Anyone here ever read John Steinbeck's "East of Eden?" I did. But I didn't really just read it. I obsessed over it. Namely my obsession was focused around Kathy. For those of you who didn't experience the pleasure that is John Steinbecks best work (thats my opinion, though really I think it should be fact), the story follows the life of a father, and his two sons as they move west and start a new life. The boys mommy, Kathy is pretty much the devil. Her character represents evil, and I could go on for hours about her but ill try to make this tangent a bit shorter than the last one.
Reading through the last two chapters of "Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery," I couldn't help but notice that Safiyyas entire family, as well as the rest of the town, allows her to act the way she does. Everyone is somewhat nuisanced by her actions, and in a lot of cases outright angered, yet everyone seems to think that there is nothing that they can do about it. They=men. Men in this village control just about everything else. Safiyya=woman (and an uneducated one at that), but all of the men seem to be unable to control Safiyya. The father in the story acknowledges that Safiyya would murder him in a second, if he stood between her and her personal vendetta. Anyone else find this almost comical? Women in this village function as housewives and mothers...not really as assassins. So where is this fear coming from?
In chimes the tangent! In the story the priest at the monastery asks Harbi if he believes that evil sought out woman? or if it was the other way around and woman sought out evil.
I couldn't help thinking that this story almost points out that they have a character which is evil, but the culture in this story creates this evil, and then the rest of the characters don't agree with it, don't like it...but don't do anything about it.
I cannot say that I understand your tangent, because I have not read East of Eden. But what I did find interesting was they way you interpreted the priests question to Harbi. I thought that the question was more foreshadowing for the coming of the bandit who began terrorizing the village roads and eventually came to the monastery. I read the question as, do you think that the bandit sought out Safiyya or was it the other way around?
ReplyDeletehmmm.. I have not read much of Steinbeck, but you're right about no one doing a whole lot to stop Safiyya from going insane! Though, I think they tried, and she pretty much refused any help. I feel most sorry for her son. Poor little boy!
ReplyDeleteI have read _East of Eden_ and I also obsessed about the character of Kathy -- interesting connection with Safiyya, though Kathy seems to be born evil and Safiyya seems to turn evil -- which makes me want to try to figure out WHY and WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE!
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