Dogs and wolves
I saw Harry Potter yesterday and blubbed like a blubbery thing. And when I got home afterwards I was tumblring lots of Remus Lupin-related stuff, because I love him forevers and evers. And that made me remember the Aesop fable of the Dog and the Wolf, which I first read for Sirius-and-Remus related reasons back in the day, but came to love for completely unrelated reasons.
Here's the version of the fable of the Dog and the Wolf, as I retold it in the still-homeless New Novel:
"A wolf was walking down the road, coat thin over bone and skin and not much else. The wolf was starving. Then he met a dog, sitting by the side of the road. The dog was fat and sleek and happy.
"'Wolf," the dog said. 'You look miserable.'
"'I am miserable," the wolf answered. 'I haven't eaten for days.'
"'Come home with me. There's plenty to eat there,' the dog said. 'You won't be miserable then, will you?'
"'I'm tired, as well as hungry,' the wolf answered. 'I haven't slept for days.'
"'Come home with me. There are soft carpets at the fire,' the dog said. 'You can rest after you've eaten.'
"'All right,' the wolf answered. 'But tell me, dog, why is the fur at your neck worn away? You've heard my troubles, please tell me yours.'
"'Oh, that,' the dog said. 'That's nothing. My fur is worn where my collar rubs, that's all. You'll have one just the same, when my master's met and fed you.'
"And with that, the wolf walked away. For it's better to be hungry and tired and free than to be fat and sleek and at a master's mercy."
The fact I have one of the characters tell the story in New Novel shows how relevant I think it is to the particular themes and metaphors and whatever that are present in that story, but while I was randomly poking at tumblr last night I realised how it also overlaps with this remark I made a couple of days ago -- that Glinda and Charles and Eduardo all go to the same group therapy session each week. It’s called "I don’t understand why my decision to compromise constantly because I want to belong to the oppressive status quo made my bff/true love so CROSS, you know?"
It's dogs and wolves. It's Mark in the hallway, admitting that he needs Wardo in Palo Alto. Elphaba pleading with Glinda to think of what they could do, if Glinda came with her. It's Erik on the beach telling Charles that he wants him by his side. The wolf can't make itself tame, but neither can the dog make itself wild.
And it's kind of ironic that Sirius and Remus, the only literal dog/wolf pair in my large stable of angsty pairings of my heart, are symbols of depression and of illness and stars and moons and whatever, rather than representing the obedience/freedom dynamic that tears apart the others.
This entry was originally posted over here and has
comments at the moment.
Here's the version of the fable of the Dog and the Wolf, as I retold it in the still-homeless New Novel:
"A wolf was walking down the road, coat thin over bone and skin and not much else. The wolf was starving. Then he met a dog, sitting by the side of the road. The dog was fat and sleek and happy.
"'Wolf," the dog said. 'You look miserable.'
"'I am miserable," the wolf answered. 'I haven't eaten for days.'
"'Come home with me. There's plenty to eat there,' the dog said. 'You won't be miserable then, will you?'
"'I'm tired, as well as hungry,' the wolf answered. 'I haven't slept for days.'
"'Come home with me. There are soft carpets at the fire,' the dog said. 'You can rest after you've eaten.'
"'All right,' the wolf answered. 'But tell me, dog, why is the fur at your neck worn away? You've heard my troubles, please tell me yours.'
"'Oh, that,' the dog said. 'That's nothing. My fur is worn where my collar rubs, that's all. You'll have one just the same, when my master's met and fed you.'
"And with that, the wolf walked away. For it's better to be hungry and tired and free than to be fat and sleek and at a master's mercy."
The fact I have one of the characters tell the story in New Novel shows how relevant I think it is to the particular themes and metaphors and whatever that are present in that story, but while I was randomly poking at tumblr last night I realised how it also overlaps with this remark I made a couple of days ago -- that Glinda and Charles and Eduardo all go to the same group therapy session each week. It’s called "I don’t understand why my decision to compromise constantly because I want to belong to the oppressive status quo made my bff/true love so CROSS, you know?"
It's dogs and wolves. It's Mark in the hallway, admitting that he needs Wardo in Palo Alto. Elphaba pleading with Glinda to think of what they could do, if Glinda came with her. It's Erik on the beach telling Charles that he wants him by his side. The wolf can't make itself tame, but neither can the dog make itself wild.
And it's kind of ironic that Sirius and Remus, the only literal dog/wolf pair in my large stable of angsty pairings of my heart, are symbols of depression and of illness and stars and moons and whatever, rather than representing the obedience/freedom dynamic that tears apart the others.
This entry was originally posted over here and has
comments at the moment.