A weblog devoted to spurring a conversation among those who use words to varying degrees in their daily work. Hosted by John Ettorre, a Cleveland-based writer and editor. Please email me at: john.ettorre@gmail.com.
"There comes a time when you realize that everything is a dream, and only those things preserved in writing have any possibility of being real."
--James Salter
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Lost in Translation
Between the Genders
'The word love has by no means the same sense for both sexes, and this is one cause for the serious misunderstandings that divide them.'
--Simone de Beauvoir, author of The Second Sex. You can learn more about her life and work here.
I read some of her writings a while back and found some good insights. There are really no new discoveries about human emotions - they've been recognized and written about for centuries.
I'm not an argumentative type, generally, but I think the differences narrow with age -- at the younger age, at the older age. Compassion trumps love in many cases--completely avoids the possessiveness. "What the world needs now is compassion" doesn't quite have the right rhythm, though. "That's the only thing that there's just too little of."
Lost in Translation
A wise woman. The simply comment you quote simply has not penetrated the consciousness of most men and women but it is very true.
ReplyDeleteThanks, June.
ReplyDeleteI read some of her writings a while back and found some good insights. There are really no new discoveries about human emotions - they've been recognized and written about for centuries.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Diane. There are only new and perhaps better ways to put it.
ReplyDeleteI would be surprised if the word 'love' meant the same thing to two people, even two people who believe they're in love with each other.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right about that, Jim.
ReplyDeleteDitto, ditto and ditto. But we will never stop pondering and writing about the enigma.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly, Kass. For me, it seems to be an enigma wrapped in a riddle, stuffed into a question mark.
ReplyDelete"One is not born but becomes a woman" (The Second Sex, 267)
ReplyDeleteI'm not an argumentative type, generally, but I think the differences narrow with age -- at the younger age, at the older age. Compassion trumps love in many cases--completely avoids the possessiveness. "What the world needs now is compassion" doesn't quite have the right rhythm, though. "That's the only thing that there's just too little of."
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting way of thinking about this, Maria. Now that you mention it, I think they really do narrow with age. Thanks for adding that.
ReplyDeleteNice blog post. Deserving of appreciation. Thanks.
ReplyDelete