So, so beautiful. It really captures the feeling of aimlessness and being caught between different cultures; longing for belongingness and simultaneously being stifled by the communities one finds.
Conscious or not - this narrative arc recapitulates the last moment of “Sehensucht” - Orpheus’ final grasp at what he was never to have - damned by his jealous impatience, he didn’t wait for the sun.
This chapter starts - in the sun - the bodies all-too-solid - halfway through - the long plummet is envisioned - and we are invited to consider how a single instant of loss can feel to the person BEING lost as if it lasts for minutes. And at the end - there is the fade to Tartarus.
That bone-crunching nausea, the dislocation - this is readily seen or rather - readily encapsulated in image by the hand of Orpheus reaching to his wife who fades to mist.
There is no escape from alleging this piece to be profound - she is pinned either way: If the allegory was unconscious - the work is intuitively brilliant. If the allegory was deliberate (which I suspect) - this author’s awareness conceives a tapestry of layers readers return to wear again and again - it has the richness of a poem in that way.
Though - the narrative is seamlessly clear. This is less im/expressionistic as the other chapters - much more focus.
“Normal people” will find this one more accessible - but those aware enough to see - or curious enough to look - will find more than expected.
Ah - that’s one spelling of it I can remember - “Fellaheen” - Spengler used that in a general sense to mean the kind of post-Kultur rustic sophisticates who do things like surprise Ottoman/Mamaluk tax collectors with having a set of Aristotle and Galen codices in the wine cellar.
Vivid opening video - the (pretty slow, kind of) extra-loud “Shalom Aleichem” actually cinematically works with the cars into that odd spiral ramp.
I certainly DO appreciate the irony of this post popping up on a Saturday - as well as my appreciation of it commented on the same - but hey - we’re all on a path. For what it’s worth - since until I hire someone new - I’m obliged to be at the retail lot Saturdays - this felt really nice to see.
I have no idea who you are but this is great stuff.
So, so beautiful. It really captures the feeling of aimlessness and being caught between different cultures; longing for belongingness and simultaneously being stifled by the communities one finds.
And now having read it once through -
It ended on an Orphic note,
Eurydice Departs.
Conscious or not - this narrative arc recapitulates the last moment of “Sehensucht” - Orpheus’ final grasp at what he was never to have - damned by his jealous impatience, he didn’t wait for the sun.
This chapter starts - in the sun - the bodies all-too-solid - halfway through - the long plummet is envisioned - and we are invited to consider how a single instant of loss can feel to the person BEING lost as if it lasts for minutes. And at the end - there is the fade to Tartarus.
That bone-crunching nausea, the dislocation - this is readily seen or rather - readily encapsulated in image by the hand of Orpheus reaching to his wife who fades to mist.
There is no escape from alleging this piece to be profound - she is pinned either way: If the allegory was unconscious - the work is intuitively brilliant. If the allegory was deliberate (which I suspect) - this author’s awareness conceives a tapestry of layers readers return to wear again and again - it has the richness of a poem in that way.
Though - the narrative is seamlessly clear. This is less im/expressionistic as the other chapters - much more focus.
“Normal people” will find this one more accessible - but those aware enough to see - or curious enough to look - will find more than expected.
Ah - that’s one spelling of it I can remember - “Fellaheen” - Spengler used that in a general sense to mean the kind of post-Kultur rustic sophisticates who do things like surprise Ottoman/Mamaluk tax collectors with having a set of Aristotle and Galen codices in the wine cellar.
I’m really enjoying this one … onward.
Vivid opening video - the (pretty slow, kind of) extra-loud “Shalom Aleichem” actually cinematically works with the cars into that odd spiral ramp.
I certainly DO appreciate the irony of this post popping up on a Saturday - as well as my appreciation of it commented on the same - but hey - we’re all on a path. For what it’s worth - since until I hire someone new - I’m obliged to be at the retail lot Saturdays - this felt really nice to see.