Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Romain Rolland’s Jean-Christophe

We all go through unexpected bumps or hills at some point in our lives, through which a lot of lessons are inculcated inside of us and growing occurs thereafter. In a sense, everyone holds life on a precarious tenure. Then what do we argue for in this world of uncertainty? Why would we try to hide the unalloyed feelings when there’s no guarantee of tomorrow?
As we read through Romain Rolland’s bildungsroman titled Jean-Christophe, there comes a moment of realization that all the hardships and sufferings , if well endured, would eventually add up to the culmination of a great human being. The predicament  in Jean-Christophe (such as exploitative father, destitution, or loss of love) does not just end up being confounding situations that destroy the milk of human kindness, but rather helps complete a man as an exquisite artist.
Of all the amazing virtues, respectability, and interesting characteristics of Jean-Christophe, I personally wish to have his genuine enthusiasm in loving. Let me excerpt the scene where Jean-Christophe expresses how he feels about loving someone (a shop girl named Ada in this novel) :
….”He thought it was only a morbid jest of a neurasthenic girl, amusing herself by annoying him. He would shrug his shoulders or pretend not to hear her: he would not take her seriously. But sometimes he would long to throw her out of the window; for neurasthenia and the neurasthenics were very little to his taste….. But ten minutes away from her were enough to make him forget everything that had annoyed him. He would return to Ada with a fresh store of hopes and new illusions. He loved her. Love is a perpetual act of faith. Whether God exist or no is a small matter: we believe, because we believe. We love because we love: there is no need of reasons!”…………….
How about you all, my friends? Do you still have this passion for love and life? If so, would you try to rekindle it in any legitimate ways you’d like? Life feels good when you have time to find the sparkle in your heart that would lead you to another beginning of wonderful living filled with love and passion.

Expressions
to inculcate someone with something: (verb) to instill/ imprint/ teach some attitude or idea in someone

to hold life on a precarious tenure: (verb) to be not certain or sure of tomorrow in life

unalloyed: (adjective) unreserved and complete feelings/ emotions

bildungsroman: (noun) a novel about the moral, intellectual, and psychological growth of a youthful main character

culmination: (noun) the highest/ final/ or decisive point

confounding situations: (noun) very confusing or perplexing or discouraging situations

jest: (noun) a prank/ joke/ frivolous manner

neurasthenia: (noun) nervous exhaustion. A group of symptoms, including chronic physical and mental fatigue, weakness, and generalized aches and pains, usually considered a psychological disorder

(adjective form: neurasthenic)

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