Read "John Christopher"

Reading the book "John Christopher" is really a difficult journey. While reading the content, I wanted to give up many times, but in the end I persisted. On the one hand, Prince Ma Boyong’s strong recommendation of the book on Zhihu gave me the confidence to finish reading it, and on the other hand, because It was Mr. Wang Wei who suggested that I read this book when I was depressed, and I would definitely gain new strength. In short, I believe that many readers will be dissatisfied and confused by the large amount of content inside, and my suggestion is to skip them and read until the end.

What is worth complaining about is that this book is almost completely unknown in the Western world. Searching for Jean Christophe on Google basically turns up nothing, and even contemporary French people have almost no knowledge of this work by Romain Rolland. As for why this work is relatively popular in China, it may have a lot to do with the legendary translator Fu Lei.

The life journey described in this book is as broad as a long river, and it involves many and complex life and social issues. I want to use a few short chapters to analyze the ideas the author wants to express.

1. Lust

Lust is different from love, but the power of lust is far beyond ordinary people's imagination.

As a boy, Christopher fell in love with Sapina, a lazy, slender and quiet woman. The two people are often together. They don't understand each other's previous thoughts, but they love each other silently. It was not until Sapina suddenly developed a high fever and passed away that Christopher felt heartbroken. Rosa, who silently loved Christopher at the time, knew that her feelings were unacceptable to Christopher, but she felt that Sapina was He is so noble and mysterious, and he also has a sympathetic impression of the male protagonist.

But what happened next was simply disillusionment. Christopher suddenly got together with Ada, a vulgar, rude, and very sensual female staff member, and tasted sensuality for the first time and couldn't extricate himself. The love between the two people is so incomprehensible: Christopher lives for art, while Ada hates the so-called noble and sacred so much that she must defile them. Later, Ada devised a trick: During a trip, she went to elope and have sex with Christopher's brother, and then handed over one of her beautiful female companions to Christopher. Christopher felt so insulted that he collapsed completely.

From then on, he broke off relations with his brother and Ada, and had no contact with them until his death. When he returned to his hometown decades later, all he saw was Ada's grave.

But the irony of fate is definitely more than that. More than twenty years later, when John Christoph's closest friend died, and he was once ruined for participating in the riots in France, he had no choice but to live in the house of a doctor friend Borrom in Switzerland. As a result, in the endless loneliness, Christopher actually had an affair with the doctor's wife! In their impoverished lives, the new joy and trembling brought by music led the two people to fall into an even deeper abyss of despair. Unable to bear such a life and his own despicability, Christopher had no choice but to make an appointment with Mrs. Borom to commit suicide. As a result, gas failed and the gun found was still rusty. Christopher mustered up the last courage to leave Switzerland and flee to Italy, and finally defeated the shackles of lust.

At this point, the author obviously acknowledges the thrilling power of lust. Christopher has suffered so much and gone through so many trials of fate, but he still cannot defeat the powerful vitality of desire. This is consistent with the author's consistent point of view: people cannot control their own destiny. A true brave man is not without despicable sentiments, but will never succumb to despicable sentiments.

When Christopher left Ada, he thought he had gained the joy of creation and would no longer be bound by lust. However, when the creative inspiration dries up and the meaning of life dies, the flame of passion begins to ignite again, like the last dance of life. In Japanese literature, works such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow Country" by Kawabata Yasunari have very profound discussions on this point and can be read as references.

2. Marriage

The author obviously has a pessimistic attitude towards marriage. At this point, the book spends a lot of space describing the tragedy of the marriage of Christopher's friends Olivier and Jacqueline. Jacqueline is not only beautiful but also has a wealthy family. She is a match made in heaven with Olivier, a poet who is melancholy by nature and has a philanthropic heart. However, after the happiness of her new marriage, Jacqueline gradually fell into emptiness and despair of the death of love. The more she tried to seize the love of that year, the more she felt that the death of love brought about by marriage was irreversible. Even after having children, Jacqueline was somewhat unable to invest in her children because she could not regain her former passion. The pain of the two people is getting worse and worse, but there is nothing they can do. The two of them became increasingly secluded and lonely, and finally Jacqueline actually ran away with an ugly love expert, causing a scandal.

There are countless women like Jacqueline in the Western literary world. The West collectively calls it "Madame Bovary's Dilemma." The dilemma of Madame Bovary is actually the story of the young bourgeois women who vaguely yearn for a life of luxury and dreamy love, but in the end they end up looking for new excitement due to the boring reality and the disillusionment of love, and end up falling into a dead end.

Whether it is Mrs. Walter in Maupassant's "Beautiful Friend" or the heroine of "Anna Karenina", the story of extramarital affairs has always flourished in history. Marriage is a besieged city. People outside want to get in, but people inside want to get out.

In the third volume, the author points out: "The most terrible enemy of all precious things is not bad things. Even vices have their value-but they themselves become Habit. The mortal enemy of the soul is the erosion of time."

What is the solution? The author uses the example of the Arnold couple growing old together. The author believes that the best way is to create a connection between the lover and the past love, because the initial tenderness must be followed by a period of mental depression, when a person can only be sustained by memories of the past. In addition, new creation between lovers is very necessary. New bonds and new dreams must be created. So that the vitality will not have nowhere to vent and go astray.

In "White Album 2", Haruki and Yukina were hurt by each other and could not get close. In the end, Haruki resolutely played the guitar for Yukina every day, and the two overcame all kinds of resistance to perform on stage together. In this way, they broke away from the old love triangle and gave birth to new memories of the two of them. The beginning of marriage is by no means the end of love between two people, but just the beginning of a series of new challenges.

3. Suffering

Christopher’s suffering seems endless. As a teenager, Christopher struggled with poverty and had to work to support his family. The deaths of his grandfather, father and uncle put too many heavy things on his young heart. The ruthlessness and treachery of his brothers, the death and betrayal of his lover, made Christopher immersed in creation and art. But I found that everyone's vision is so shallow and the artistic level of ordinary people is so vulgar! Common and boring works are popular, while truly thoughtful works are ignored. Christopher fought tenaciously against public opinion, but was regarded as a madman and suffered endless ridicule and ridicule. In the end, Christopher killed the gendarme due to his bravery and was forced to live in exile in France away from his homeland. While in France, Christopher's living dilemma worsened. He slept in a cage-like room and could only eat one meal a day. Not only that, but his work was also tampered with by the publisher. In middle age, Christopher lost his only confidant because of participating in the riots, and was forced to go into exile in Switzerland and Italy. Throughout his life, Christopher missed his true love, was very lonely, and lived a miserable life.

Christopher did not fall because he was a hero. But Olivier's sister Anand fell in endless suffering. Anand and Olivier lived a prosperous life in their early years, but their father committed suicide due to debt, and the family pillar collapsed instantly. His mother also died prematurely due to overwork. Anand took over his mother's responsibility and devoted himself to raising Olivier to go to college. For this reason, Anand gave up the girl's fantasy, endured other people's difficulties and criticism, gave up other people's marriage proposals, refused social and entertainment activities, and worked everywhere for Olivier to study. In the end, Olivier successfully entered university (it was free to attend university in Paris at that time), but his body was worn out due to long-term suffering and he eventually died.

Sadly: Olivier, as her sister's most proud work, her life's sustenance and pride, eventually lost her life in an inexplicable "revolution". Christopher angrily asked God: What is the meaning of all this?

Don’t eat too much suffering. If there is too much, a person’s heart will dry up. Christopher is lucky because he still has people he loves and loves him, Olivier, Grazia, and his music. Very early on, Christopher saw the truth of life clearly:

“He saw that life is an endless, restless, ruthless battle. Anyone who wants to be a good person must Everyone who is called a human being has to fight against ruthless enemies at all times: the fatal forces of instinct, the desires that confuse the mind, the thoughts that corrupt you and destroy you, are all stubborn enemies of this kind... …Then the fifteen-year-old Puritan heard the voice of his God:

'Onward, onward! Never stop!'"

Gautoffre! Uncle Te said to Christopher: "You have to face this new day with a reverent heart. Don't think about things a year or ten years from now. You have to think about today. ...Don't use violence to squeeze. Life. Let’s get past today. We must have a pious attitude towards it every day. We must not insult it or hinder its growth... A person should do what he can. Alsichkann (do your best). ”

A hero does what he can do that ordinary people cannot do.

4. Redemption and Rebirth

In his later years, Christopher had a dialogue with God in his heart.

"Lord, I am in so much pain!"

"Do you think I am not in pain? For thousands of years, death has been chasing me, and nothingness has been waiting for me. I only relied on it once I fought my way out after another victory. The river of life is stained with my blood."

"Fight, always fight?"

"Yes. Fight there too. Nothingness surrounds God, and God surrenders nothingness.

The rhythm of battle is the most sublime harmony, and it is not a harmony for your human ears. Just know it exists. Do your part quietly and let God arrange everything. "

"I have no strength. "

"Sing for those strong ones. "

"My throat is broken. "

"Then just pray. "

"My heart is no longer clean. ”

“Throw it away and take mine.” "

"What if my life is extinguished? "

"Then light up other lives. "

Life is a series of deaths and resurrections.

Finally, let us review the majestic ending of "John Christopher":

Saint Klee Christopher crossed the river. He walked against the current all night. Now his strong body stood like a rock on the water, carrying a delicate and heavy child on his left shoulder. Leaning on an uprooted pine tree; the pine tree buckled, and his spine buckled. Those who watched him set out said that he would not survive. They laughed at him for a long time. Then the night came. They were tired. Now Christophe had gone so far that he could no longer hear the shouts of the people on the shore. In the turbulent water, he only heard the calm voice of the child, holding on with his little hands. A lock of hair on the giant's forehead kept shouting: "Let's go!" "——He then walked, hunched his back, eyes forward, always looking at the dark opposite bank, and the white wall slowly appeared.

The morning prayer bell rang suddenly, and countless The bell suddenly woke them up. It was dawn again! Behind the dark cliff, the invisible sun rose in the golden sky. So he finally reached the other side and said to the child:

“We’re here! Alas, how heavy you are! Child, who are you? ”

The child answered:

“I am the Day that is coming.

”

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