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| "The Absinthe Drinker" (1876) by Edgar Degas |
Have you ever been "lost in your lostness" the way that Nora is (218)?
What does Nora see in this chapter that she couldn't see before that helps her accept Mrs. Elm’s advice that “you don't have to understand life, you just have to live it” (218)?
When might such advice be problematic?
I think Mrs. Elm is trying to tell Nora that she is getting tired of flipping through different lives with no direction. I don't think I have ever been 'lost in my lostness' but I can see how someone might become so lost. Nora realizes that she has been aimlessly trying new lives without any purpose in mind. She has forgotten her mission. Although Mrs. Elm's advice helps Nora, it might put someone in a deeper pit of despair because they want to understand what they are going through rather than removing themselves from their need to understand.
ReplyDelete-Denna Bussinger
I agree with the claim. Every decision we make can lead to new possibilities but we don't always want the possibilities that come from those decisions. It reminds me of the saying "actions have consequences". -Abigayle Shropshire
ReplyDeleteI agree with the claim that we can run out of the 'want' for possibilities. The world has an infinite amount of possibilities, all we have to do is go out there and take them. Nora finally realizes that a life with problems isn't necessarily a bad life, it's just what you make of it. If all you see is the problems, you'll probably think your life is bad. However, if you decide to look at everything else too, you can appreciate life for the miracle that it is. Mrs. Elm's advice can be problematic, as if you go through life without understanding anything at all, you probably won't ever make it anywhere. However, it also has some truth in it, because you don't have to understand everything in life, but you do have to enjoy everything in life, as Nora learns to accept.
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