Coincidence

Helena's final paper about coincidence was so interesting to read and reminded me of oral traditions when Dr. Sexson said (I don't remember exactly) something about everything being a coincidence. There aren't really any coincidences we just make them up. This is meant to be humorous in terms of my blog because I swear I am always coming up with things that I think to be coincidences. But are they really or do people just force themselves to find striking similarities withing everyday life?
Helena went on to say, "it is hard to tell when coincidence stops and fate begins". I loved this line from Helena's term paper because it reminds me of what I said before. Also, where do we draw the line between coincidence and fate? If I were to describe the two I'd say that coincidence is something we make- up to please ourselves, to somehow find connections to things that are not there. It is like when you lose someone and all of a sudden everything you see or do or hear points to them. These things were ALWAYS in front of us but now that we don't have that one thing we find ways to hold onto it, I could go on and on but I won't. Fate on the otherhand is meant to be, it is something that you are not able to control, you don't foresee it and you can't run away from it. Some people though have a hard time separating the two and therefore force themselves to find a "coincidence" and they call it fate. It's a complex topic, but thrilling to say the least.

More individual presentations

The last day of presentations was fabulous. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Helena's presentation, doug's very intelligent yet complex presentation and Christina's paper reading. Jon's presentation was hilarious and entertaining- very nice impersonation...

Individual Presentations

Jared: Transparent things and death

Jessica: Beauty and pity. Lolita/ pale fire- these 2 works help us to understand the work between fantasy and characters such as Humbert.

Kris: Unreliable narrator, it is more life than novel. Narration- deception, self-awareness, overall

Amanda: Gradus- short story

Rebecca: very indepth powerpoint presentation discussing consciousness, unconsciousness and reality. She also talked about how the unconscious takes over the conscious. Listening to her presentation was not only thoroughly entertaining but exciting because it brought to mind a presentation I did with a group in oral traditions regarding dreams, the unconscious and the conscious...very exciting to say the least.

Riley's presentation was intriguing because he wrote about a book we have not yet read, inspiring me to read it soon. The fact that he took all the notecards out of the original Laura and read it four times is amazing. I loved that he was so excited about this too. The excitement level of the presenter makes or breaks it.

Jennie Lynn has brought up Edgar Allen Poe many times in class, so when I heard that she was focusing her presentation upon Poe and Nabokov I was very interested. She discussed similar obsessions that they have such as "amorphous nuances" with reality and being. Both also have a fixation with death. Jennie Lynn is a fabulous speaker, intelligent and carries with her so much confidence. I can't wait to read her term paper more in depth. Brittini's term presentation was hilarious and I just have to say her personality made her presentation as well!

The soul...that is all there ever is....

I have been thinking constantly about the soul since I came up with my paper topic. Now though, my thoughts are consumed with Thomas Moore's idea that the soul is not able to be changed. Quite honestly, this is difficult for me to comprehend. Doesn't everything change? Some people are simply afraid of change so they deny the fact that it ever will- not that I know this from experience.... :) How does the soul not change if it goes through various chambers, always moving beyond a different vale? I understand the idea that we must learn to live with our feelings, even those that are disturbing, but do feelings not change the soul itself?

Gamelan

I dread writing this blog because I can honestly say that World Music is perhaps the worst class I have ever taken at MSU. I think it had potential...but no perhaps we were all just doomed. When I met with Dr. Sexson this past week, we looked at a map of a gamelan performance held here. Dr. Sexson was interested in this and said that it sounds like something Nabokov would say..these words are complex and unordinary...are they even words? Gunung, angklung, jegogan...I was reviewing my notes on the gamelan (mainly because if I don't pass this stupid music final I will be increasing to 21 credits next semester to graduate...bitter tone inserted). The instruments in the gamelan and the songs themselves "help us to remember". Again, connections. Everywhere I go, I think of Nabokov or The Shade cast, but mostly Humbert. I swear I have seen more Humberts in my life the last month (we will skip past this point because it is rather disturbing to me to think that perhaps these really could be HUMBERTS!). Similar to Frye's levels of understanding, the gamelan too is composed levels in which the music becomes something more...more important or more spiritual. You have to become nothing to really appreciate the music or in the case of english majors the text. It is not only about appreciating the music or text, but understanding it to a degree one never thought possible. Thanks to everyone who has corrupted my mind and allowed me to now read too much into things. I need to become nothing again.

I had a discussion with Dr. Sexson the other day after class, that really opened my eyes to eveything I have been doing for the last 3 1/2 years...which sometimes feels like...buying time until I really know what I want to do. Anyways, I have come up with a temporary plan to ease my anxiety about graduation and future life (whatever that is). I have been lucky enough to have Dr. Sexson as a professor 3 semesters in a row and adding 2 more of his courses to that list next semester. Any topic we discussed connected to another of his classes. Dreams, soul making, levels of interpretation, negative capability...I could go on and on. Nabokov and his works also connects to all of these courses. All I can say is thank goodness Dr. Sexson was the professor I had for all of these, otherwise I feel that connections would not have come so easily. "It all connects", so pay attention and remember.

Frye's levels of interpretation

Nabokov: Obsessive compulsive, hinged (similar to Edgar Allan Poe)

Dr. Sexson began talking about Northrup Frye and Plato on our last day of class. While I enjoy reading Plato's argument against poetry, he upsets me to some degree. Plato bans poets, referring to them as crazy, liars- out of their minds. Thankfully, my spirits were lifted when Dr. Sexson mentioned Northrup Frye, whom I consider to be one of the most interesting people that I have studied thus far in my english education (let'so omit Keats from this statement, we all know he tops the charts). Northrup Frye calls to attention out level of interpretation including: literal, analogical, moral and of course anagogical. The ultimate level of interpretation of any text is the anagogical- by that he means the mystical. A level of timelessness which Nabokov Of course believes in. This also reminds me of Keats, why wouldn't it?! You only get through this level (the vale is lifted) through divine madness...poets. The 3rd existential level, speaking to us across our own death (Hazel Shade). What lies beyond that level (or can I say Vale)?

This is the french poem that I said I would post...months ago...finally it is posted. It is not necessarily easy to translate but just read it and enjoy it, we have done enough work this semester. The poem is titled "The Butterfly".

Le Papillon- Alphonse de Lamartine

"Naître avec le printemps, mourir avec les roses,

Sur l’aile du zéphyr nager dans un ciel pur ;

Balancé sur le sein des fleurs à peine écloses,

S’enivrer de parfums, de lumière et d’azur ;

Secouant, jeune encor, la poudre de ses ailes,

S’envoler comme un souffle aux voûtes éternelles ;

Voilà du papillon le destin enchanté :

Il ressemble au désir, qui jamais ne se pose,

Et sans se satisfaire, effleurant toute chose,

Retourne enfin au ciel chercher la volupté."

Nabokov and the vale of soul making

Lisa Meyer
Dr. Sexson
Lit. 431- Term paper
December 8, 2009

Nabokov and the Vale of soul making


Vladimir Nabokov is in the business of soul making, mainly in Pale fire but in most of his works. The things in which Nabokov focuses upon most such as butterflies, photographs and remembering points directly to one thing, the soul. While the human soul is a complex thing to understand, it is perhaps easier for me to understand than Nabokov himself and his works. I looked to John Keats and his knowledge on soul making to clarify Nabokov’s business of soul making, finding that both of them reflect upon the creation of the soul in steps and address the idea that a soul is unique to the individual to which it belongs.


Nabokov has an obsession with three things closely related to the soul: butterflies, photographs, and time. As I mentioned above, the butterfly is closely related to the soul through the process of metamorphosis. Photographs, as Dr. Sexson captures the soul. Photographs can be startling, in a flash, your photo is taken and your soul captured. The soul is timeless, even when one dies, the soul lives on. The vales do not disappear; they are always there for the soul to continue to work through even if one’s life has come to an end.


The butterfly, in Nabokov’s works (as well as others) represents the psyche; the psyche in turn represents the soul. In Lolita, as Humbert attempts to capture Lolita, a butterfly comes between them. Touching on symbolism, this “inquisitive butterfly” represented one of the many vales in the process of soul making. The butterfly is a vale that Lolita and Humbert need to move past in order for it to be possible for Humbert to capture Lolita. While the butterfly symbolizes the soul directly, it also represents the soul in less obvious ways, for example through other allusions Nabokov calls to attention.


Allusions such as the phantom are shown through the white butterfly in Shade’s poem in Pale Fire. Similar to the butterfly, the soul itself goes through a sort of metamorphosis. Building on the idea of allusions and the soul, reflecting back upon Keats’ “The Vale of Soul Making”, Zembla seems to me like the place beyond the chambers. Zembla is what Keats would refer to as the place beyond the dark passages. It is the land beyond the veil which is where the allusion of the white fountain comes in. This misprint that Shade points out in his poem acts as a uniting of the soul to the woman who had a near death experience similar to Shade’s and may be considered to her “a sacramental bond” but Shade sees it completely differently because they did not in fact see the same image. The white fountain had been beyond Shade’s veil, not hers.


The near death experiences Shade discusses, similar to what Keats has said, leads to a mystery. It also leads beyond the heartache, pain and oppression one feels in the second chamber of Keats’ vale of soul making or the world of pain Shade describes. Moving further with Zembla, known as a dreamland, dreams it must be said can also be like a prison. Would it not make sense then to consider Keats’ chambers prisons? To me, that is nearly what the chambers in the vale of soul making are. There is either no thought, like in chamber one or the infant chamber or there is simply pain and heartache, like in chamber two, in which we are convinced that the world is full of misery. Chamber two is also the chamber that we begin to feel the “burden of the mystery”, according to Keats. How could one not consider that to be similar to a prison? That is only one other way in which Nabokov’s allusions are connected to Keats’ chambers.


To continue with John Shade’s poem and how it connects to John Keats, it would be necessary to point out what Keats feels poetry should be. Keats has said, “Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity. It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts and appear almost as a remembrance”. That is exactly what Shade’s poem is, a remembrance of Hazel. Reading Shade’s poem numerous times, it became more and more clear that John Shade put not only his highest of thought into it, but his most private, surprising thoughts that are deeply connected to the pain and suffering within his life. It is simply, as I see it, a reflection of his soul and a reflection of Hazel’s soul as well as a remembrance of Hazel.


Keats also addresses the veil of tears which is one vale a person must move past in order to reach the vale of soul making. One’s soul is not able to acquire identity until reaching this stage. While I feel as if I jump from subject to subject, theme to theme, it all connects back to soul making within the works of Nabokov. Tears are, in a sense, water which is a major theme in Nabokov’s works, not one single person can deny that.


While it is simple to say that, not all would connect water to soul when they first came across it. Immediately, the vale of tears comes to mind. The death of Hazel in Pale fire seemed especially ironic to me because tears and death are so closely connected, another undeniable point. Not only is Hazel’s death saddening and more than likely bringing tears to more than one person’s eye, but she drowns. Symbolically, it is as if she drowned in her own lake of tears.

Deciphering the soul making of Hazel is a difficult task though because I have mixed thoughts that, to an extent, contradict each other. My first thought was that Hazel had moved past the vale of tears when she died, the vale was simply her own tears. Therefore, before her death or at least when she reached the point of death her soul was already transcending into another stage. On the other hand, it seems to me that Hazel is caught in the second chamber and does not have time to escape that chamber before she takes her life. The second chamber of heartache, pain and suffering has imprisoned her. Hazel feels all of these things I am guessing if she could not live another day. Could it be that her soul was then made or did the suffering prevent that from happening?

Keats sees the vales as something we need to lift, to push through in order to get to the mystery. I agree wholeheartedly with this, yet find the vales to be symbolic to the troubles. Isn’t that what we try to push through, and what our souls must overcome. Pain and suffering, or troubles aid in the process of soul making and are unique to that individual. Not everyone suffers in the same way; we must all lift our own vales in our own way, at our own time.
Nabokov connects the soul to nature in his works which emphasizes the beauty and complexity of the soul. Nature in a way is something that can’t be touched or something that no one wants to be touched. Similarly, the soul is not able to be physically altered but can be affected greatly in other ways, for example, through experience and memories. Not only is the soul connected to land in Nabokov’s Pale Fire, but to the universe in general. Pale Fire points out that the planets are the landfalls of the soul. The “land beyond the veil” is similar to a chamber though, it is hazy and the haze acts as a sort of vale, or smoke beyond the orchard landscape that must be lifted or overcome.

In Lolita, Nabokov makes many references to the soul and Lolita’s soul I just as complex as that of John and Hazel Shade’s souls. Humbert Humbert contemplates the soul of Lolita a lot throughout the book and I contemplate how the many losses, such as innocence, childhood and a life free of pedophiles, will affect her soul. It is sickening to think that Humbert considers others harpies whom, I would like to emphasize, are soul stealers of the dead. I think that it is fair to say that Humbert himself is very similar to a “harpie” because he too steals souls. Humbert’s soul stealing could be considered far worse because he steals from the living Lolita. Humbert does not even consider himself to have his own soul. Referring to Lolita, he immediately makes it clear at the beginning of the book that Lolita is “my sin, my soul Lo-Lee-tah”. I think that perhaps, Lolita’s soul could be recovered through reflecting upon the things that happened throughout her life, especially the moments including Humbert.

In “Care of the Soul”, Thomas Moore touches on how the complexity of family and abuse affect the soul. The complexity comes with the idea that though abuse is present, family is still family. While this idea is somewhat disturbing, is it possible to deny that this is true? This brought me to the idea that the soul is not able to be changed and one must simply learn to live with disturbing feelings like envy and jealousy. Humbert portrays this idea well through his character because he does not seem to feel any remorse or negative feelings about his actions. Humbert is a father figure to Lolita and abuses her sexually. He realizes what he is doing and though it is not right, he comes to accept it for what it is, or I should say he accepts himself for who he is. With envy and jealousy, Humbert also has feelings of fear and desire.

Thomas Moore asks in The Care of the Soul, were the good old days so good?” He sees them perhaps as dysfunctional now, but does not see the “dys” in dysfunctional but “dis”, in connection with the mythological underworld. Ironically enough, Keats also believes that the “soul enters life from below finding an opening into life at points where the smooth functioning breaks down”. This again relates closely with Lolita in connection to both the underworld and the dysfunctional life of Lolita.

I ask myself while writing this, even after all these thoughts, “what is beyond these vales and how do we choose which vale to lift, which opening to do we enter through?” The human soul is not necessarily meant to be understood, for it is far too complex and it is not meant to be changed or forced through its metamorphosis, yet I can’t help but constantly study Keats and many other writers in regards to the soul. The fact that Keats raises the idea of many entrances filled with light beyond the two chambers allows us to see that there is mystery beyond these two soul making chambers. The saying that there is light at the end of the tunnel could easily be applied, lightly of course, to Keats’ letters and one could also say, there is light at the end of the chamber.

John Keats, Thomas Moore and Nabokov are perhaps three of the most intelligent writers that touch upon soul making. They understand the complexity and clarify that the human soul must develop and is unique to each individual’s life experiences in which the soul goes through a unique metamorphosis of its own. Nabokov uses images and characters to symbolize the soul in a complex yet intelligent way. His readers must work to understand not only his characters and the images he uses, but the soul itself. The soul is not necessarily good or bad, though intricately unique to each individual no matter their character which Nabokov clarifies through his works.

The Vale of Soul Making

This is the link to Keats' letters regarding soul making which I based much of my term paper off of in regards to Nabokov. The other source I used was a book Dr. Sexson LOANED me, Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul.

My paper will be posted this afternoon!

http://67.104.146.36/english/Romantic/Rm-Ks.html

Nabokov- Keats- Soul

I have been working on my term paper for what seems like an eternity and continuously get stuck with a lot of random, yet intriguing points that do not really seem to connect. I am liking Nabokov, BUT I am in LOVE with Keats. I do not even fully understand Keats but just his name raises excitement within me (yes...perhaps SOME of you may consider me a "nerd"). I think not.

The letters in which Keats talks about "The Vale of Soul making" are so complex yet exciting. He discusses the two chambers in which the soul is, for lack of better word, developed. The soul is like a personality, each person has their own unique soul that forms based on thoughts and experiences. The first chamber is the infant chamber in which there are no thoughts...I will expand on this in my term paper, but to keep it short, this chamber makes me think of Lolita. Lolita is still young and is stuck in this chamber "Developing" she has not yet fully reached the scond chamber to experience the pain or suffering but does eventually move into that chamber. Hazel in Pale fire is in the second chamber because she does feel pain and suffering. clearly, she takes her own life, she was unable to move onto the passages of light beyond the second chamber where mystery awaits.

Music is over....I will continue this later...

Blogging...

I love blogging.....well I think I would if it weren't on the computer but quite honestly I hate the idea of this "on-line thoughts" silliness! I will get right on this...

Pale Fire

Vladimir Nabokov is officially insane in my mind. He is so full of himself. I either refused to believe that earlier in the semester or never truly understood this until now. I bet his house was filled with mirrors so he could simply stare at himself and name the many faces he saw (even though it was always him). The index in Pale Fire is quite humorous, considering the fact that he is talking about himself in much of it! I laughed a lot during class today because sometimes I feel as if I am in a state of utter confusion. I am having a very difficult time wrapping my mind around Vladimir Nabokov's works but I am determined to crack some sort of a code soon!

What is his obsession with children....not just girls (or shall I say Nymphets) but children in general!? That is just odd.

Vladimir Nabokov has temporarily complicated my life...end of story. This is clearly my little tangent so I am going to come back to him.

Evil in Lolita

Evil as Metaphysical or Ethical

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita takes an interesting, yet vague look at the irrelevance of Christian values and morals in general. Is evil metaphysical or ethical? This reflects Nabokov’s personal opinions on this as well through his writing. In Lolita, Humbert Humbert reflects the idea that evil is metaphysical, rather than ethical. By this, it seems that Nabokov is making an attempt to get the reader to see the metaphysical of evil, but it is rather difficult to do so because the reader so easily connects with the characters in Lolita. This connection comes from the characters’ self-subjectivity to inhuman treatment by others.

Through Vladimir Nabokov’s detailed descriptions of Lolita, the reader seems to mindlessly connect and evoke emotions toward the characters, whether they are considered to be “good” or “bad”. The characters are real to the reader; therefore we connect to the ethics of their thoughts and actions as well. Humbert Humbert for example is clearly a pedophile which is clearly shown through his intimate and often sexual descriptions of Lolita. While his descriptions incorporate a sort of beauty, they are also simply unnerving considering the fact that Lolita is a nymphet.

Humbert Humbert explicitly tells the reader that he is obsessed with Lolita. This idea of love in the form of obsession creates what some may refer to as impure thoughts for Humbert.

Humbert’s obsession leads to him having “stolen the honey of a spasm without impairing the morals of a minor. Absolutely no harm done” (Nabokov 62). But is this true? Has Humbert manipulated the morals of Lolita and perhaps harmed her in at least that way? Ethics and/or morals would relate to this issue significantly for some, while in Humbert’s mind it is more abstract and speculative for one to think so. Observing the situation through Humbert’s eyes, it is possible to realize that Lolita has subjected herself to Humbert’s imperious power and allowed him to manipulate her, yet at the same time, it is not manipulation or immorality.

Being that Lolita is a detective story adds a mysterious element to the metaphysical of the story. The abstract makes it more difficult to judge or blame either Humbert or Lolita for the situation or more specifically the act of involving themselves in a promiscuous, adulterous love affair. Virtues become nearly irrelevant when they are obscured by the complex relationship that Humbert and Lolita share. They encourage each other’s behavior by continuing on with their affair even though Lolita can relate to the unethical, whereas it seems Humbert undeniably avoids the ethics or idea of evil.

Lolita is a tragic and comedic representation of ethics and how they vary from character to character. There are many definitions and forms of evil. The perception of evil varies from person to person, therefore creating a complex distinction between whether Humbert’s actions and thoughts were metaphysical or purely evil and unethical. The comedic side to this would perhaps be less concerned with ethics, while the tragic would be more likely to highlight the evil of Humbert to evoke strong emotions regarding ethics.

Short Essays...who is the "best"?!

I have not gotten through all of the short essays, but already I have so many in mind that I would consider to be the "best". Brittini Reid's short essay on Nabokov's references to Nefertiti and the sun God. The first sentence of her essay brought me directly back to Literary Criticism in which we talked thoroughly about the unveiling and what it means. This topic absolutely fascinated me. I was immediately captivated! Her rich connections between these people and Lolita were well thought out and really, what are the chances? 1 in 2? The way in which she described Nabokov's novel as an onion, to be unpeeled by the reader, was a fantastic! I am sure that all of these short essays have some very intelligible points to make, but Brittini's ideas and discoveries within Lolita in relation to Nefertiti and the sun God were interesting, stated clearly and simply, and unveiled more on that subject than I would have. I will more than likely be sucked into reading all if these essays and will have to resist the temptaion of commenting on all.

Awww...it's kind of cute!!!!!!

One website described the waxwing bird as "a treat to find in your binocular viewfield" and stated that they are likely to " show off dazzling aeronautics". Well, don't they just sound magnificent!

One of my teachers in high school was literally OBSESSED with birds, sadly enough I now find them to be only mildly exciting. I did however find it interesting that they can become intoxicated from eating overripe berries (due to the fermentation of alcohol) and perhaps DIE?! I must admit, I don't believe I have ever seen an intoxicated bird before, but what a sight that would be (though they already seem as if they are on something anyway- running into windows and all...). They are also thieves. They steal materials from the nests of other birds. While male waxwings help the female to find a place for the nest, the female makes the decision...sounds familiar.

This sight is quite interesting, I must say...http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/lifehistory

Ensuite?

I decided to post my annotation of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita page 114 because I appreciate the way that Lolita transitions from child to adult so many times. She is stuck between the child who attended Camp Q and the corrupted young lady losing her innocence because of what Humbert has done to her. The way in which she speaks is at times so child-like: "We loved the sings around the fire..." then transitions to a more risque adult tone: "But we are lovers aren't we?" I wonder what goes through Lolita's mind? Does she wish to be a girl again, enjoying the innocence of her days of youth or does she yearn to be this corrupted, violated female? Does she know what they have or are doing?



I am scanning in my annotated page but have to do so once I get home...

"The more you look, the more you see and discover..."

As I read Lolita, I find myself in a daze and constantly re-reading the same passages. There are so many details, so much description that I have to stop often to remind myself what I just read. I am amazed at the discoveries others have found because quite honestly, I never would have paid so much attention to those sorts of things. I was at a loss as to where to start and began to simply research various places or things mentioned I thought might be interesting, which led me to minor yet interesting discoveries, in my opinion.





I looked through many dates and names...nothing held my atttention. Then I came upon Briceland (The Enchanted Hunters). I went to google (of course) and found Briceland in HUMBoldt County. I then found The Humboldt County Biography Project with a long list of names. Similar to the class list there was repetition of names. Interesting enough, all the last names beginning with Q began...QUI. I didn't know how much further to go with this so I switched to shadowgraphs, which Lolita mentioned in her camp experience. I came upon shadowgraph postcards through the trusty wikipedia. This led me to find that shadowgraph postcards were at one time "innocent" images that display a "saucy" image when held up to the light.



Lastly, I found an interesting connection on pages 104 and 109. On page 104, Humbert describes Jean Farlow as "hansome in a carved-inian sort of way, with burnt sienna complexion." On Page 109 Nabokov then metnions the date August 15, 1947 as the ay he attempts to write but gets nowhere because thoughts of Lolita fill his mind- this is the day in which India gained their independence. What are the chances? 1 in 2? 1 in 3?

A venturesome group of ten, tramping along the Pinghut Trail to Bushline Hut perched along the west side of Mount Robert, overlooking Rotoroa Lake (Ice cold waters, eels). This image frozen in time exhibits the lush vegetation of the surrounding forests. Pin cushion moss invading the tree ferns has been left out of the frame. The trail fades in and out of the visibility of the hikers. They leave behind thin, eerie clouds as they ascend into a forest, it is a forest that looks as though it belongs in a Dr. Seuss book. They keep order in their single file line. Layer upon layer- base, insulation, shell- some are attentive to the weight of their packs, to the photographer, while others stare off into the immense forests. Just out of view there is a shelter that they all huddle into within moments after this photo was taken. The rain beats down and the wind rages, weather was a hindrance for the group at times. With hours and hours to go before reaching their stopping point at Bushline Hut the group treks forward, resting infrequently.

Earliest memory...

My earliest memory is from when my sister was in preschool...so I have come to the conclusion that I either did not speak until I was 3 or my memory is just not as sharp as others. Even this recollection is blurry and non-descript in my mind. My favorite place at the school was the jungle gym, of course! The larger than life playset and bikes were simply splendid to me.

This particular moment at that school was warm, it was Christmas time and the atmosphere was "jolly" to say the least. My sister and I had to have our picture taken by the Christmas tree for our mother (who I must say is way too camera happy). I was so upset that I could no longer play and this particular phot depicts that well. My sister's posture was so proper and her smile gleamed, while I stood there straight faced, hands behind my back.

I have many childhood memories but would have to say that this is probably the earliest...at some point they all seem to fade into each other.

The Butterfly...

In my french literature class, we just read a poem by Lamartine "Le Papillon" ("The Butterfly"). I found it ironic that here we are in Studies of a Major Author discussing butterflies at the same time. The butterfly seemed to represent freedom and beauty within life. The poem begins with the birth in spring and ends with the death. The poet connects so many senses and feelings to the image of the butterfly.

I will post this poem later today...