"He decided to ask some people to dinner because he realized he was drifting into something he would have jokingly diagnosed as paranoia in anyone else."
"He himself could not have borne to see Annie. But he had to. And, he thought to himself afterward, 'bear' is an empty word. Just a kind of exclamation. You bear it. You put two fingers on what has happened and feel it."
"It's true I walk in the forest every day and I am the only woman here who goes walking outside the berry-picking season. And who dares to walk alone. But that does not make me feel at home in the forest. I think the timber company's men or the Brandberg men on their road-making machines feel much more at home. I walk her as Rosseau did in the woods of St. Germain, dazed by fantasies, scents, and visions of beauty. The point is, my visions are the opposite of the civilization I live in. I'm seeking an alternative...You know quite a few bachelors and lumberjacks have ended up like him in a cabin or surplus company hut...The difference between the loner in his cabin and me is that I always go back to school on Monday morning. I know my attempts at finding an alternative are imperfect, and that my job is to teach schoolchildren to think." (pg 343-344)
The above is from a long passage that is one of the most beautiful passages I have ever read, and something we should all discover.
No comments:
Post a Comment