Author: Fox Fairy
It took a day to read "The Veil", in the process of reading, several times put down the book, to think about Kitty's pain, she is not stupid, but also very comprehensible, why would she take such a big detour?
From the age of 18 to the social circle, her goal is to find someone who is excellent in all aspects and marry herself. She is beautiful, lively and interesting, and the suitors are lined up, but the people who have to meet the requirements of the mother in all aspects have not appeared, one year, two years, three years... The 25-year-old has become the leftover daughter in the eyes of her mother, and she must lower her requirements and marry herself before her 19-year-old sister gets married.
25 years old, how youthful the age, but even now, for women, the years are like a wall, age is like a golden hoop stick, not to mention in the era when women must rely on men to survive.
Luckily, at the time of Kitty's greatest anxiety, she was proposed by Walter.
Walter is a Doctor of Bacteriology and has a deep knowledge of professional medicine, but she can't fall in love with him, and even hates him. He was as tall as she was, his delicate features were put together, and he was not outstanding, and his pale face was not a little lifeless. More importantly, he made her feel depressed and bored, but she had no other choice, because she saw that he was genuinely and fiercely in love with her.
After a little weighing, she agreed to his marriage proposal, and at this point he was her best haven and fig leaf.
After marriage, the introverted and gentleman Walter was extremely kind to her, took good care of her, poured a glass of water into her hands, and enjoyed the treatment of a princess. However, she didn't love him, and his sensitivity, his rare childishness, made her feel ridiculous. Therefore, his goodness became a kind of irony in her eyes.
Until in Hong Kong, she met the tall, handsome, bright-looking Charlie, who was elegant and funny, gentle and proper, she was completely immersed in his sweet words, she could not help but fall in love with him, and she also firmly believed that he loved himself, was the one who could divorce her and marry her.
It's just that he never said to marry her, only to love her. Until one day, Charlie said that he couldn't help but think of her, so he came to her house at noon, and while making love to her, he was discovered by Walter, who suddenly came home.
Walter's existence is a tragedy.
Before he died, he threw out only a few words: It was the dog that died. The man, who was not interested in anything but his academic research, was equally reticent, even when he died. Why did you drop these words? Their friend Weedington said it was from Gold. An allusion in Smith's Elegy means that a good man takes back a dog and begins to get along with each other, but then the dog goes crazy, bites the person, and finally the person lives, but the dog dies.
Walter said such a thing, whether it was regret, anger or hatred, no one knows. He is very intelligent, but because of the shadow of his childhood and very inferior, he wraps himself very tightly and does not want others to disturb him. However, he prefers the superficial, lively and amorous Kitty.
They met at a dance party, and he fell in love with her at first sight. Next, they met again, but he never expressed it to Kitty, not even a small hint of a glance. So, when he proposes to Kitty, Kitty is very surprised, she knows nothing about him, who is he? What is your name? Why like her? However, she knew that only he could help him out of the predicament at this time.
Walter knew she didn't love herself, but saw her distress clearly, and he took the opportunity to propose, presumably With Kitty agreeing. So, when he learned that Kitty was in love with someone else, he got angry and finally said what he really thought:
"I know you're stupid, frivolous, and empty-minded, and then I love you. I know your intentions, your ideals, your snobbery, your vulgarity, but I love you. I know you're a second-rate, but I love you. I have done my best to appreciate the things you are passionate about, to show you that I am not ignorant, vulgar, gossipy, and stupid. I know that wisdom can surprise you, so be careful at all times and be sure to act as foolish as any man you interact with. I know you married me just for your own selfish purposes. I love you so much, I don't care about that. As far as I know, people often feel sad and disappointed when they fall in love with someone but don't get it reciprocated, which then turns into anger and vitriol. I'm not like that. I never expected you to love me, I never imagined that you would have a reason to love me, and I never thought I was adorable. I should be grateful to be given the opportunity to love you. ”
This passage not only surprised Kitty, but also the reader, who hid so deeply that he rarely revealed his inner thoughts. It turned out that he looked down on her so much, but he loved her so humbly.
Many years ago, when watching "Daming Dynasty 1566", the feelings of Shen Yishi, a big businessman in the play, towards Yunniang also made me feel strange. His feelings for her were extremely complicated, and when he adopted and cultivated her in order to please the dignitaries and dignitaries, he loved and hated her, admiring and loving her on the one hand, and hating and hating her on the other hand.
At that time, I did not understand this feeling, and I accepted love and gave up if I didn't love. However, people's feelings are complex, and people's psychology is also changeable. Like Walter, he has no interest in people or things outside of his profession, and he is disgusted with everything That Kitty likes, but he is attracted to her and cannot control that he does not love her.
So, when it comes to knowing that she's in love with someone else, and that he sees at a glance that the person is just playing with her, he's both angry and desperate. It's for her, and it's for herself. He hated himself for falling in love with such a woman.
He is completely different from Charles in Madame Bovary, who is not only dull but also stupid. And he knows everything. He pandered to her with what he thought was love. Unbeknownst to them, Kitty's inner emptiness, they are people of two completely different worlds. He never talked to her about work, nor did he want to share his joys and loves with her, as well as his past, and he did not understand her inner feelings and needs, but never gave her what she wanted.
This is their dead knot.
In addition to the difference in the three views, they have never really stood in each other's perspective to understand and love each other. This is also the reason why two people who obviously look very good can't come together in the end.
Such feelings, no matter how much you pay, are in vain.
So, looking back, Kitty's infidelity was inevitable. Not just because she was beautiful, but her needs were never met. It's just that she has never really been in love, she has never known men, she is in love with Charlie, she does her best to beautify him, looks up to him like a god, thinks that he is omnipotent, and is obsessed with herself. It wasn't until Walter wanted her to see the truth, asked her to go to Charlie, and asked him to divorce and marry her, that she saw the true side of the man, her pain, her anger, and her disappointment, and even so, she found herself still in love with him.
She and Walter went with their respective wounds to Meitan Province, the "land of plague".
Here, she saw the smallness and death of human beings, and also saw the greatness and selflessness of human beings, and at the same time she saw the other side of Walter, a very talented medical scientist, a talent that everyone respected and cherished, and gradually felt how superficial and ignorant she was.
She was taught from an early age how to attract good men, as her mother wished to marry a "quality man"; her joy was to spin on the dance floor and accept one admirer after another. Even after marriage, although her husband loved her, she was also a "giver" posture, and she was always a frog at the bottom of the well.
However, in the dangerous zone where the plague was everywhere, she saw the nuns staying in the backcountry of the countryside because of their faith, regardless of life and death, to serve those who were infected with the plague; she also saw a gege who, because of love, bravely followed his beloved with all his strength; she also realized that human beings were just drops of water, falling outside the earth, quickly disappearing, but falling into the sea, but never disappearing.
Unfortunately, by the time she realized all this, Walter contracted the plague and died. And after she returned to Hong Kong, she was once again seduced by the flashy Charlie, she obviously saw through everything, and she could not refuse to be attracted to him again.
Human wisdom and reason are equal, just like Walter is clear-headed and thoughtful, but still loves Kitty whom he despises; Kitty, who has experienced life and death and accepted the pain of failure, knows that Charlie is a "second-rate commodity" but is still attracted to him again.
It can be seen that even rational people have difficulty controlling their hearts, which is probably one of the biggest confusions of human beings.
In order to lose control of reason, Kitty had to flee and leave Hong Kong. And with a new self to love the people around you, love the father who has been paying unrequited.
Such an awakening, with blood and tears.
It was a pity to see Walter infected by the plague. It is not so much that he has been wronged, but that he is ready to die. He hated the person he loved, but he couldn't let go of her, and he kept all his emotions in his heart and didn't want anyone to touch him. He pushes Kitty farther and farther away with a cold, blunt attitude.
Life needs to be appreciated, and that appreciation is a two-way street.
"You can never really get to know a person unless you walk around in his shoes and think in his shoes." How to empathize with each other's point of view, in addition to transposition, but also to communicate at a deeper level, listen to each other's feelings and needs, will give both sides the nourishment of the soul, the feelings of the two people will be more stable and solid.
However, the more familiar you are with the people you are close to, the lazier you are to listen, and even when asked to communicate, you don't take it seriously, and even tend to judge, command, and accuse, rather than.
Wang Yangming once said that all battles in the world are heart wars. If a person wants to be strong, it is not strong on the outside, but strong on the inside. A person with a strong heart can dilute all pain and sorrow. Wang Yangming's enlightenment was that he was "dressed and received with a staff" by the imperial court; he was punished to a farm on the outskirts of Guizhou and chased and killed by a group of people; and he realized after experiencing life and death many times.
"The Veil" mocks the shallowness of the vain and love of the women in the society at that time from the perspective of men, and redeems them with the great love of the abbot, awakening their spiritual and spiritual growth. But it also speaks to the limitations of women of the times, as Kitty said, "You blame me for being stupid, frivolous, and vulgar, it's not right, the girls I know are like this." It's like a person who has no sense of music being blamed for hating to listen to symphonic music. ”
They are not born vain and superficial, they are also materialized in accordance with the general environment of the times. Fortunately, today's women have long realized this layer, but they will still be positioned by society in different frames, whether it is appearance, age, marriage, and social roles.
Note: The ideas in this book are no longer novel, but the psychology of the characters is still very attractive, and the story is wonderful. Kitty's upbringing determines her values, and while later enlightenment is important, this shift in thinking is a bit blunt in the book. In addition, the text of this book is very strange, when reading it, I always feel that Maugham is imitating Chinese to write this novel, and even write words that only Chinese say, such as "the girl who marries out, the water that is spilled." Such words are like lice that suddenly jump out of a book, which is uncomfortable. When I bought it, I forgot to look at the author of the translation. I don't know if it is a problem of translation, when buying, you must first understand the translator. It is said that the translations of Yuan Jinglin and Yu David are good.
(Image from the Internet, copyright belongs to the original author)