"Zhuan" Douban user Tiziana answers Gongziyue's question

This "wild bear" refers specifically to Tristan, because his brother is faithful and reliable but not as free and easy as him, his younger brother is gentle but not strong enough for him, only Tristan is not only physically as strong as a wild bear, but also psychologically like a wild bear. free. In one case, the tavern owner refused to give a beer to "Knife". Tristan couldn't accept this situation of being controlled by someone else, even if the other party was stronger than him, even though his father had warned him seriously, he still insisted on turning the disadvantage. It's just that this little episode is still within his control (both ability control and psychological self control).
The first breakdown of this sense of powerlessness came after witnessing the tragic death of his brother. The two officers who shot Samuel had been shot dead on the spot, but there was nowhere to vent his crushing emotions. So he avenged the enemy with Indian-style slaughter. Watching him go through the crowd in blood seems to be handsome, but his expression shows that this emotion is beyond his rational control.
The same expression reappeared after he saw a calf die in a similar situation to his younger brother (entangled in barbed wire). He is smart and strong, he is experienced, he is trusted, but he watched his relatives die in front of his eyes. In addition to cursing God, he could only resent himself. The weak animal reproduces Samuel's death and reinforces the sense of powerlessness. So he felt that he couldn't bear Susannah's love, so he self-exiled, sailed hunting, and found a sense of control of life from riding waves and slaughtering animals.
The third collapse of the balance came after the accidental death of his wife. Tristan was imprisoned for 30 days, but the murderer did not receive any punishment. Because it was an "accident", there was no way to resort to it. The process is no longer important, the important thing is that he has grown up and has the ability to face the subsequent results-the consequences that he "can't handle". This is directly reflected in his courage to say goodbye to his father. Compare this goodbye with the goodbye with Susannah many years ago.
Maybe that's why Tristan later chose not to kill the grizzly. He saw himself in the bear: the bear was also strong, and in the absolute dominance of its own little world, but when faced with a greater power over which it was powerless (a shotgun in the hands of a man in the case of a bear), it had everything in it. Its own advantages are not enough.
Therefore, my personal understanding is not the pursuit of freedom and dreams, but the pursuit of power and the power to control one's own life and life.

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