So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
Robyn,
There are two fascinating points that you bring up:
Are we only products of the products we create? & Why Jennie? The first question, I think, is one that’s been the foundation of so many social movements that at this point it’s almost chic to keep talking about it today. Not only did the idea spark the punks to expand, form, & reform their sounds & ideas from Frank Zappa in the 60’s to the Sex Pistols in the 70’s to Minor Threat & the DC hardcore scene from the 80’s to today, but the violence – both materialistically & socially – brought on by the concept has been a little shocking. But really, I don’t see how shocking it can be once you realize how chilling it is to think about: if we are only products of that which we produce, then why do we exist? Yes, I think everything has a purpose, but is it possible to discover ours if we only matter in relation to the “product”? Or better yet, is it NECESSARY? I think it’s important to not only figure out yr creative SOMETHING but to figure out the purpose of yr something as well; it’s there, you just have to pull it out.
Yr second question – Why Jennie? – is a little harder (not that I answered the first one at all), but I don’t think Jennie matters to the book thematically, only structurally. I think she is essentially that funny word that Dr. Campbell used to describe something that seems to be “the point” at first but actually doesn’t matter. I can’t remember the word right now, but maybe it’ll come to me later. Jennie is the muse, but she is also the downfall, the pivotal moment of Love’s ultimate aggression on the soul of Man, who himself is almost lured to death. It isn’t that she is a woman, but that she is a mystery, & being a mystery enables her to be THE ONE – that thing that evokes Eben’s work.
Thanks for letting me borrow Vertigo; I didn’t think too highly of it. The plot progressed slower than molasses in wintertime, & I really didn’t care in the end. The final scene didn’t make sense, either, it seemed anti-climactic & ultimately unecessary. Any theories on that final death? I don’t understand it & don’t really care about understanding it, either. It was just one of THOSE films.
Brad