Mary L. Tabor
I could go on about this one because there are so many, but will spare you (DH Lawrence’s Rupert and Ursula in _Women in Love_ are one):
But my first and no 1 are Romeo and Juliet because of the way they represent the Idealism of Youth versus Propriety
• Juliet takes hold of the play with these three unforgettable lines that I memorized when I read the play the first time at barely 17:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.
Act II, scene ii, l. 133-5
We see the beauty of her soul, its fullness, its wisdom and its undying belief in the power of love.
• Death versus sensuality come into play because in the world of propriety, the power and eroticism of this love cannot be tolerated.
• Marriage is the propriety that George Bataille, thinker and writer who perhaps personifies a certain ironic take, for me anyway, talks about “taboo” and how man’s erotic urges “terrify” him. “Marriage is most often thought of having little to do with eroticism." (Eroticism: Death and Sensuality, p. 109)
• Eroticism is the other side of propriety. Bataille says, “in essence, love raises the feeling of one being for one another to such a pitch that the threatened loss of the beloved or the loss of his love is felt no less keenly than the threat of death.” (p. 241)
• In this play I see the only way for this licit love to remain so deeply erotic is for the lovers to die.
Now you might ask, Do I believe in erotic love over a lifetime not cut short? You bet I do.
But my first and no 1 are Romeo and Juliet because of the way they represent the Idealism of Youth versus Propriety
• Juliet takes hold of the play with these three unforgettable lines that I memorized when I read the play the first time at barely 17:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.
Act II, scene ii, l. 133-5
We see the beauty of her soul, its fullness, its wisdom and its undying belief in the power of love.
• Death versus sensuality come into play because in the world of propriety, the power and eroticism of this love cannot be tolerated.
• Marriage is the propriety that George Bataille, thinker and writer who perhaps personifies a certain ironic take, for me anyway, talks about “taboo” and how man’s erotic urges “terrify” him. “Marriage is most often thought of having little to do with eroticism." (Eroticism: Death and Sensuality, p. 109)
• Eroticism is the other side of propriety. Bataille says, “in essence, love raises the feeling of one being for one another to such a pitch that the threatened loss of the beloved or the loss of his love is felt no less keenly than the threat of death.” (p. 241)
• In this play I see the only way for this licit love to remain so deeply erotic is for the lovers to die.
Now you might ask, Do I believe in erotic love over a lifetime not cut short? You bet I do.
More Answered Questions
A Goodreads user
asked
Mary L. Tabor:
My first question, Mary, has to do with personhood. The feeling that I get by reading you is that the person that you are informs the style of your prose. If prose could be said to have values, to what degree are your prose's values also the values of Mary L. Tabor the person?
A Goodreads user
asked
Mary L. Tabor:
Once again, reading your bio, I am so inspired by you, Mary. Just wanted to thank you for...being you! But okay, a question. How do you overcome those times when you are discouraged about your writing? Or ARE you ever discouraged about your writing or the business of writing?
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