Admittedly, I've been slacking pretty hard on starting up this blog. So, I thought I'd better combine two posts into this one entry to catch up with everyone else.
One of the over-arching questions that keeps being brought up in class is, "What's the point of stories that aren't even true?" As English majors (I'm sure most, if not all, of us are), I feel that this is one of those common questions that can only be fully grasped by those, who in some way or another, have already discovered the answer for themselves, even if only partially. This is problematic. I feel that outside of this context, many people still view the idea of fictional stories, and the idea of romance, myth, imagination, etc. as just entertainment when not attending to their "more important business." At this point, I would like to make a note that someone desperately needs to invent a sarcasm font so I can highlight the phrase "more important business."
I've been given that English-is-a-waste-of-time look many times before. Even if it's not expressed, we can all see the elephant in the room. And up to this point, I've never been able to say in words, or explain to someone who doesn't already share in the secret power of stories, as to why it is that they are so important to society, and to humanity. It's always just been more of a conviction for me, a feeling deep down that told me there was something of vastly greater importance to be taken away from stories that couldn't be found in anything else. As I now know, these feelings were, unknowingly, coming from that "Great Ocean of Stories" that has pressed upon and resonated with so many that have come before us. The problem lies in that only those who have taken a dip in the water really appreciate how vital, and refreshing, it really is. I have never been able to fully explain to someone why stories are so important. That's why I'm very much looking forward to this class, and to addressing this topic directly. The importance of our Ocean, and the enrichment that comes from it, shouldn't remain only in the scope of appreciation of those who study it. It is our ocean after all, humanity's ocean, and many have lost sight of it. I look forward to exploring, and starting a dialogue about, the answers to all these questions that English majors are so often asked. The Ocean is rich. We should have the means, and the capacity, to share it with others, lest it disappear entirely.
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I might be getting a bit ahead of myself here as far as our class readings go, but I found such an interesting section of Daphnis and Chloe when I started reading it, that I couldn't help but write something about it before I forgot entirely.
"...myths stick together to form a mythology, a large interconnected body of narrative that covers all the religious and historical revelation that its society is concerned with...Second, as part of this sticking together process, myths take root in a specific culture, and it is one of their functions to tell that culture what it is and how it came to be, in their own mythical terms." (Frye, 9)
In this passage from The Secular Scripture, Northrop Frye suggests that myth is the foundation for all culture. What we value, the things that we consider to be important, and the things that we believe, all stem from the stories we share with each other. What we pass down to other generations is what our future world will be transformed into. Our stories remain as much a reflection of our place in the world, as they are the simultaneous creation of it. One who contains a deep knowledge of these stories is going to, therefore, hold an upper hand. In looking back at his past, he may soak up the knowledge of what his ancestors have been handing down since the beginning of time. In this way, he is better prepared to answer the questions of the present, as well as gain insight into the things that are important for creating his future. And it is in this way that he suspends himself above the confines of his present reality, and into a transcendent realm of deeper understanding where past, present, and future are simultaneously connected, and within reach. Stories are the great unifier.
I found this to be of particular interest, in context with one of the scenes in Daphnis and Chloe. To those who may not have gotten to this story yet, I apologize beforehand for spoiling this one. Daphnis and Chloe are hopelessly attracted to each other, so much so that it leaves them sick and lying awake at night. No one had ever spoken to them of love or romance in their entire lives. It was non-existent in their minds, and this feeling was tearing them apart inside. Chloe, herself, was searching for a word to describe her feelings for Daphnis. "There were things she felt and said in her uncertainty -- but the word she was looking for was love" (144). Unfortunately for Daphnis, Dorcon was also madly in love with Chloe and decided to win her over with gifts and items. But this still couldn't win over Chloe's heart, or soothe the burning that she felt inside of her. One day Daphnis and Dorcon decided to debate over who was more beautiful and worthy of Chloe's beauty. The winner received the ultimate prize anyone could ever ask for: a kiss from Chloe. They received romance.
They make verbal arguments about why Chloe should choose one or the other. Dorcon argues that he is taller, handsome, more masculine, successful, and of better family background than Daphnis. However, Daphnis has something far more superior than Dorcon's material success. He has a command of stories, of myth, so much so that he is able to compare his attributes and shortcomings to those of gods: the symbols of ancient stories that his very culture came from. In this way, Daphnis is rooted. Even more so, he has the ability to rebuttal with a sharp tongue of wit and wisdom that Dorcon's pragmatism cannot hope to match up to. Daphnis has a deeper knowledge, and in this way is able to touch Chloe's heart in a deeper way that mere physical riches and attributes can never hope to reach. He employs his myth, his wit, and his storytelling to his advantage. And for what reason? What does he hope to achieve? Love. It started with unnamed desires, transformed into a story, and ended with a kiss. It took the sickness they felt inside for each other and connected them in only ways that a story could. This is what stories and romance are all about; this is the purpose of myth: "It was quite simple and clumsy, but entirely capable of setting his heart on fire...It was as if he had only now, for the first time, come to possess eyes, as if earlier he had been blind...Even his sheep he neglected; even his pipes he threw away" (146). Stories, love, romance, and ridiculous tales, these are the things that now occupy his mind. He has taken a dip in the ocean, and returned the better for it.
Chloe is won over by Daphnis, because his story said something that Dorcon's could not. In the words of Frye, "the effect of such an inset tale is to establish the main story as one of a category of stories, giving it a broader significance than it would have an isolated story" (Frye, 12). Much like the culture without stories, Dorcon is forever stuck in a finite reality, where only temporary wealth is given value. And much like the culture that holds on to, and cherishes their stories, Daphnis is able to transcend that plane. He possesses the understanding of his present situation, and is able to connect with the past in order to create his future. And as this story would show us, when we deal with something of this magnitude, the only thing that can possibly come out of it is romance. Dorcon argued for his present successes, something that is only shallow and contained. But romance goes on forever; it transcends genres and eras. Romance was the reason for Daphnis' burning desire for Chloe, the reason for his story, and romance was the outcome of it. Our great stories go beyond the scope of present-day reason and dip into the well that beats at the very heart of human experience; romance is always what sits waiting at the bottom of that well. The feeling was always there for Daphnis and Chloe, but a story brought it to full bloom.
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