Olive Kitteridge
I have read both the Chinese translation of the novel and the short play, which complement each other to some extent, and they are both excellent works.
Let me talk about a few impressive points. One is the reflection on modern people's obsession with psychotherapy and narcissism. It is reflected in the son Christopher. It is true that Olive is not a perfect mother in the modern sense, but the way she raises her son, it is difficult to say that it is all due to her own personality, but more to the social rules of the time. Just like when I was a child, my parents beat and scolded corporal punishment. Children are particularly common, not because my parents had any special malice towards me, but at that time everyone felt that this was the correct way of education. The family of origin theory can at most be an exploration of a possibility. If this is regarded as the whole reason for disappointment or irresponsibility in one's life, how can a person find the motivation for self-growth from this attribution? Psychotherapy has its origins in the United States today. Is it also related to the loss of self-motivation of individuals?
The second point is about intimacy. Does the long-term relationship really depend on mutual loyalty? Olive and Henry's relationship lasted until one of them's life came to an end, but their marriage didn't become a beautiful fairy tale just because they grew old. Olive is strong and mean, Henry is gentle and cowardly, they have had their hearts and minds, they have hated each other, and there have been countless moments when they almost couldn't go on, but they also supported each other and understood each other. When Henry put down the phone and went to comfort Dennis, Olive didn't say much. When Olive was covering another man's head and crying in the bedroom, Henry just stood silently behind the door, not to mention that the two were running the business one by one. The home, the days and nights after the countless sons who walked together hand in hand left home... Christopher only saw the appearance of the incompatibility between his parents. He could not understand the complexity behind a long-term relationship, his short-term marriage and the relationship between his parents. Shou just happens to be a contrast. The modern people represented by Christopher are more and more eager to get out of a relationship that does not suit oneself, and completely lose the patience to understand and understand. Is this also a manifestation of self-love and narcissism to some extent?
The third point concerns the situation of the elderly after widowhood. The portrayal in the short play is particularly real and moving. Her husband died, her son was cruel, and the old man in the New Testament was completely boring. Olive took out his gun and prepared to kill himself. It was a coincidence that the little naughty ghosts who had called her old witches suddenly ran out at this moment, and Olive was very busy. Hiding the gun so as not to frighten the children, the children also released their innocent goodwill - allowing Olive to "picnic" in "their territory", this little mutual goodwill is enough to give Olive the motivation to continue living. Jackson, an old man who likes to show off and watch junk radio shows, graduated from a prestigious school but can't accept a gay daughter, and thinks he's as mean as her, but so what? Like Olive, he has just lost the person he loved the most, and both are afraid of the bone-breaking loneliness, but he still misses the scenery outside the window and needs to snuggle together to keep warm!
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