Love is a Prison

Currently, we are reading and discussing the story of Yvain, a tale about a 12^th century courtly romance.  As a class, we discussed that back in the 12^th century, and this story in particular, include the knights and the ladies.  We concluded that the knights within this story, especially the main character Yvain, are adventurous, they test themselves, and have many battles to prove their worth.  The ladies on the other hand were seen more of an object; they were ‘pretty’ and ladylike. 

            As a class, we also discussed how love is just like a prison; once you’re captured you cannot escape.  I truly believe this due to personal experiences.  Within the story of Yvain, the main character finds himself stuck after falling in love with a woman whose husband was murdered by Yvain himself.  He simply cannon bring himself to leave here because he thinks she’s the most incredible thing in the world.

            While discussing this topic in class, I was really into my feelings about it more than I would have liked to have been.  Our discussion in class really got me thinking that the statement really does hold truth, that love is like a prison.  No matter how many times you try to escape it, no matter how many times you think you’re ready to let go, it keeps pulling you back; it traps and encloses you with everything you have to offer.

Tao Te Ching

During a portion of our class period, we discussed immensely about the principles of Taoism.  We discovered that Taoism consists of philosophical, ethical, and religious aspects from the Chinese origin.  Also, the word ‘tao’ means “the way” or “the path” and Taoists try not to push their will or ideas on others.  Within our World Literature class, we learned these principles through the Tao Te Ching, a collection of poems written about the principles of Taoism.

One of the poems we had to read in depth about was titled “Quiet”.  We were graded based upon our knowledge of the Taoism principles.  The poem goes like this:

Great perfection seems incomplete,

But does not decay;

Great abundance seems empty,

But does not fail.

 

Great truth seems contradictory;

Great cleverness seems stupid;

Great eloquence seems awkward.

 

As spring overcomes the cold,

And autumn overcomes the heat,

So calm and quiet overcome the world.

 

After comprehending this passage of the Tao Te Ching, I realized that there are many aspects of the Taoism principles present within the text.  For example, the last three lines of the poem refer to more of a natural state of being in which Taoists believe in following a natural path throughout life.  Also, the comparison between the cold and the heat are examples of Taoists believing in everything having an opposite such as the yin and the yang; they coexist in harmony with one another.

"Catgut"

The short story Catgut by Anna Gavalda was a very interesting read for me for multiple reasons.  When I first started reading this, I was amazed to see that the main character was a veterinarian.  My personal ambition is to become a veterinarian one day, so this text really caught my attention.  While reading, I really enjoyed the author’s style of writing and the way she expressed the characters emotions throughout the story; they are confusing at points, but yet sarcastic in her own way. 

            To sum up the short story of Catgut, the main character, a female veterinarian, Dr. Lejaret, describes in gruesome terms the story about her rape and how she retaliated against the men who severely hurt her. Prior to Dr. Lejaret’s assault, she was called to the Billebaudes farm to address some issues that the owners apparently were having with their livestock.  However, the farmer and a few of his buddies had other plans.

In my personal opinion, the way she handled herself after she was assaulted is truly amazing; I would have done the same if I were in her position.  With the author’s sense of writing style, her detailed description about how Dr. Lejaret performed unplanned, but necessary surgery is quite interesting.  “The alcohol had rendered them harmless, but I still administered each of them a dose of Ketamine.  I didn’t want them moving around. I took my time.  I put on some sterile gloves and cleaned them well with Betadine.  Then, I stretched out the skin of the scrotum.  With my surgical blade, I made a tiny incision.  I took out the testicles. I cut. I ligatured the epididymis and the vessel with catgut number 3.5. I put all that back into the scrotum and made a suture.  It was very clean work.”

After reading and comprehending this story, I realized it was very unexpecting and different.  I wonder why the author wrote such a gruesome story; a very strange one if that.  I ponder if possibly this could have happened to her personally or if she knows someone who was attacked similarly relating to the story.