A perfect example to follow - Part Two

As I told you last week, the two protagonists of the Torrents, Jan and Sigrid, both had a stunning physical aspect: his blue eyes could put a spell on any girl around him - her green look would made countless victims all her life.

But the physical aspect is only the beginning. They were brilliant not only because of their astonishing features, but also for that special mark of distinction they had. In their case, the appearance and the essence merged: they both were highly intelligent persons. Their high level of mental ability allowed them to understand, to dominate and to create.

I will try to paraphrase few quotations from the text that would support my ideas.

I already told you that self-fashioning was very important for Jan. He would always say that a real person is a student forever. It means that we ought to make great effort to shape our personality, to become better persons (in other words, we should try to be well-prepared individuals and eager to surpass ourselves).

Sigrid always believed that they were born to fly very high, and not to trudge. And so they did, but unfortunately, her wings got broken.

It is Jan who could never escape from her spell - Sigrid would always remain his muse.

Jan's distinction would always make victims among the countless patients he had. Almost all the ladies who received medical treatment from him fell victim to his charm.

Unfortunately, we are not told how Jan perceived the women around him. (Please notice that he was fully aware of the impact that his apparition had upon the ladies).

In my opinion, for Jan (as a doctor), the woman is both the subject and the object of his attention.

But can a doctor delimit the scientific interest from the emotion he may feel by seeing a lovely face?

A perfect example to follow - Part One

As I promised last week, today I'll tell you few words about Jan Yvarsen, a very strong character that completely influenced my perception of the world.

Jan is the main character of the Marie Anne Desmarest's novel, Torrents, a long written story in which we can see Jan as a child who discovers the world, an adolescent who feels the first thrills of love and finally, a mature person who takes decisions and goes straight ahead.

At the beginning of the novel, we see Jan as an orphan from an early age, living with his aunt Brita and his cousin, Sigrid, the character that had a huge influence in Jan's destiny. The fact that Jan was an orphan had a great importance in his life's development: he learned all by himself both how to handle difficult situations and how to shape his personality.

Jan and Sigrid were raised together, they both received a solid education that made them brilliant. Every person around them was sensitive to the spell of their appearance.

His first love was (of course) Sigrid, a very beautiful lady who would do anything (even really bad things) to protect the relationship she had with Jan.

They were supposed to get married, when the fate attacked: they were separated by a minor incident (I invite you to discover the event that made them separate).

Without thinking very much, Jan leaves his native country, going to Transvaal, a wild region, where he becames a real saviour for the poor people that live there (I already told you last week that he was a brilliant doctor). Under the impulse of the moment, he marries Ide, a girl of a modest condition who absolutely worshipped him, who lived only to see his blue sight.

Although he put thousands of kilometres between him and Sigrid, he never succeeded to escape from her spell. He is cursed to dream about that stunning lady all his life.

The terrible things that Sigrid made to get Jan back to her separated them for good. Jan's superior condition didn't allow him to forget and especially to forgive her.

He marries again: this time, Therese would bring him peace and stability. Therese made him to modify his obsession for Sigrid into a secret and intimate feeling that would always remain hidden.

Jan chooses equilibrium and stability instead of passion and desire. And so did Cathy Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights (I told you few words about her two weeks ago).

In this world, both Jan and Cathy decided that reason and sensibility (not inner genuine feelings) must rule their lives. But in the world of shaddows, Cathy decided to reject reason and to accept passion.

In the world that makes all our sins fade away, in that world, what do you think Jan would choose?

Some things that may apply to you, as well

I have always wanted to be an important person. Nothing new so far, isn't it? We all want to be important persons, but the main difference is that only few people actually do something to improve the way they live.

My life was not an easy one. I had very much to work, to learn, and the most important thing, I made a big effort to avoid temptations (of any kind), that could have a negative impact on my life.

One of the main things that I realized is that I ought to invest all I have in education. Since I was a child, I was surrounded by a lot of books, the only friends that have never disappointed me. I strongly recommend that you should try to find support in a good book.

By reading a lot, I found many characters that had a huge impact on my life. For example, when I read Marie-Anne Desmarest's novel, I was fascinated by the personality of the main character, Jan Yvarsen, a successful doctor, deeply concerned with education and self improvement. The idea is that, by analyzing Jan's figure, I understood the great importance of being cultured and refined. Maybe, next time, I will tell you few words about this character.

Later on, I was eager to become a lady, a beautiful, polished and sophisticated one (just like Sigrid, the angel-demon self, a stunning image, a maiden out of this world that marked Jan's life).

When I read Alexandre Dumas's novel, I wanted to be just like Marguerite Gauthier. Please, don't get me wrong: I wanted to be really loved by a man. By a man that would do anything to see my face once again.

By reading Jane Austen's novel, Pride and prejudice, I realized that the most important things that I should do are: to establish my priorities, to try to achieve success and to learn to say no in a delicate manner.

What have you learnt by reading a book?

Wuthering Heights - The two men in Cathy's life

The whole story focuses on Cathy's destiny: we see her as a child, an adolescent and finally a beautiful lady. Cathy's life is described in relation to the two men that marked her existence: Heathcliff and Edgar Linton, symbolizing passion and desire in opposition to rationality and control.

The first, Heathcliff, enters the story as a little gipsy brought by Cathy's father from Liverpool and raised by the family. A very strong attachment will grow between Cathy and Heathcliff, out of the pressure exerted by other members of the family (and not only), in order to force them apart - they will always be together against the world. We will notice that later on, this pure childish affection will grow into something greater.

Cathy is portrayed from the beginning as a wild, rebellious and passionate unconventional character (think about the notes she made on the Testament's pages), an outsider, a female who, just like Heathcliff, lives in the civilised world, but does not entirely belong to it.

The latter, Edgar, is described as a real gentleman, an educated and polished young man, a sophisticate person, although a little cold and distant. He appears when the two adolescents (Cathy and Heathcliff) first visit Linton's house, Grange.

The primitive Heathcliff is unaffected by the magic nature of the Grange, but Catherine is torn between opposing feelings: on the one hand, there are both the sensitive and imaginative nature of Heathcliff and the deep affection she has for him - on the other hand, the polished manners and the social status of Edgar.

So, Cathy undergoes a metamorphosis which will never be complete: she is half-turned into a lady. On the one hand, this will separate her from Heathcliff - on the other hand, it will make her be attracted to Linton, and eventually to marry him.

While the relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff is depicted as one of identity, (Heathcliff confesses he cannot live without Catherine, who is his soul, while Catherine reveals a similar sense of complete identification with Heathcliff: I am Heathcliff) the relationship between Cathy and Edgar is described as a group of clichés which can hardly express sincere feeling (she chooses Linton for what he stands for, not for what he is).

Cathy uses metaphors to describe the two men in her life: Edgar's soul is as different from Heathcliff's soul as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire (we encounter here only contrasts).

The fact that Heathcliff is seen by everybody as degraded worsened their relationship (Cathy declares: It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff).

In contrast to Heathcliff, Linton is portrayed as an educated and wealthy young man. By marrying him, she hoped to gain also material independence for Heathcliff - that is certainly unfair for Edgar. I wonder whether Cathy felt guilty (just a little bit) because of her feelings and wishes (probably we will never know for sure).

I am sure of it that you cannot divide your heart equally: you can choose either sensitivity and passion or stability and sensibility (and the ending of the novel shows us what Cathy will choose). The last part of the story shows us a Cathy whose soul is hurt, whose heart is broken, a Cathy tired from her life who wants to come back to her childhood, to come back to that time when there were no troubles.

Cathy dies because that is the only way of renewing her bond with Heathcliff : anything is worth sacrificing for their love.

Her passion is shared by Heathcliff: when Cathy dies, Heathcliff prays she may not have rest until he himself is dead: he begs her to haunt him. Having the intention of being reunited with Catherine, Heathcliff passes with no regret into the world of shadows.

Heathcliff and Catherine are finally reunited in death.