travelogue intermission
while driving with the family, listening to the Met Opera channel on satellite radio.
Dad: "So what's {Wagner's The Flying Dutchman} about?"
OlderSister: "oh you know, it's, like, this sea captain who makes a deal with the Devil to give his ship magical powers but damns himself to be a ghost. And, like, he was betrothed to this woman, but his fiance dies as part of his damnation and his curse is to wander the seas until he can find a woman, a living woman, to marry him. So it's about him meeting this woman and getting her to fall in love. It's, like, you know ..."
Me: "an operatic post Enlightenment Twilight?"
OlderSister: "Yeah, exactly! This is, like, the third act where the woman gets on the ship and see it's empty."
Me: "... and realizes that it's a Ship of the Damned!"
OlderSister: "But, she's, like, y'know, cool with that."
Me: "again: post Enlightenment Twilight."
OlderSister: "yeah, I think you can classify the majority of women's literature into Girl Meets Asshole Boyfriend and Tries to Redeem Him because It's the only Way that She Feels Alive and Girl Meets Asshole Boyfriend and Dumps His Ass and Moves On."
Dad: "So what's {Wagner's The Flying Dutchman} about?"
OlderSister: "oh you know, it's, like, this sea captain who makes a deal with the Devil to give his ship magical powers but damns himself to be a ghost. And, like, he was betrothed to this woman, but his fiance dies as part of his damnation and his curse is to wander the seas until he can find a woman, a living woman, to marry him. So it's about him meeting this woman and getting her to fall in love. It's, like, you know ..."
Me: "an operatic post Enlightenment Twilight?"
OlderSister: "Yeah, exactly! This is, like, the third act where the woman gets on the ship and see it's empty."
Me: "... and realizes that it's a Ship of the Damned!"
OlderSister: "But, she's, like, y'know, cool with that."
Me: "again: post Enlightenment Twilight."
OlderSister: "yeah, I think you can classify the majority of women's literature into Girl Meets Asshole Boyfriend and Tries to Redeem Him because It's the only Way that She Feels Alive and Girl Meets Asshole Boyfriend and Dumps His Ass and Moves On."