as home. In a letter to Andrew Pym, he wrote that God cares for all His creation, particularly humans. He writes:
I want you to think over and over again… that God is just the one haven you have to make for in this storm. Say to him, My Father, I belong to thee, and I am ill, and I cannot help myself; be my Father and keep near me, and do what thou wilt with me. (Hein 9)
When he encouraged friends to think of Heaven as their future home where they would see their loved ones again, he also encouraged faith in the person to whom he wrote. The person should keep faith in God’s love and faith in the reality of Heaven. To Adelaide Pym he wrote a letter that compared the earth to a nursery. God puts us in the nursery, and some of our playmates in the nursery are taken home before others. In his letter to Susan Scott, he wrote:
God knows and cares, and uses for us as a means of education for our hearts and spirits which we do not ourselves understand. It is not needful that we understand the motive power in the processes that go on within us. It is enough to him who believes it that the Lord did rise again, although after that he was hidden from their sight. Yes, I will believe that I shall hold my own in my arms again, their hearts are nearer to mine than ever before. (Hein 10)
One of Macdonald’s last works, Diary of an Old Man’s Soul, details his relationship with God through a collection of short poems, one for every day of the year. On day three of January, he wrote about longing for his Heavenly home:
Sometimes I wake, and lo, I have forgot,
And drifted out upon an ebbing sea!
My soul that was at rest now resteth not,
For I am with myself and not with thee;
Truth seems a blind moon in a glaring morn,
Where nothing is but sick-heart vanity:
Oh, thou who knowest, save thy child forlorn. (Macdonald 4, Diary of an Old Soul)
Macdonald published a series of sermons as well as a few doctrinal books, but he constantly inserted himself and his beliefs in his other writings, as well. Many of his novels focused on father-and-child relationships. Mary Marston exemplified his views on obedience to God and obedience to parents. In Marston, he specifically writes to young women, encouraging them in their dedication to Christ.
Macdonald’s talent lay with his ability to apply his stories to the lives of his readers. Phillips writes in his introduction to The Fisherman’s Lady, “It is as though he were continually weaving two parallel stories - that of a ‘plot’ and that of the partially submerged spiritual journeys being traveled in a parallel plane by those characters involved in the story” (“Why new edited editions of George MacDonald's books?”). Macdonald added sermons and long speeches into several of his novels. Unfortunately, while this attracted an audience of great thinkers and writers of his time, it kept his books from gaining a permanent popular following. Readers must bear through these elements patiently. Paying careful attention to the contents, even the slow-going contents, often turns up unique and interesting ideas. Macdonald wrote most of his works in Scottish dialect, as well, which makes them hard for the modern reader to understand.
Macdonald experimented with various genres and decided on fantasy. Realism limited the imagination too much, and he believed that fantasy conveyed double meanings better than any other genre. Jesus used parables to get across his messages, and the Bible is full of symbolism, metaphor, and analogy. He could write a story and a message into a fantasy. Fantasy fills a story with symbolism. Macdonald took advantage of this genre, using the symbolism to pass on his religious beliefs.
Even though Macdonald filled his fantasies with unrealistic elements, he made his characters seem real. His characters depicted the average-Joe of his time. These characters appealed to Macdonald’s audience. He wrote two adult fantasy novels, Phantastes: A Fairie Romance for Men and Women and Lilith, and he wrote several children’s fantasy books and stories, including The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie. Goblin made it to film in 1994 as a cartoon.
One of Macdonald’s better-known short stories was a fantasy. “The Light Princess” first came out with a series of other short stories. They formed stories within a story in Adela Cathcart, a collection similar to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In it, a cluster of travelers gathers for shelter in an inn and share stories with one another. Macdonald later published “Light Princess” in a few other collections as well, including, Dealings with the Fairies, his first book of short stories, and Works of Fancy and Imagination, another collection of various stories he wrote.
The story of “Light Princess” follows a plot similar to Charles Perrault’s “The Beauty of Sleeping Wood” (Sleeping Beauty). A king and queen have a daughter, but forget to invite the king’s sister to the baby’s christening. Macdonald describes the child’s aunt:
[She was] a sour, spiteful creature. The wrinkles of contempt crossed the wrinkles of peevishness, and made her face as full of wrinkles as a pat of butter. If ever a king could be justified in forgetting anybody, this king was justified in forgetting his sister, even at a christening. She looked very odd, too. Her forehead was as large as all the rest of her face, and projected over it like a precipice. When she was angry, her little eyes flashed blue. When she hated anybody, they shone yellow and green. What they looked like when she loved anybody, I do not know; for I never heard of her loving anybody but herself, and I do not think she could have managed that if she had not somehow got used to herself. (Macdonald 6, “The Light Princess”)
The sister casts a spell on the baby princess that takes away her gravity. For the next several years, the princess cannot walk. She can only float. She regains her gravity when she swims in a nearby lake, but loses it again as soon as she leaves the water. Swimming in the lake gives her great joy, and she spends most of her time there.
A side effect of the spell causes her to never cry. She can only laugh. She cannot take things seriously and thinks everything should revolve around her. Her character is immature and selfish. Macdonald narrates, “When she was told, for the sake of experiment, that General Clanrunfort was cut to pieces with all his troops, she laughed; when she heard that the enemy was on his way to besiege her papa's capital, she laughed hugely” (Macdonald 23, “The Light Princess”).
Everything changes one day when she meets a prince looking for a bride. The prince falls in love with her at once, but she rejects his thoughts of love and laughs at him. Still, they swim together in the evenings and the princess’ joy continues to grow. Her aunt, however, cannot rejoice at the princess’ happiness. When she sees how happy the lake makes the princess, the aunt casts a spell to take away all the water of the lake. The king and queen discover that in order for the lake water to return, a man must willingly sacrifice himself for the princess. He must find the hole in the lake and place himself in it like a cork. Once he does this, the water will return and drown him.
The prince decides to volunteer because he loves the princess, but he makes the princess come out with him on a boat to feed him until the water drowns him. As the water covers him and he takes his last breath, the princess screams and jumps in to rescue him. She takes him back to the palace, hoping the doctors can restore him. For the first time, she cries out of sorrow. Her tears bring rain to fill the lake. She regains her gravity and the palace rejoices. The prince revives and marries the princess. They live happily ever after, while the aunt’s caverns under the lake collapse with her in them.
Macdonald’s “Light Princess” can symbolize more than one thing. God sacrificed Jesus for our salvation, just as the prince willingly sacrificed himself for the joy of the princess. The immature and frivolous nature of the princess before she saves the prince represents human nature. As humans, we do not take the time to stop and see the truth found in God’s word. Macdonald believed that we should respond to Christ and rediscover God in nature and in scripture. In “Light Princess,” he also stresses the importance of love in a relationship. Our relationship with God should come from the heart. Love saves the prince and princess just as God’s love saves us. The conflict of “Light Princess” also revolves around life-giving water. The lake water gives life to the princess and her kingdom and, similarly, Christ exists as our living water. Bob Trexler points out in his article, “George MacDonald and the ‘Light Princess,’” the common themes evident in Macdonald’s stories:
All MacDonald's ideas derive from and point toward two central themes: The Fatherhood of God and the obedience of the Son. But in choosing these two themes, it would be necessary to include death as the major subheading under the obedience of the son, for it is clear from MacDonald's writings that our obedience is to be modeled after that of Jesus Christ, who became obedient unto death.
In “Light Princess,” the princess' willingness to risk joining her savior-prince in death illustrates Macdonald's belief that one must die to oneself in order to live unto Christ.
A letter to a man Macdonald once met at an inn confirms the theme Trexler points to. Macdonald states that belief in an idea in the Bible and the understanding and explaining of an idea in the Bible does not confirm your faith. He writes:
It [faith] is to take him as our Lord and Master, obey his words, be prepared to die for him; it is to take on us the yoke his father laid on him and regard the will of God as the one thing worthy of a man’s care and endeavour – as indeed out very life – that, and nothing less than that, is faith in the Son of God. (Hein 6)
Later, in the same letter, Macdonald says that people too often focus on understanding instead of acting. They tell others what to do instead of doing it themselves. Macdonald’s beliefs on faith and salvation resembled the book of James in the Bible. Yes, faith saves, but works, or the fruits of the spirit, accompany true faith. Preaching doctrine does not always save and sometimes deters people from focusing on the Bible as a whole. Thinking in terms of doctrine alone limits God. Macdonald wanted the kind of faith that moves mountains, a faith that acts.
Macdonald’s spiritual themes influenced G.K. Chesterton. In his introduction to the biography written by Macdonald’s son, George Macdonald and His Wife, he cites Macdonald’s book, The Princess and the Goblin, as his favorite George Macdonald book. Chesterton says, “[It] helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; a vision of things which even so real a revolution as a change of religious allegiance has substantially only crowned and confirmed” (“George Macdonald”). Chesterton admires Macdonald’s use of real world issues in a fantasy and enjoys the ability to apply a fantasy story to his own life. In the introduction to Macdonald and His Wife, he notes how Macdonald’s descriptions make him feel as if the plot could take place inside his own home. Chesterton says:
There is something not only imaginative but intimately true about the idea of the goblins being below the house and capable of besieging it from the cellars. When the evil things besieging us do appear, they do not appear outside but inside. (“George Macdonald”)
C.S. Lewis read Macdonald’s novel, Phantastes, as a teenager. It initiated his imagination and inspired him to begin considering Christianity. An atheist at the time, Lewis slowly found himself drawn to Christ’s amazing love and redeeming power. Later in his life, Lewis published George Macdonald: An Anthology, a collection of his favorite Macdonald works along with his own comments showing his appreciation to the author. Like Chesterton, Lewis found inspiration in The Princess and the Goblin. He claimed that of those who inspired him to write The Chronicles of Narnia, Macdonald played a key role. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Macdonald’s Princess and the Goblin share many common themes. Most noteworthy, both stories appeal to the childlike nature of the average reader. Characters reflect the reader’s desire to become fully childlike and the reader’s inability to gain the perfect childlike attitude.
Exploring Lewis’ and Macdonald’s books in more detail reveals that they both make an effort to distinguish between the childish and the childlike. The childish character starts out selfish, but slowly transforms into the innocent, childlike character. Edmund Pevensie demonstrates this character in Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, part of the Narnia series. Edmund desires power over his brother and sisters and betrays them to the White Witch when she promises to give him power and riches. Subsequently, the witch does not keep her promise, and Aslan, the lion ruler of Narnia, sacrifices himself to save Edmund. Aslan redeems Edmund. Edmund realizes the full truth and accepts it, putting his sins behind him and moving forward.
Macdonald uses this transition in his characters to symbolize redemption. Dr. Don W. King, of the department of English at Montreat College, observes this in Macdonald’s adult fantasy novel, Lilith:
Mr. Vane in Lilith is a striking example. Throughout most of the story he is vain, short-sighted, ego-centric, conceited, stubborn, and over-confident. It is only through his relationship with Mr. Raven (Adam) and after a series of misadventures that almost lead to a catastrophe for the innocent who inhabit Lilith's world that Vane finally comes to see his short-comings; and, in the end, after he gains a childlike attitude toward life, he experiences a kind of inner healing. (“The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis”)
Curdie, in Macdonald’s Princess and the Goblin, gives us another example of the childish character. A worker in the mines, he finds himself forced into an adult mindset at an early age. He becomes friends with Princess Irene and later discovers the plot of the goblins to take over the kingdom. The goblins capture Curdie, but Irene saves him with the help of her mystical grandmother’s invisible thread, which leads her to Curdie’s location. Curdie refuses to believe in the invisible thread and Irene’s grandmother. He remains unconvinced until Irene’s grandmother appears to him and heals a wound the goblins inflicted on him. This reminds us of Thomas’ unbelief in the Bible. He would not believe in Jesus’ resurrection unless Jesus appeared to him.
Similar to Curdie’s unbelief, the brothers and sister of the character, Lucy, in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, refuse to believe in a magical world called Narnia that Lucy finds in a wardrobe. In Prince Caspian, another book in the Narnia series, Aslan only appears to Lucy. He tells her which way to go when she and her siblings are lost, but her brothers and sister do not believe her story and decide to go the opposite way of Aslan’s directions. Lucy goes with them and after a long, tiring journey, Aslan appears to her once more. He points out her failure to obey and shows her the right path again. In this, Lewis points out that no one can achieve perfection, but hope still exists. Although Lucy fails to obey Aslan the first time, Aslan continues to appear only to her.
Lucy and Princess Irene represent the childlike character in Lewis’ and Macdonald’s books. With a childlike heart, these characters long for something more than what they have. Dr. King points out, “the child within, our childlike self, enables us to see, even if momentarily, that there is more to life than the physical reality about us” (“The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis.”). Macdonald’s wording becomes playful in The Princess and the Goblin when he describes Irene’s desire for something more. She lives in a great house in the mountains, built on top of the caverns the goblins inhabit. Macdonald narrates:
She [Princess Irene] got very tired, so tired that even her toys could no longer amuse her. You would wonder at that if I had time to describe to you one half of the toys she had. But then, you wouldn't have the toys themselves, and that makes all the difference: you can't get tired of a thing before you have it. It was a picture, though, worth seeing − the princess sitting in the nursery with the sky ceiling over her head, at a great table covered with her toys. If the artist would like to draw this, I should advise him not to meddle with the toys. I am afraid of attempting to describe them, and I think he had better not try to draw them. He had better not. He can do a thousand things I can't, but I don't think he could draw those toys.
Irene’s curiosity and longing for something new leads her up three flights of stairs to several passageways filled with mysterious doors. Eventually, one particular door leads her to the spirit of her grandmother. This contains similarities to the wardrobe door through which Lucy enters the land of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Irene’s grandmother tests her childlike faith, telling her to come back in a week if she still believes that her grandmother is real. She returns and her grandmother rewards her, showing her various mystical items, including the invisible thread that leads Irene to Curdie’s prison.
Lewis and Macdonald often drew ideas from each other, as shown in the similarities between The Chronicles of Narnia and The Princess and the Goblin. The two writers link humility and innocence with a childlike attitude. In this state, a character believes what seems unbelievable. Lewis and Macdonald harken back to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 18:3: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Heart of George Macdonald contains excerpts from some of Macdonald’s sermons. Macdonald gave more insight to his views on the childlike state in his sermon, “The Child in the Midst.” Referring to Matthew 18, Macdonald said:
[W]hen the child was employed as a manifestation, utterance, and sign of the truth that lay in his childhood, in order that the eyes as well as the ears should be channels to the heart, it was essential – not that the child should be beautiful – that the child should be childlike. (Hein 323-324)
Macdonald said Matthew 18:3 calls us to become humble and discontinue fighting over who will be the greatest in Heaven. He saw that the Calvinist preachers of his own time missed this essential requirement for entering the Kingdom of God.
Lewis describes this in chapter 9 of his book, The Great Divorce, when the character of Macdonald shows to Lewis ghosts that come to the edge of Heaven. Macdonald is the teacher at the edge of heaven. The spirits of Heaven try to convert the ghosts. The ghosts can gain joy if they accept it and put away their sins, but they come to the edge of Heaven only to spit at its gates or to tell others about Hell. Some preach about the sins of other ghosts and the statistics of Hell, ignoring their own sins. Some do not ignore their sins; rather, they think their numerous sins give them authority. One particular ghost longs for his earthly fame. The fact that everyone has equal fame in Heaven appalls him. When he discovers that people do not remember him back on earth, he rushes away to gain back his fame. We also see a reference to the ministers of Macdonald’s time when Macdonald’s character states,
There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself… as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some many who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. (Lewis 71)
Macdonald and Lewis spend much of the chapter talking about the nature of Heaven and Hell. This chapter gives more insight to Macdonald’s own views on Hell. According to the character, Macdonald, Hell is a state of mind. Many choose Hell over the joy of Heaven because they cling to their passions and sins. They cling so hard that they become their passions and sins. Even when presented with the chance to gain joy and put away Hell, these people choose Hell. They would rather be master of their own Hell than serve God. On earth they knew the truth and rejected it, and they do the same in the afterlife. As Macdonald tells Lewis in the book, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it” (Lewis 72). It is hard to tell whether Macdonald would believe that the Hell depicted in Lewis’ Divorce should be taken literally or allegorically. Lewis seems to suggest that it is more allegorical: All people have the chance to go to heaven, but they choose Hell when they reject Christ.
It was not through his doctrine alone that Macdonald influenced his peers. Macdonald’s influence expanded with his children. One popular author of the time, Lewis Carol, became good friends with the Macdonald family and would not publish his book, Alice and Wonderland, until Macdonald’s children had read and approved it. Another writer Macdonald became friends with was Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Macdonald’s method of storytelling attracted Clemens. Macdonald’s and Clemens’ diction and style resembled each other. Both drew from their own experiences for inspiration, and both captured the language of their homelands in the dialogues of their texts.
Clemens’ first encounter with Macdonald’s work was Robert Falconer. Reading it with his wife, Olivia, he enjoyed the first half of it, but hated the book as a whole. Thus, Clemens and Macdonald got off to a rough start, but they soon became well acquainted in America when Macdonald went on his lecture tour. Both took interest in a group of freed slaves called the Jubilee Singers. At the time, the Macdonalds lived in England. Clemens eventually visited England, and he and his wife attended one of the Macdonalds’ garden parties, which the Jubilee Singers also attended. By this time, Clemens and Macdonald had become intimate friends. In her article, “Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet,” Kathryn Lindskoog asks, “Is it possible that the two men conceived of a story about a white orphan boy whose friend was a good-hearted black man? Within thirteen years they both happened to write and publish such a story.” Clemens came out with Tom Sawyer soon after Macdonald wrote Thomas Wingfold, Curate. Macdonald’s Sir Gibbie contained similar characters. Lindskoog pointed out in her article,
On May 10, 1880, Mark Twain bought a new book from the J. R. Barlow bookstore in his home city of Hartford, Connecticut: Sir Gibbie, by his British friend George MacDonald. It was in a paperback Seaside Library Edition, and it cost twenty cents. In July, Twain received a bill for the book. On July 5, 1880, he paid the twenty cents. And that long-forgotten twenty-cent purchase may have contributed to Huckleberry Finn. (“Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet”)
Sir Gibbie and Huckleberry Finn share many themes and story elements. Lindskoog continues:
Both Sir Gibbie and Huckleberry Finn explore questions of ethics and truth through the life of an unusually bright and unusually unfortunate boy. Both are set in the colourful [sic] region where the author spent his boyhood. Both were written for children as well as adults. And they have at least twenty plot elements in common. (“Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet”)
Once, Macdonald proposed that Clemens help him write a sequel to Sir Gibbie, but it did not work out. The two authors also exchanged books written by others and by themselves. At the Back of the North Wind, one of Macdonald’s better-known novels, played a special role in Clemens’ home. Twain’s children often convinced him to make up stories about the book’s main character, little Diamond. Scholars have also proposed similarities between Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Macdonald’s Lilith.
Macdonald became a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, who took some inspiration from Macdonald’s fantasies for his The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although Macdonald never got the chance to join Tolkien’s famous group for writers and thinkers known as the “Inklings,” he gathered around him various types of fellow writers. While his beliefs kept him from a typical career in the ministry, they enabled him to preach his message in other ways. He lectured and he wrote. His theology and his writing style attracted readers and inspired great thinkers. Macdonald brought about a new way to write. While many of his peers wrote entirely realistic works, Macdonald maintained a realistic message within a fantasy story. C.S. Lewis took a few cues from Macdonald when he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. Others, such as Samuel Clemens, merely exchanged ideas with him. G.K. Chesterton looked to him as a role model.
Macdonald stood out from the crowd. In his lifetime, he wrote over 50 books. While his books are not as popular as they once were, his ideas live on in the writings of others. As readers sit down with a book by C.S. Lewis or G.K. Chesterton, they are still invited to learn from the old, kind man with a flowing beard.
Works Cited
Chesterton, G K. "George Macdonald." The American Chesterton Society. 1924. 17 Apr. 2007
King, Don W. "The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis." Into the Wardrobe: a C.S. Lewis Web Site. Summer 1986. Dept. of English, Montreat C. 16 Apr. 2007
Lewis, C S. The Great Divorce. New York: Macmillan, 1976.
Lindskoog, Kathryn. "Mark Twain and George Macdonald: the Salty and the Sweet." The Mark Twain Journal 30 (1992). 17 Apr. 2007
Macdonald, George. Diary of an Old Soul. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 3-4.
Macdonald, George. The Heart of George Macdonald. Ed. Rolland Hein. Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College, 2004.
Macdonald, George. "The Light Princess." The Complete Fairy Tales. Ed. U C. Knoepflmacher. Penguin Group, 1999.
Macdonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. enotes.com. 25 Apr. 2007
Partridge, Mike. "George Macdonald: Theology." George Macdonald WWW Page. 2001. 17 Apr. 2007
Phillips, Michael. "The Original Writings of George MacDonald." George Macdonald & Michael Phillips. 17 Apr. 2007
Phillips, Michael. "Why New Edited Editions of George MacDonald's Books?" George Macdonald & Michael Phillips. 1982. 17 Apr. 2007
Shepherd, Victor. "Heritage." Sermons and Writings of Victor Shepherd. Prof. of Systematic and Historical Theology, Tyndale. 18 Apr. 2007
Trexler, Bob. "George Macdonald and the "Light Princess"" George Macdonald WWW Page. Mar.-Apr. 1999. 18 Apr. 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
When Difficulty Comes
I still remember how I reacted the first time I was put into a worldly environment. I didn’t exactly embody the Christian attitude. I had a bitter attitude towards everything. It was hard for me to accept the differences in people, and I started to question my faith. It didn’t take me long to get over my feelings once the experience had passed. I thought I had learned my lesson, but I hadn’t. Similar experiences came, always with the same feelings and thoughts of rebellion against God. I wanted to question God; I wanted to know why I was having such a difficult time. I knew something had to change. That’s when I decided to go to France. I came close to rejecting my faith then, but I could never let go no matter how hard I tried.
I had visited France once before and loved it. This time, though, my journey to Montpellier was not so pleasant. On the plane, I sat next to a very nice German man who had plenty of interesting opinions. I was not strong enough in my faith to witness to him, but we did have a few short conversations on government and life in general. He spent the rest of the eight or nine hours of the flight in the bathroom throwing up because he had drunk too much alcohol. Needless to say, he didn’t exactly have the sweet aroma of flowers upon him when he was sitting next to me. Inside I reacted as if a skunk had mysteriously appeared and sprayed the entire plane. This was not much of a difficulty in itself, but it did foreshadow what I would see in many of my fellow students once I got to France.
Bad omens seemed to keep coming my way. When I arrived at the airport, my hostess recognized me right away, but as soon as she identified herself, she started to walk towards the parking lot, not even giving me a chance to get my luggage. Later that week, I came back to the apartment to find I had missed dinner. Another night, my hostess welcomed another woman into the apartment as a tenant who was not even part of the school I attended. One time, she had family over, a daughter, granddaughter, and son. Her granddaughter would not leave me alone; she was annoying, but cute in her own way. The daughter and granddaughter left that night, but the son stayed. I did not exactly feel comfortable wearing pajamas at night when I knew he was there.
I did get my own room, however, and I was grateful for that. My first night I fell asleep right away, but awoke in the middle of the night disturbed by two things. The first was a small rumble coming from my empty stomach. I was so hungry I heard my stomach talking. It seemed to sound off like a pig, “oink, oink, oink, feed me.” The second thing that awoke me was the need to use the restroom. I was rather irritated that no one had awakened me for dinner. Even more irritating was the fact that I did not know where the bathroom was. Here I was, in a very small apartment, and afraid to look for a bathroom! I don’t know why I was afraid. The overall experience I’d had so far made me want to crawl up in a corner and cry. The only thing I could think of to do was call my mom. I spent the entire night on the phone complaining. I held my need to use the restroom for quite some time, but eventually I got up the courage to find out where the bathroom was. As it turned out, French homes have two separate rooms for bathroom uses: one for the toilette and the other for the bathtub, shower, and sink. In the apartment I was in, both rooms had signs on them to tell what they were!
The next morning, I met two other girls who stayed in the room next to mine. Our hostess slept in the living room. They both came from other countries but were in the same student exchange program as me. I thought this odd, but knew they spoke English, so it would not be too strange for them to take classes with me. They showed me the ropes: how to get to school, which was in a large town center much like the markets and squares of Italy. The school was on the fourth floor of an old building. We almost always had to take the stairs. For a plus-sized girl like me this became a difficulty in itself, especially considering my apartment was also four floors up. As soon as I entered the classroom doors, I knew things were not going to be what I had expected. I soon found that these classes were not for beginners. Although I’d taken one year of French, I couldn’t understand a thing because the teachers spoke only in French!
I did make a few friends at first but soon learned how worldly they were. When we started to talk about our worldviews, I didn’t have much to say in my defense. After that, no one really liked me. It didn’t help that I wasn’t willing to visit bars, drink, and smoke with the other kids. Many came from other countries where they used beer and cigarettes at a young age; and all those from America took the opportunity to drink and smoke legally. I was the strange American. Even the woman with whom I stayed pressured me to take part. On top of all this, I became very homesick and got into the habit of crying in bed every night. I called my parents as often as possible, wrote in my journal as a way of venting, and did my Bible study every night.
The various difficulties depressed me, but God found little ways to cheer me. I began to realize the importance of difficulties and the possibilities of what we can make out of them. I met with American missionaries who were very kind to me. Other times I explored the streets of Montpellier and found a sense of independence. God gave me strength to persevere. I was content in those few moments when I could stop to watch a street performer or sing along with a ministering church choir. It was encouraging. I had often thought I would fall away in my faith; that I would somehow lose it and come to believe something else – or nothing. I have doubted my beliefs as much as any other Christian. Having grown up in a Christian home, many would expect me to rebel against what I’ve been taught. Now I was thinking about it again, but something kept me going. No matter what I thought or did, no matter how empty I felt, I couldn’t be separated from God. Romans 8:35, 39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The difficulties I’ve faced have brought me to the point where I couldn’t stop believing in God or in His love for me; His love kept me going when I was in France.
When the end of my adventure came, my hostess refused to take me to the airport. I tried to call Dorcas, one of the missionaries, but couldn’t find her phone number. Next, I called the missionary pastor. He gave Dorcas’ number to me, but when I tried to call her, my cell phone ran out of out-going minutes! Throughout my trip I had come to depend on God to get me through the hard times, so I prayed. I was about to go find a pay phone when my cell phone rang. It was Dorcas! The pastor had called her to make sure everything turned out OK. She was happy to take me to the airport that morning. The Lord had prepared my way home.
I felt like I had wasted my parents’ money on my trip. When I came home, my parents inveighed against the program’s curriculum and organization, hoping to get their money back, but they were forced to accept what I had learned as reward enough for their money. I realized that this trip was meant to be. Just as those long stairways and walks about Montpellier exercised my body, the difficulties built up my mind and developed my independence. Most important, my troubles caused me to depend on God instead of on myself and pushed me to do my own research and form my own worldview, to learn more about what I believe so I can defend Christianity.
My faith was challenged, but I took the opportunity to confront difficulty and overcome it. Epicurus said, “The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” During my trip to France, I grew spiritually, mentally, and physically because of the trials I faced. Difficulty taught me. I was its pupil. I‘m sure many more difficulties will come -- life is full of difficulties. The question is: How will I react when they do come?
I had visited France once before and loved it. This time, though, my journey to Montpellier was not so pleasant. On the plane, I sat next to a very nice German man who had plenty of interesting opinions. I was not strong enough in my faith to witness to him, but we did have a few short conversations on government and life in general. He spent the rest of the eight or nine hours of the flight in the bathroom throwing up because he had drunk too much alcohol. Needless to say, he didn’t exactly have the sweet aroma of flowers upon him when he was sitting next to me. Inside I reacted as if a skunk had mysteriously appeared and sprayed the entire plane. This was not much of a difficulty in itself, but it did foreshadow what I would see in many of my fellow students once I got to France.
Bad omens seemed to keep coming my way. When I arrived at the airport, my hostess recognized me right away, but as soon as she identified herself, she started to walk towards the parking lot, not even giving me a chance to get my luggage. Later that week, I came back to the apartment to find I had missed dinner. Another night, my hostess welcomed another woman into the apartment as a tenant who was not even part of the school I attended. One time, she had family over, a daughter, granddaughter, and son. Her granddaughter would not leave me alone; she was annoying, but cute in her own way. The daughter and granddaughter left that night, but the son stayed. I did not exactly feel comfortable wearing pajamas at night when I knew he was there.
I did get my own room, however, and I was grateful for that. My first night I fell asleep right away, but awoke in the middle of the night disturbed by two things. The first was a small rumble coming from my empty stomach. I was so hungry I heard my stomach talking. It seemed to sound off like a pig, “oink, oink, oink, feed me.” The second thing that awoke me was the need to use the restroom. I was rather irritated that no one had awakened me for dinner. Even more irritating was the fact that I did not know where the bathroom was. Here I was, in a very small apartment, and afraid to look for a bathroom! I don’t know why I was afraid. The overall experience I’d had so far made me want to crawl up in a corner and cry. The only thing I could think of to do was call my mom. I spent the entire night on the phone complaining. I held my need to use the restroom for quite some time, but eventually I got up the courage to find out where the bathroom was. As it turned out, French homes have two separate rooms for bathroom uses: one for the toilette and the other for the bathtub, shower, and sink. In the apartment I was in, both rooms had signs on them to tell what they were!
The next morning, I met two other girls who stayed in the room next to mine. Our hostess slept in the living room. They both came from other countries but were in the same student exchange program as me. I thought this odd, but knew they spoke English, so it would not be too strange for them to take classes with me. They showed me the ropes: how to get to school, which was in a large town center much like the markets and squares of Italy. The school was on the fourth floor of an old building. We almost always had to take the stairs. For a plus-sized girl like me this became a difficulty in itself, especially considering my apartment was also four floors up. As soon as I entered the classroom doors, I knew things were not going to be what I had expected. I soon found that these classes were not for beginners. Although I’d taken one year of French, I couldn’t understand a thing because the teachers spoke only in French!
I did make a few friends at first but soon learned how worldly they were. When we started to talk about our worldviews, I didn’t have much to say in my defense. After that, no one really liked me. It didn’t help that I wasn’t willing to visit bars, drink, and smoke with the other kids. Many came from other countries where they used beer and cigarettes at a young age; and all those from America took the opportunity to drink and smoke legally. I was the strange American. Even the woman with whom I stayed pressured me to take part. On top of all this, I became very homesick and got into the habit of crying in bed every night. I called my parents as often as possible, wrote in my journal as a way of venting, and did my Bible study every night.
The various difficulties depressed me, but God found little ways to cheer me. I began to realize the importance of difficulties and the possibilities of what we can make out of them. I met with American missionaries who were very kind to me. Other times I explored the streets of Montpellier and found a sense of independence. God gave me strength to persevere. I was content in those few moments when I could stop to watch a street performer or sing along with a ministering church choir. It was encouraging. I had often thought I would fall away in my faith; that I would somehow lose it and come to believe something else – or nothing. I have doubted my beliefs as much as any other Christian. Having grown up in a Christian home, many would expect me to rebel against what I’ve been taught. Now I was thinking about it again, but something kept me going. No matter what I thought or did, no matter how empty I felt, I couldn’t be separated from God. Romans 8:35, 39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The difficulties I’ve faced have brought me to the point where I couldn’t stop believing in God or in His love for me; His love kept me going when I was in France.
When the end of my adventure came, my hostess refused to take me to the airport. I tried to call Dorcas, one of the missionaries, but couldn’t find her phone number. Next, I called the missionary pastor. He gave Dorcas’ number to me, but when I tried to call her, my cell phone ran out of out-going minutes! Throughout my trip I had come to depend on God to get me through the hard times, so I prayed. I was about to go find a pay phone when my cell phone rang. It was Dorcas! The pastor had called her to make sure everything turned out OK. She was happy to take me to the airport that morning. The Lord had prepared my way home.
I felt like I had wasted my parents’ money on my trip. When I came home, my parents inveighed against the program’s curriculum and organization, hoping to get their money back, but they were forced to accept what I had learned as reward enough for their money. I realized that this trip was meant to be. Just as those long stairways and walks about Montpellier exercised my body, the difficulties built up my mind and developed my independence. Most important, my troubles caused me to depend on God instead of on myself and pushed me to do my own research and form my own worldview, to learn more about what I believe so I can defend Christianity.
My faith was challenged, but I took the opportunity to confront difficulty and overcome it. Epicurus said, “The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” During my trip to France, I grew spiritually, mentally, and physically because of the trials I faced. Difficulty taught me. I was its pupil. I‘m sure many more difficulties will come -- life is full of difficulties. The question is: How will I react when they do come?
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Book Review of California Driver's Handbook
If there is any person qualified to write a book review of the California Driver’s Handbook, it’s me. No, I do not work for the DMV, and no, I am not a perfectionist driver. In truth, I am very afraid of driving. While still on my first permit, I got in an accident. With my driver instructor, my sandal got caught on the pedal and I pushed the gas pedal instead of the break. This caused me to get into a minor bumper accident, no damage. I cried when I got home. Needless to say time came and went and I did not go for my license. My permit expired. Since then I have taken the permit test two more times and gotten better at passing each time. I always passed, but each time the number of missed questions lessened. I actually was scheduled to take my permit test earlier this month for the third time, but my mom lost my passport. A weeks worth of reading was wasted. Luckily, this time I highlighted the important parts and when my mom found my passport a month later I only had to skip read the highlighted parts. Two days ago, on June 28th, 2007, I took the test and only missed two questions. My picture would have turned out good if my double chin had not shown up. It has a way of coming out like that. I hate being fat, I hope to lose weight. Nevertheless, I will not let my bad health drag me down. I did dream once that my double chin saved me from a man who tried to slit my throat. The knife did not go deep enough to kill me, although I did lose some blood. It’s a real dream I had. Anyway, back to the driving thing. As already stated, I hate driving. I’m always afraid I’ll do something wrong. I remember my first experience with driver’s rage. I pulled over to let people pass, but when I tried to pull back into the lane a driver got mad at me and followed me to my turnoff where he proceed to honk at me and flip me off. I eventually got over my fear and got back on the road, but then college came. When you live in NYC you don’t drive much. Thus, it has been over a year since I last drove and my old fears have returned this summer. Since I am attending a different college this fall, I will need to drive and I will need a car. Needless to say, I have so far avoided all my parents attempts to get me on the road, but I really do need to try. Maybe I should go back to that handbook for some help, but don’t expect a book review of it. I already hate it enough, I doubt I would be able to keep from becoming overly judgmental and bias.
Friday, June 29, 2007
IPig
I was watching tv with my family tonight when a preview of tonight's news came on. I thought I misheard them when they said to forget about the iphone, a new ipig product is out. What's an ipig? I looked it up on google and what should I find but this:"ST. PAUL, MN (June 27, 2007) – In an effort to beat Apple to the punch the St. Paul Saints Baseball Club today announced its plans to compete with the iPhone, releasing the much less-hyped iPig."
I guess they beat me to the punch of finding something funny to say about the iphone and our modern obsession with technology. I suppose I shouldn't be too passionate about this topic considering I own an 80 gig ipod. Still, I have learned myself this summer that you can benefit a lot more from reading than watching tv. I also must say that it is proven that listening to classical music helps develop your brain for school when you listen to it while studying. That's my bit for today. I also shared my thoughts in my dad's words on my dad's blog.
To read more on the ipig, go to it's creator's site at http://www.saintsipig.com/
http://poorhousedad.blogspot.com/
I've started a new blog for my dad with his own account. It's called PoorHouse Dad's Forwards. It consists of all his forward emails to me which range from political topics to funny pictures to current events. He also writes his own stuff sometimes that he sends to me to post for him. Here is the link: http://poorhousedad.blogspot.com/
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Christian Themes in Nancy Drew
Many are surprised to find out that Christian values are present in so many locations: books, stories, present day morals, and movies. You would expect this is Christian fiction, such as “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and movies based on Biblical stories, such “Evan Almighty,” but would you really expect it in a movie like “Nancy Drew”? It’s there.Nancy has an earthly father who wants her to give up “sleuthing.” However, she continues to “sleuth” even once he tells her to stop. He wants her to become a more normal teenager. She tries to fit in, but it does not go so well and she cannot keep away from investigating the murder of a famous movie star. She discovers that should not give in to peer pressure and persecution, but should stay true to who she is. In the process, Nancy learns to put the needs of others above herself and to keep persevering no matter what. She follows her heart and tries to do the right thing, but also uses her mind to make sure she makes the right choices.
These lessons are very similar to the Biblical lessons we find in “Evan Almighty.”
1. Nancy has a purpose in life. She tries something different for a while, listening to the suggestions of her earthly father, but finds she cannot keep away from her true calling. Throughout it all she endures persecution, but pushes through to the end of the race. Like Nancy, we all have a purpose in life. We may stray from that purpose for a while, but God always gets His way. When we are persecuted, we can find shelter in God’s sovereignty.
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
2. Nancy follows her heart and uses her mind. The Bible promotes using both the heart and mind. In our heart we must follow God in faith and believe what we profess. We must also become sober-minded and use our minds to meditate on God’s word.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:2-3)
Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (1 Kings 3:8-9)
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. (Psalm 27:8)
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 62:8)
I expand more on these themes in my review on “Evan Almighty.”
Click here to read my movie review on "Nancy Drew"
Click here to read my movie review on "Evan Almighty"
Click here to read my published movie reviews
Cleck here to read all my reviews
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Foundations of a Leader
Well, time got away from me again today so I thought I would go ahead and post something a little more interesting (and controversial - I warn you, I am conservative, but this review should not offend anyone). This is also regarding a past event, but is still relevant today.
You never know what to expect when a politician speaks. I didn’t know what to expect when Ralph Nader spoke about his new book, The Seventeen Traditions. I knew that he was a politician and had run for the presidency in 2000 as a third party candidate, but little else. My dad told me he was a liberal. I wondered if a liberal could have a good side. His book looked like it was about traditional values that should be implemented into society, but I didn’t know what values.
“This is the shortest book I’ve ever written,” Nader started at the book discussion, “but it’s long overdue.” Why? It’s overdue because the times are changing for the worse. The rest of his speech detailed why we need to look at foundations to change times for the better. Nader found his foundations in his family life as a child.
“We aren’t seeing enough people rising to leadership,” Nader said. He suggested that the solution may lie in civic education and other basic units of life. He asked, “What generates civic spirit?” His answer: the family unit. “If you ask anyone involved in civic activities how they got started in those activities, they’ll tell you it started with a friend or family member that took them to a speech, rally, protest, or event of some kind.”
Nader talked about what we can gain from the foundations of older generations. He pointed out that not only did people communicate more orally in older days, but they listened to nature and to those around them, whereas today it’s all about virtual reality instead of real sights and sounds.
Nader said that he was disciplined by proverbs, not by shouting. “There was a proverb for every conceivable occasion,” he commented. His parents made sure that their disagreements weren’t shown in front of their children. “When dinner came,” he said, “mother didn’t ask us what we wanted to eat. We weren’t old enough to know what we wanted to eat.” Life was full of hypotheses, logical arguments, and conversation. He was in a continual state of learning that would eventually make him what he is today.
One day he asked his mom if he could have long pants since all the other boys’ mothers let them wear long pants. She replied, “They’ve got their mothers and you’ve got yours. Why are you afraid to be different?” This made him realize that standing out was a good thing.
Another time Nader’s mother asked him if nature was for sale. He knew the answer was no. That got him thinking about all the other things that shouldn’t be for sale, such as democracy, elections, and education.
Nader recalled an example of the shaping of his mind. At school one day, a friend of his looked at a girl and said, “What a pig.” “I thought about it all the way home,” he said. “I wondered why my friend would say such a thing. He seemed a better person when he was younger. It got me thinking about discrimination. Too many jobs today are based on looks instead of personality or qualification.”
Nader concluded, “we all should look back and try to find wisdom and try to find the things that work.” He also asked, “Do you love your country?” If you love your country, he said, you should work harder to make it a better place. Most places of influence were contributed by individual benefactors. Nader said there should be more benefactors in this world. “It’s no soup kitchen charity, it’s institution-building.”
Overall I agree with everything he said. When it comes to education, we need to study the old as well as the new. Part of the reason the newest generation lacks in leadership is that they aren’t observing, reading, and interacting enough. There is a lot more initiative to be taken and a lot more potential to be developed.
A reform of the family is needed. The Village may have its role, but the Family lays the foundation. Our politics may conflict and our practices of family living may differ, but we agree that the American family needs revitalization.
The real entertainment came during the question and answer time, which was heated with arguments that required security intervention. One person shouted that George W. Bush should be imprisoned. Two audience members wouldn’t stop interrupting the people who had put their hands up to ask questions. These protestors demonstrated how their families failed to instill in them respect, manners, and a sense of relevance.
Nader ended by recapping his lecture. He said students need to stop rationalizing their failures. “If others can do it, so can you! Kids need to stop making excuses for themselves!”
Nader is a good speaker, and I believe he has a good heart, too (or at least good foundations), even if he is a liberal.
Works Cited
Nader, Ralph. Discussion of The Seventeen Traditions. Barnes and Nobles. Union Square, New York City. 30 Jan. 2007.
You never know what to expect when a politician speaks. I didn’t know what to expect when Ralph Nader spoke about his new book, The Seventeen Traditions. I knew that he was a politician and had run for the presidency in 2000 as a third party candidate, but little else. My dad told me he was a liberal. I wondered if a liberal could have a good side. His book looked like it was about traditional values that should be implemented into society, but I didn’t know what values.“This is the shortest book I’ve ever written,” Nader started at the book discussion, “but it’s long overdue.” Why? It’s overdue because the times are changing for the worse. The rest of his speech detailed why we need to look at foundations to change times for the better. Nader found his foundations in his family life as a child.
“We aren’t seeing enough people rising to leadership,” Nader said. He suggested that the solution may lie in civic education and other basic units of life. He asked, “What generates civic spirit?” His answer: the family unit. “If you ask anyone involved in civic activities how they got started in those activities, they’ll tell you it started with a friend or family member that took them to a speech, rally, protest, or event of some kind.”
Nader talked about what we can gain from the foundations of older generations. He pointed out that not only did people communicate more orally in older days, but they listened to nature and to those around them, whereas today it’s all about virtual reality instead of real sights and sounds.
Nader said that he was disciplined by proverbs, not by shouting. “There was a proverb for every conceivable occasion,” he commented. His parents made sure that their disagreements weren’t shown in front of their children. “When dinner came,” he said, “mother didn’t ask us what we wanted to eat. We weren’t old enough to know what we wanted to eat.” Life was full of hypotheses, logical arguments, and conversation. He was in a continual state of learning that would eventually make him what he is today.
One day he asked his mom if he could have long pants since all the other boys’ mothers let them wear long pants. She replied, “They’ve got their mothers and you’ve got yours. Why are you afraid to be different?” This made him realize that standing out was a good thing.
Another time Nader’s mother asked him if nature was for sale. He knew the answer was no. That got him thinking about all the other things that shouldn’t be for sale, such as democracy, elections, and education.
Nader recalled an example of the shaping of his mind. At school one day, a friend of his looked at a girl and said, “What a pig.” “I thought about it all the way home,” he said. “I wondered why my friend would say such a thing. He seemed a better person when he was younger. It got me thinking about discrimination. Too many jobs today are based on looks instead of personality or qualification.”
Nader concluded, “we all should look back and try to find wisdom and try to find the things that work.” He also asked, “Do you love your country?” If you love your country, he said, you should work harder to make it a better place. Most places of influence were contributed by individual benefactors. Nader said there should be more benefactors in this world. “It’s no soup kitchen charity, it’s institution-building.”
Overall I agree with everything he said. When it comes to education, we need to study the old as well as the new. Part of the reason the newest generation lacks in leadership is that they aren’t observing, reading, and interacting enough. There is a lot more initiative to be taken and a lot more potential to be developed.
A reform of the family is needed. The Village may have its role, but the Family lays the foundation. Our politics may conflict and our practices of family living may differ, but we agree that the American family needs revitalization.
The real entertainment came during the question and answer time, which was heated with arguments that required security intervention. One person shouted that George W. Bush should be imprisoned. Two audience members wouldn’t stop interrupting the people who had put their hands up to ask questions. These protestors demonstrated how their families failed to instill in them respect, manners, and a sense of relevance.
Nader ended by recapping his lecture. He said students need to stop rationalizing their failures. “If others can do it, so can you! Kids need to stop making excuses for themselves!”
Nader is a good speaker, and I believe he has a good heart, too (or at least good foundations), even if he is a liberal.
Works Cited
Nader, Ralph. Discussion of The Seventeen Traditions. Barnes and Nobles. Union Square, New York City. 30 Jan. 2007.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Art of Interpretation: Die Ägyptische Helena at the Met
Well, I was going to post something on the Christian themes in Nancy Drew today, but time ran out so I've decided to post something I know no one will read and post something else tomorrow. The following is my review on the Metropolitan Opera's production of Die Ägyptische Helena, which is long over. However, if you are an operalover I'm sure you'll enjoy reading it for the sake of future productions of it at the Met as well as for the sake of just getting an idea of what the opera is about. HGTV airs a show called Designers Challenge in which three designers compete to create the best design for a room in someone’s house. Each designer has a unique interpretation of the room. They all have good designs, but only one can win, only one stands out above the rest. Similarly, if we give one opera to four directors, each person will come up with a unique cast and visual design. Sometimes one interpretation stands out above all others. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 production of Richard Strauss’ Die Ägyptische Helena stands as one of those productions. While most productions tend toward a more realistic look, David Fielding, director and designer, decided on a more fantasy-driven look. Rarely performed, this opera requires something special to attract an audience. In Fielding’s production, the surreal sets and extraordinary cast attracts an audience. Once the audience shows up, the story pulls them in further. 
Helena follows relationships between two married couples: Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Aithra; and King Menelas of Sparta and Helen. Aithra worries that her husband no longer loves her. Her oracle mussel shell reassures her of Poseidon’s faithfulness and tells her about Menelas and Helen, who are on their way home from Troy. Menelas wants to kill Helen. With her powers, Aithra sinks Menelas’ boat just in time to save Helen from his dagger. Menelas and Helen swim ashore to Aithra’s palace. Aithra gives Menelas a potion that makes him forget his past. Aithra then sends him with his wife to another land where they can live a new life together. She also gives Helen two potions, one that would give Menelas back his full memory and another that would take away the pains of Menelas’ past. The previous owners of the land that Aithra gave to Helen and Menelas end the peace when they appear. First Da-ud attempts to woo Helen with a song, then his father, Altair, tries to take Helen by force. Meanwhile, as the potion begins wearing off and his memories start to return, Menelas mistakes Da-ud for Paris and kills him. Tired of living in an artificial reality, Helen realizes that in order to live a happy life, she will have to give Menelas the potion of forgetfulness continually. She decides to give Menelas the potion of remembrance, confident that only it can save their marriage. He takes the potion and it restores all: Menelas recovers his memories and renews his marriage with Helen.
Fielding creates an interesting contrast between the characters and the sets. The sets match the magical element of the story. Planets and neon colors splatter the canvas and oversized beds, and slanted doors provide a surreal, grandiose atmosphere. When Menelas’ ship sinks, a giant silhouette of a running man with a briefcase appears in front of a background that looks like a raging sea. Later, when Altair and Da-ud emerge from the bathroom, a similar silhouette appears, but in front of a background that looks like a Sahara desert.
On the other hand, the characters wear plain, solid-colored outfits. The men wear business suits and the women wear straight-cut dresses that drag behind on the ground. The solid colors symbolize the identities of the characters wearing them. Aithra’s blue dress represents the sea and her divinity. The landowners wear yellow and orange suits, representing the land. Altair, in the autumn of his life, wears orange and Da-ud, in the sunny disposition of youth, wears yellow. Altair’s orange also symbolizes his aggressiveness when he tries to force himself upon Helen. Other characters wear white and black costumes, symbolizing the potions, Aithra’s oracle mussel shell, and the dagger with which Menelas wants to kill Helen. Another man wears a red suit to symbolize the deaths of characters. The colors also occasionally serve simply to brighten up the stage.
Symbolism, especially the use of colors and colored lighting, permeates the opera. When the owners visit Helen, they bring briefcases with lights inside of them, symbolizing jewels, their gifts to Helen. The shadows of characters tell the same story on the wall and make the characters and their colored costumes stand out. They also symbolize the darkness that follows each of us. Colored lighting emphasizes the colored costumes. The lighting also follows the mood of the events. The stage darkens during serious scenes and brightens during frivolous scenes. The character of Helen shines as a light. Like the lights used to symbolize jewels in the briefcases, her light shines as the ultimate treasure that every man wants to possess.
The story is not always easy to follow, but the abstract sets and costumes and the dissonant music fit an opera that tells the story of a mythical fantasy. The wonderful cast helps as well. Deborah Voigt draws most of the crowds in with her interpretation of Helen. She is not overly pretty. An opera company fired her once because of her obesity, but she later had surgery for it and had lost weight since then. She still qualifies as plump and what draws the audience to her is her voice. Voigt has a round tone to her soprano voice, and while most sopranos’ high notes are painful, her high notes are beautiful and make for easy listening. Her facial expressions and her hand gestures convey her character’s varying emotions.
Despite her pride, Helen will do anything to have her husband’s love again. In typical portrayals of her story (books, movies, and other productions that focus on the Trojan War), Helen loves Paris, but at the beginning of Helena, the story focuses more on who owns Helena. Paris took her, but Menelas won her back in battle and now she is under his dominion again. At the beginning of the opera, Helen’s love for Menelas remains in question because she had allowed Paris to seduce her. She might merely wish to keep her life, or she might submit to her husband as the conquerer. By the end of the opera, however, Helen clearly loves Menelas. Helen has tired of men trying to seduce her, causing her to realize she does love Menelas and does want to fix her marriage. The fact that Menelas loves Helen for who she is, not just for her beauty, convinces her to give him the potion of remembrance. She chooses real love over artificial, even with the risk that Menelas’ murderous fury might return along with his memory.
Although fictional, this story reflects relevant lessons about the human condition, the choices we make, and the values we ought to hold. The libretto, or text, of the opera and the emotions portrayed by the singers bring out these elements. One might not decode all the symbolism, but the attempt remains worth the effort. Overall, having the best singers, unique sets, and a beautiful story, Fielding’s staging stands as a masterpiece and a work of art.
Works Cited
Die ÄGyptische Helena. By Richard Strauss. Dir. David Fielding. The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, NYC. 23 Mar. 2007.
Designer's Challenge. Home and Garden Television. HGTV.
Helena follows relationships between two married couples: Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Aithra; and King Menelas of Sparta and Helen. Aithra worries that her husband no longer loves her. Her oracle mussel shell reassures her of Poseidon’s faithfulness and tells her about Menelas and Helen, who are on their way home from Troy. Menelas wants to kill Helen. With her powers, Aithra sinks Menelas’ boat just in time to save Helen from his dagger. Menelas and Helen swim ashore to Aithra’s palace. Aithra gives Menelas a potion that makes him forget his past. Aithra then sends him with his wife to another land where they can live a new life together. She also gives Helen two potions, one that would give Menelas back his full memory and another that would take away the pains of Menelas’ past. The previous owners of the land that Aithra gave to Helen and Menelas end the peace when they appear. First Da-ud attempts to woo Helen with a song, then his father, Altair, tries to take Helen by force. Meanwhile, as the potion begins wearing off and his memories start to return, Menelas mistakes Da-ud for Paris and kills him. Tired of living in an artificial reality, Helen realizes that in order to live a happy life, she will have to give Menelas the potion of forgetfulness continually. She decides to give Menelas the potion of remembrance, confident that only it can save their marriage. He takes the potion and it restores all: Menelas recovers his memories and renews his marriage with Helen.
Fielding creates an interesting contrast between the characters and the sets. The sets match the magical element of the story. Planets and neon colors splatter the canvas and oversized beds, and slanted doors provide a surreal, grandiose atmosphere. When Menelas’ ship sinks, a giant silhouette of a running man with a briefcase appears in front of a background that looks like a raging sea. Later, when Altair and Da-ud emerge from the bathroom, a similar silhouette appears, but in front of a background that looks like a Sahara desert.
On the other hand, the characters wear plain, solid-colored outfits. The men wear business suits and the women wear straight-cut dresses that drag behind on the ground. The solid colors symbolize the identities of the characters wearing them. Aithra’s blue dress represents the sea and her divinity. The landowners wear yellow and orange suits, representing the land. Altair, in the autumn of his life, wears orange and Da-ud, in the sunny disposition of youth, wears yellow. Altair’s orange also symbolizes his aggressiveness when he tries to force himself upon Helen. Other characters wear white and black costumes, symbolizing the potions, Aithra’s oracle mussel shell, and the dagger with which Menelas wants to kill Helen. Another man wears a red suit to symbolize the deaths of characters. The colors also occasionally serve simply to brighten up the stage.
Symbolism, especially the use of colors and colored lighting, permeates the opera. When the owners visit Helen, they bring briefcases with lights inside of them, symbolizing jewels, their gifts to Helen. The shadows of characters tell the same story on the wall and make the characters and their colored costumes stand out. They also symbolize the darkness that follows each of us. Colored lighting emphasizes the colored costumes. The lighting also follows the mood of the events. The stage darkens during serious scenes and brightens during frivolous scenes. The character of Helen shines as a light. Like the lights used to symbolize jewels in the briefcases, her light shines as the ultimate treasure that every man wants to possess.
The story is not always easy to follow, but the abstract sets and costumes and the dissonant music fit an opera that tells the story of a mythical fantasy. The wonderful cast helps as well. Deborah Voigt draws most of the crowds in with her interpretation of Helen. She is not overly pretty. An opera company fired her once because of her obesity, but she later had surgery for it and had lost weight since then. She still qualifies as plump and what draws the audience to her is her voice. Voigt has a round tone to her soprano voice, and while most sopranos’ high notes are painful, her high notes are beautiful and make for easy listening. Her facial expressions and her hand gestures convey her character’s varying emotions.
Despite her pride, Helen will do anything to have her husband’s love again. In typical portrayals of her story (books, movies, and other productions that focus on the Trojan War), Helen loves Paris, but at the beginning of Helena, the story focuses more on who owns Helena. Paris took her, but Menelas won her back in battle and now she is under his dominion again. At the beginning of the opera, Helen’s love for Menelas remains in question because she had allowed Paris to seduce her. She might merely wish to keep her life, or she might submit to her husband as the conquerer. By the end of the opera, however, Helen clearly loves Menelas. Helen has tired of men trying to seduce her, causing her to realize she does love Menelas and does want to fix her marriage. The fact that Menelas loves Helen for who she is, not just for her beauty, convinces her to give him the potion of remembrance. She chooses real love over artificial, even with the risk that Menelas’ murderous fury might return along with his memory.
Although fictional, this story reflects relevant lessons about the human condition, the choices we make, and the values we ought to hold. The libretto, or text, of the opera and the emotions portrayed by the singers bring out these elements. One might not decode all the symbolism, but the attempt remains worth the effort. Overall, having the best singers, unique sets, and a beautiful story, Fielding’s staging stands as a masterpiece and a work of art.
Works Cited
Die ÄGyptische Helena. By Richard Strauss. Dir. David Fielding. The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, NYC. 23 Mar. 2007.
Designer's Challenge. Home and Garden Television. HGTV.
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