On Thu, 22 May 1997, malgosia askanas wrote:
> It seems to me, though, that one needs to add to the defiance-complicity
> series also the old idea of silence as endurance, and endurance as associated
> with some kind of spiritual power. The theme of silence as a test of worth
> and spiritual strength is common in folk tales and such.
i feel like adding here that that kind of strength is often attributed to
people on the wrong side of a power (in)equation - women and blacks in
faulkner's _absalom_, and women and peasants in lessing's _the golden
notebook_ are two examples that come to mind. i don't know too many folk
tales, but a common plot, i think, is the one of the woman who must suffer
for a long time, and without any promise of relief, to be rewarded at the
end for her perseverance (the prince shows up, the spell is broken, etc).
in cases like those one might look at who is valuing that endurance and
why. (i'm not disagreeing in any way, malgosia, just lingering a while
cuz i'm feelin a lil bored this evening . . . )
"goodbye now godzilla!
goodbye now godzilla!
until then . . .
take care now godzilla!
take care now godzilla!
my old friend!
sayonara til we meet again . . . "
sig http://pages.nyu.edu/~scs7891
> It seems to me, though, that one needs to add to the defiance-complicity
> series also the old idea of silence as endurance, and endurance as associated
> with some kind of spiritual power. The theme of silence as a test of worth
> and spiritual strength is common in folk tales and such.
i feel like adding here that that kind of strength is often attributed to
people on the wrong side of a power (in)equation - women and blacks in
faulkner's _absalom_, and women and peasants in lessing's _the golden
notebook_ are two examples that come to mind. i don't know too many folk
tales, but a common plot, i think, is the one of the woman who must suffer
for a long time, and without any promise of relief, to be rewarded at the
end for her perseverance (the prince shows up, the spell is broken, etc).
in cases like those one might look at who is valuing that endurance and
why. (i'm not disagreeing in any way, malgosia, just lingering a while
cuz i'm feelin a lil bored this evening . . . )
"goodbye now godzilla!
goodbye now godzilla!
until then . . .
take care now godzilla!
take care now godzilla!
my old friend!
sayonara til we meet again . . . "
sig http://pages.nyu.edu/~scs7891