And if I can gain the public ear at all, I would rather whisper a few wholesome truths therein than much soft nonsense.
~ Preface to the second edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Why is freedom so easy for some people to attain and so hard for others?
Ah, that's a great question Frankengirl! What is freedom indeed? I suppose just as one attains one form of freedom, one finds themselves trapped in some other way. I wonder if anyone is completely free?
What I had in mind when I wrote that post was that some people are born in places where they have access to basic human needs, like shelter, food, as well as a good deal of education. However, others are born in places where people cannot do what they wish, in the sense that access to education might be denied them. In the U.S, if someone wanted to become a doctor, for example, they can do it, even if they cannot enter medical school on the first try, or even if they don't have the financial means to go there. In other countries, opportunities are so limited. One is forced to choose something else because they simply have to make a living. They don't have as much freedom with respect to education as someone here does.
Yes! I do like how you mention that one ought to make the best of what one is given.
Does this mean freedom comes as a result of not being idle? As in one must constantly be working (hmm although "work" is a relative term?)
Ooh I didn't notice until you mentioned it. Ned seems to be away at present, does he not? Perhaps he is busy (settling accounts with the milliner perhaps? Or settling accounts of his estates?), or taking a vacation, or simply lost in the forest of Reality (in which case we must, must, must help him find his way back!!). Do let me know of his whereabouts, and how he is keeping up, if you find him first Frankengirl! I think we must launch a search operation to find Ned!
You make an excellent point about North & South Frankengirl! Indolence in the South is one reason Margaret does not wish to return to it. She even dissuades Nicholas from going there, saying he would be so bored there. Basically in Milton she learns to appreciate hard work and justice. It reminds me of a passage from Jane Eyre where Jane says,
"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women...need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer;.."
Thus, Jane's idea of freedom is closely tied to intellectual freedom.
Ah, as for the Search for Neddy, I have a hunch he might be detained in the South (probably, out of civility, forced to call on a Mrs Ingram and her daughters there). However, there is also a small possiblity of him resolving to apply his philanthropic abilites by contributing to the betterment of the North. Perhaps he was having a heated repartee during tea at Nicholas Higgins'
"There is definitely a pleasure in work and in doing things one has not done before (or in awhile). It is liberating and strengthening."
I agree. Sometimes it's nice to think about the things we had dismissed earlier. I am sure your doggie is pleased in any case :) And yay for the free time!! Will the gnomes leave you alone then so you can freely roam the wilderness of the Blogosphere? :D
4 comments:
Ah, that's a great question Frankengirl! What is freedom indeed? I suppose just as one attains one form of freedom, one finds themselves trapped in some other way. I wonder if anyone is completely free?
What I had in mind when I wrote that post was that some people are born in places where they have access to basic human needs, like shelter, food, as well as a good deal of education. However, others are born in places where people cannot do what they wish, in the sense that access to education might be denied them. In the U.S, if someone wanted to become a doctor, for example, they can do it, even if they cannot enter medical school on the first try, or even if they don't have the financial means to go there. In other countries, opportunities are so limited. One is forced to choose something else because they simply have to make a living. They don't have as much freedom with respect to education as someone here does.
Yes! I do like how you mention that one ought to make the best of what one is given.
Does this mean freedom comes as a result of not being idle? As in one must constantly be working (hmm although "work" is a relative term?)
Ooh I didn't notice until you mentioned it. Ned seems to be away at present, does he not? Perhaps he is busy (settling accounts with the milliner perhaps? Or settling accounts of his estates?), or taking a vacation, or simply lost in the forest of Reality (in which case we must, must, must help him find his way back!!). Do let me know of his whereabouts, and how he is keeping up, if you find him first Frankengirl! I think we must launch a search operation to find Ned!
You make an excellent point about North & South Frankengirl! Indolence in the South is one reason Margaret does not wish to return to it. She even dissuades Nicholas from going there, saying he would be so bored there. Basically in Milton she learns to appreciate hard work and justice.
It reminds me of a passage from Jane Eyre where Jane says,
"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women...need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer;.."
Thus, Jane's idea of freedom is closely tied to intellectual freedom.
Ah, as for the Search for Neddy, I have a hunch he might be detained in the South (probably, out of civility, forced to call on a Mrs Ingram and her daughters there). However, there is also a small possiblity of him resolving to apply his philanthropic abilites by contributing to the betterment of the North. Perhaps he was having a heated repartee during tea at Nicholas Higgins'
"There is definitely a pleasure in work and in doing things one has not done before (or in awhile). It is liberating and strengthening."
I agree. Sometimes it's nice to think about the things we had dismissed earlier. I am sure your doggie is pleased in any case :)
And yay for the free time!! Will the gnomes leave you alone then so you can freely roam the wilderness of the Blogosphere? :D
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