The full objectivation operated by modernity and the subsequent indoctrination of the masses to this peculiar way of looking at reality has produced individuals lacking a most important mental faculty. Trained to consider certain hypotheses forbidden, the new minds already grow up with a deficit of possibilities, which are torn out at their roots. More and more it seems obvious that the greatest misery of this age is that it has objectified the human being, and therefore destroyed his transcendent dimension, reducing him to the limited and corrupted character of ordinary matter. The consequences of this terrible night of the human spirit range from dehumanization to dumbing down, from cultural destruction to moral regression, from chaos to the vacuum that has become characteristic of it. How was it possible to reach this point? Once again, it seems right when Tolstoy says that there are historical circumstances that seem defined by a greater force—we are left, as always, with astonishment and hesitation in conjecturing the whys…
Category: Notes
Although Much Is to Be Gained and Something Can Be Learned…
Although much is to be gained and something can be learned about the mind through dream interpretation, one must be very careful not to fall into the tempting stupidity of rationalizing the non-rationalizable. It is certainly very useful to be aware of what goes on in states where consciousness volatilizes; there is much to be learned and the exercise is quite stimulating. What one must not do is succumb to the logical need to attribute meaning to spontaneous, unpredictable, irrational manifestations. A careful study, with time, points out connections, coincidences, and perhaps one or another circumstantial or emotional archetype particular to the analyzed mind. The rest varies as experience, temperament, real-life circumstances, recent events, and also the unlimited imagination vary. Considering all this, it must be admitted that, although often misused, this is an intriguing study, to say the least.
Happy Are Those Who Discover…
Happy are those who discover that it is not necessary to answer when they are addressed, that it is not necessary to pay attention to those who demand it, that it is not necessary to bow down to the theater of convenience and become a slave to this social game. Happy are the misanthropes, the brutish cave-dwellers, the hermits, the pilgrims, the rebels, and all those who are repugnant to socializing!—for happiness, after all, is not to be a wretch.
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
It seems to me that Dickens’ greatest achievement in Oliver Twist lies in the opening chapters of the work. Dickens introduces us to the protagonist in such moving conditions that it is impossible not to arouse immediate empathy in us. The story goes on, and the plot is handled with intelligence: all the time we realize that there were other choices, perhaps more natural, but which would undermine the relationship we have with Oliver—Dickens chooses not to tarnish his character, nor limit him to the obvious. Oliver Twist, without a doubt, from the very beginning of the narrative proves to be more interesting than a poor wretch. The antagonists, the settings, the progression of the plot: all this is very well described and convincing. From the middle of the work, however, our desires begin to be satisfied, and the narrative culminates in a planned ending that is designed to please. Here, perhaps, one could lament the absence of surprise, as one could also point out that more initiative was expected from the protagonist. As a work of art, however, Oliver Twist closes a fair dramatic arc and is therefore very good.