The Mother by William Somerset Maugham author of The Judgement Seat https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-judgement-seat-by-william-somerset.html and other superb tales - 10 out of 10
The Mother by William Somerset Maugham author of The
Judgement Seat https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-judgement-seat-by-william-somerset.html
and other superb tales
10 out of 10
This short story reminds me of Mother! A horror movie with
Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, following the shooting – actually, more
likely during it – the star and the director became a couple, but then the man
kept on (and apparently on and on) about the film, to the point where the
female lead would have enough
Wow, I managed to move away from the subject, before I
really got started, so now you know that this is not the kind of serious note
you need to consult, indeed, it is much better to take a professional critique
of this and any other book
The Mother is tragic, I can even try and think about a
humorous element and then there may be none, albeit Somerset Maugham pours in
mirth frequently, we have this woman moving in a new neighborhood, and we would
learn that she had to, because the old place was getting more than hostile
towards her
We are in La Macarena, Seville, Andalusia, Spain – they have
just won the European football championship, and this is supposed to help them
unite, for otherwise they have the Catalan, Basque and maybe others, talking
independence, often – and some women talk about the new arrival, with fear
The newcomer is arguing with the man who had moved her
things, over the payment, she says they agreed on three reales, while the
service provider insists it was four (a meagre sum, explained the narrator)
Meanwhile, Rosalia and her friend are watching, and one says
to the other ‘what an evil face, she looks like a murderess’, and what do you
think, it turns out that this new neighbor had indeed been a killer and
convicted too
She had been to prison for murder, she will reproach her son
this, saying she did it for him, because the man she had murdered was mean to
him, although I am pushing some tasteless, sick attempt to humor here:
La Achira is the name of the forty-year-old killer, who is
so infatuated with her son, she would not let him, well, do anything…he comes
to visit, and the neighbors, Pilar and Rosalia, are shocked by how good looking
he is
And with a mother like that, who has the devil with her,
Rosalia is also young and handsome, and she hits it off with this attractive
man, they want to see each other again, but The Mother wants to keep him all
for herself
It is some kind of sick jealousy, yes, she feels, like any
mother, that her offspring is the best, impossible to match his skills and
qualities, she wants the perfect partner for him, and Rosalia is not that,
nobody is good enough
That is a problem explained in the psychology classic The Paradox
of Choice https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-paradox-of-choice-by-barry-schartz.html
where we find about the difference
Between Maximizers and Satisfizers, the former want only perfect
– and end up like La Cachirra, and it is gruesome – while the latter are happy
with very good, but do not long for the impossible, which is hard to find,
right?
We have a proverb here, which is something like ‘any crow
will boast about her chicks’, in other words, crows are ugly, nothing to be
proud about, and this is what any parent does, looks at children, and they see
angels, which is so wrong, for crows are in fact terribly smart – and many
children, well, just like adults…
Constantin Noica https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/02/povestiri-despre-om-de-constantin-noica.html
was one of our local luminaries, and he took on the issue of sayings, proverbs,
demonstrating they are not the fountain of wisdom
The examples he offers would be in his works, I think
Stories About Man in particular, and there was that thing with ‘you cannot eat
the cake and have it’, which the way I remember is like this ‘you have it when
you eat it’
Furthermore, it is yours then, much more than in any other
circumstance, it is in your body…granted, that piece of folklore, popular
wisdom states the obvious, it is not in your face any more, you could not eat
it again…
But let us move on to other famous – to quote Magister Ludi
Kingsley Amis https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-kings-english-guide-to-modern-usage.html
we would better use infamous – proverb, ‘all is fair in love and war’, which is
not just plain absurd, it is atrocious, how could that be?
You could not kill without punishment in war, well, you
could if you are Putin, and then you wait for Orange Jesus to get elected soon,
just like in love, it is not fair game, yes, we get that schemes are used, but
is it ‘everything goes’, really?
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and
invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a
million dollars with this
http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/unique-in-world.html?q=unique+in+the+world – as it is, this is a unique technique, which
we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make
lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not
know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the
small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its
Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant
sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a
lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse,
all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the
staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a
longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have
an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a
smaller Mao, there it is
http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as
you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has
fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people
are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions
are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas,
climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike
reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even
getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human
greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny,
so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest
pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are
greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's
nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good
book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in
peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
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