"A paradise without a map": The text about Catherine

Xzavier 2021-10-22 14:34:05

Original: My darling, I'm waiting for you. How long is a day in the dark, or a week? The fire is gone now and I'm cold, horribly cold.
I really ought to drag myself outside, but then there'd be the sun. I'm afraid I'll waste the light on the paintings and on writing these words. We die. We die, We die rich with lovers and tribes. Tastes we have swallowed. Bodies we have entered and swum up like rivers. Fears we have hidden in, like this wretched cave. I want all this marked on my body.
We 're the real countries, not the boundaries drawn on maps, the names of powerful men. I know you will come and carry me out into the palace of winds. That's all I have wanted to walk in such a palace with you, with friends , an earth without maps. The lamps gone out and I'm writing in the darkness.
Translation: Honey, I'm waiting for you. How long is the day without seeing the sun? Is it longer than a week? The fire has gone out, and I feel cold, bitterly cold.
I should have dragged myself out of the cave, where the sun was shining brightly. Looking at pictures and writing some text may consume some power. We are dead, our souls return to heaven, where we know all the people we love, regardless of race. We have swallowed each other's body fragrance; we have been united in spirit and desire, and we love each other deeply; we have cherished fear, like the darkness of this cave. I want to engrave these on my body forever.
Our country is real, there is no border drawn on the map, and there is no name for the strong. I know you will come back, take me out of the cave and step into the palace of the wind. This is my only wish: to walk in the wind with you and some friends on a land where there is no map... When the oil ran out, the lamp withered, it was pitch black when I was writing.

Imagining Catherine's mood in the cave at that time, I always felt that these languages ​​were so impoverished. It's like a cage. In addition, after my insincere translation, the "taste of the middle" must be conveyed. In addition, I personally feel that the reason why this text can move people's hearts is not only because of its emotional content, but also because of its ideological content.
First of all, please pay attention to the concept of "map". As a member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Investigation Team, Katherine and Almasy should be well aware of the special value of maps. However, one of them gave the map to the German army, and the other wanted to live in a place without a map. Isn't that weird? To find out the cause, we still have to return to another theme that is as important as love in this film: anti-war. (As you all know, the producer of the film slammed Bush's war in Iraq at the awards ceremony of the British Academy for Performing Arts, shocking people.) In this film, the geographical significance of the map has given way to politics and military affairs. In fact, looking back at our human history, why doesn't it always do so? Isn't the map often used as a tool to satisfy the power and possessive desires of certain careerists? How many wars and conflicts does humanity have because of the desire to change the map? As long as the curved lines on the map exist, anyone can be the maker of the war, and anyone can be the victim of the war. I think Almasy should empathize with this. When Caravaggio accused Almasy of handing over the map to the Germans and nearly causing the deaths of tens of millions of Allied soldiers, Almasy's answer was really thought-provoking: "Yes, tens of thousands of people will die, but different people." Demarcation, this The ontological behavior in the map has not only provided convenience for mankind, but also caused many confrontations and conflicts, and caused many separations and even killings. However, can human beings really get rid of the demarcation? "A paradise without a map on one side"-a place where there is no gender prejudice, no racial discrimination, no hierarchical oppression, no geographical restrictions, no national distinction, a place where people can be free, unruly, and intimate like the wind. This may only exist in the kingdom of heaven, in that distant utopia. So, Katherine went, and Almasy went too. Because only there can they find their "real" home.
I remember that I submitted a post on this forum on "Two Questions That Must Be Known To Understand This Film", in which I asked you why the film always portrays Katherine with the image of "water". Here, you may understand what it refers to: water, as a liquid, is a thing that can eliminate boundaries. In addition, it also excludes demarcation. Because it is different from solid objects, it is difficult for you to draw boundaries in the water. Of course, the image of water in Western culture has many different meanings from Chinese culture. There are also many manifestations in this film. You can slowly appreciate it.
Secondly, please pay attention to where this text is written. It is not difficult for an observant audience to find that it is written on the end of Almasy's book, not on his scraps of paper. You know, this is not an ordinary book, it is the "History" known as the "Father of History" Herodotus. Not only is it dilapidated, it is an "ancient book" in form, but in essence, as the earliest historical work in the West, it is also quite old. This book is by no means a prop that Minghella pulled for arty. It is actually used to symbolize a long and deep-rooted ideology in human society-male chauvinism. Because history (his story) has always been written "his story" (his story), and its narrative subject is not male. Therefore, it is actually a discourse tool to maintain the patriarchal ideology. Because of this, Hanna made it clear that she did not like this book, thinking that "It's all about men, too many men!" and she is more familiar with this book than Hannah For Katharine of the book, this is even more obvious. At the bonfire party, she chose to tell the story of the queen who rebelled against the king in the book. And she wrote this text on the last page of "History", which is undoubtedly a bold challenge to the hegemony of male discourse. The idea of ​​rejecting the "map" expressed here also has the meaning of resistance (from the perspective of love, this text is a tribute to Almasy's words. Katharine said that she likes those words, and I believe Almasy also Love this text. Otherwise, why did he choose to die in Hannah's reading. The ultimate love is death, indeed!). As a result, "History" written through the procedures of women is no longer a monologue of male discourse because of their embedded voices, and becomes a brand-new history. However, this new page cost Catherine her life. Fortunately, Hannah took the book again and hugged it tightly, leaving the monastery that symbolized salvation and rebirth, and embarked on a new journey. And the little girl in the same car, the immature and innocent smiling face, just like the sunshine from time to time in the bushes, filled with infinite hope.

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Extended Reading
  • Amber 2022-03-24 09:01:25

    I have often thought lately that such a magnificent film as "The English Patient" is (more) impossible to make in China today. People use the rock-solid "correct" three views to hinder all possibilities to explore the subtle human nature.

  • Anabel 2022-03-25 09:01:06

    Voldemort is so heroic...it's a desert version of "Titanic" TOT

The English Patient quotes

  • Caravaggio: In Italy, you get chickens, but no eggs. In Africa there were always eggs, but... never chickens. Who separated them?

  • Almásy: I fear Madox knows about us, he keeps mentioning Anna Karenina