Elle & Dostoevsky
I talked to Elle on the phone earlier today. She told me about a squirrel that died in her backyard. She said that when it started to stink, the first thing she thought of was The Brothers Karamazov.
My response was "huh?" (or something equivalent).
That shouldn't have been my response. I have read The Brothers Karamazov and I should have been able to say "Oh, of course, you are talking about ..." and then cited the appropriate section of the book. But I couldn't remember it for the life of me.
In fairness to me, it has been 25 years since I read it. But I'm feeling now that I should have retained more than I did.
Elle explained that there was a passage about a priest who died whose body didn't stink because he was so holy. She was wishing the squirrel could have been that holy.
Elle is not only a better computer scientist than me, she is also a better student of literature. I should have known that already from an earlier incident. I guess I was in denial.
At least she is still willing to converse with me in spite of my inferior intellect. She is very gracious that way.
For those curious, the relevant passage can be found here.
My response was "huh?" (or something equivalent).
That shouldn't have been my response. I have read The Brothers Karamazov and I should have been able to say "Oh, of course, you are talking about ..." and then cited the appropriate section of the book. But I couldn't remember it for the life of me.
In fairness to me, it has been 25 years since I read it. But I'm feeling now that I should have retained more than I did.
Elle explained that there was a passage about a priest who died whose body didn't stink because he was so holy. She was wishing the squirrel could have been that holy.
Elle is not only a better computer scientist than me, she is also a better student of literature. I should have known that already from an earlier incident. I guess I was in denial.
At least she is still willing to converse with me in spite of my inferior intellect. She is very gracious that way.
For those curious, the relevant passage can be found here.