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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Her Fearful Symmetry.


"What is more basic than the need to be known? It is the entirety of intimacy, the elixir of love, this knowing."
Audrey Niffenegger (Her Fearful Symmetry)

Four hours after finally putting the book down, (I've been reading it for weeks, like I did with The Time Traveler's Wife. Audrey Niffenegger has this strange way of making me stop on a certain page and try and absorb everything I've just read.) I'm sat here, still haunted by the novel. I can't quite explain it. It's like a dream that keeps replaying in my head. I'm creeped out and amazed at the same time. It was hypnotizing.

Elspeth's (Edie's) Selfishness...And Selflessness, at the same time.


I'm still wondering who got her pregnant. Jack believes he's not the twins' father, and claims to have not had made love to Edie (known in the book as Elspeth, because they switched characters) , and that the girls were conceived on April Fools. I understand that she was a lot like Valentina, so she gave in to her proposal, but I don't think it was right that she claimed her body when their plan didn't work. She was her daughter...It's just wrong...

Edie's (Elspeth's) Selfishness...And Neverending Love.

It just shows that when you love someone, you are capable of doing harm, ruining lives, even, just so you could be with the person you love. Edie's (the real Elspeth) character shows just that: the lengths a person would do to get what she wants. She was jealous and insecure, and played games with Jack. I guess it all started with that. If she had faith in him, things might have been different.


Valentina's Dreams...And Her Desire To Be Her Own Person.

I totally saw my sister in Valentina. I know for a fact that it's always been me. Things always have to work my way, or not at all. It's like holding a handful of sand with Valentina. The more Julia tried to hold her in her palms, the more she wanted to escape. I think we all seek that freedom every once in a while. Everyone gets tired of being someone's shadow, and we let our emotions lead us. In the end, we'll realize that not everything works as planned, and sometimes, the risks are just not worth it.


Julia's Sorrow And Silent Loss.

This is me. I'm totally Julia. The overprotective sister. The one who wouldn't buy a cone of ice cream without the other. People think it's selfish, when in fact, I can tel that she's just afraid of being left alone. When you've been with someone for all of your life, you start building your dreams, your whole existence around them. Changes are inevitable, and they think you're doing this just to make someone your puppet or mold them to fit you perfectly, when the truth is, you just love them so much that you can't bear even the thought of losing them. Julia's pain when she lost her twin was reflected very well in the book. It made my heart ache, but in the end, I'm happy to see that after all, she was the one to set Valentina free.

Marijke's Drive To Help The Man She Loves...Even If It Meant Losing Him.

At first I thought it was selfish how anyone could ever leave someone they love because he's ill. I thought marriage meant you'd be there for each other no matter what, just like what you two said in your matrimony vows. Marijke made me realize that sometimes, you love someone so much that even if it hurts YOU too, you just have to do what you have to do to help them get better. You'd have to risk hurting both your feelings if you want the relationship to work. You'd have to sacrifice some, and have faith that it will all work well in the end.

Martin's Disease...And The Distances He'd Go For Love.

I haven't realized this until now, but Martin is my favorite character in this book. Second to Valentina, haha. He has an OCD and he has this urge to scrub the floor every time to the point that his hands are all wrinkly and bleeding from too much bleach. It was part of his disease to refuse treatment and not leave the house. One time he even carried the bed to the bathroom just so he could pee. He counts when he's nervous. His disease was THAT horrible but he intended to get better because Marijke left him and went to Amsterdam, and said they'd be together if he'd come to her. It wasn't easy for him, but all day he practiced standing on the landing of his apartment and try to be able to step out of the door. It's just so romantic how he loves Marijke so much that he did everything for her, he faced his greatest fears.

Robert's Confusion And Monstrosity.

I really believe that Robert knew what would happen all along. I think he was torn between his love for Elspeth and Valentina and he didn't know who he loves more, so any one of them was fine with him. At the back of his mind, he knew that Elspeth wanted to come back, and he allowed it to happen. After all, if it was Valentina who came back, he'd still lose nothing, or so he thought. He was, I think, at that certain point in his life wherein he was on the line between letting go and holding on. I can't blame him, but when someone was gone and there was someone else...Do you really have that much choice? Don't you just go forward and move on?

I know, Robert. Easier said than done.

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