Sylvia and Valentina are two sides of a mirror: past and present, physical and spiritual, gorgeous and ordinary, sexual glamour and spiritual spark. But their essence has something in common. They were born in the changes of the times at the same time. They are all "liberated women" who are full of individuality, rebelliousness, and pursue the value of their own lives. It's just that the two people saw the direction of complete departure. , took the completely opposite approach, and ended up with a completely different ending.
Sylvia is an out-and-out "men conquer the world, women conquer men" advocate, she was born noble, powerful, charming, wealthy, as the heiress of the family fortune (only mother and priest when married) Accompanying), there is really capital to make men in the world fascinated. In fact, she has always taken pleasure in teasing men, treating them like her own pet dogs, using them to satisfy her self-esteem, and finding her own place in life between the sex appeals of the intoxicated.
She has no guilt for her debauchery, sloppiness, and infidelity, because her eyes have long seen through the false masks of the upper class, and she flouted the normative definition of women's behavior by patriarchy, and retorted it with wanton ridicule. She didn't think she did anything wrong because "men have always been like this", so why can't women be like this? Just like Christopher's lines in the play: "A man betrayed you, so you have the right to avenge another man, this is the revenge of the woman (all) against the man (all)." Christopher knew her, from beginning to end, no matter how many men she had slept with and who she loved, only Christopher in her life had ever understood her irritability, pain and emptiness, and how she seemed to be strong Broken soul beneath a nonchalant exterior. But unfortunately, it was too late. When she finally searched all over the vast sea of people, went through thousands of rivers and mountains, and suddenly looked back and found that the person next to her pillow was the one she really wanted, everything was overwhelmed. Before she knew it, her and his life paths had already crossed each other, and then separated, and they each went to the other side of the legend, and could never turn back.
The root of the tragedy may be that Sylvia's love has always been self, demanding, and dependent. Christopher understands her, but she herself has never understood Christopher's inner world. She simply defines love as passion and desire. She needs company, sex, and each other. In her poor first half of her life, she only got this kind of love, and she always thought that was all love; but Christopher didn't just need company, he needed sex, he needed sweet talk, he needed more and more: he needed someone who could understand his interest in revising encyclopedias without finding him weird; he needed someone who could understand his politics Someone to talk about and comment on; someone who can talk casually about books, paintings, and sonnets, or stand shoulder to shoulder with the stormy sea of fate—he just wants to pull that Manpower, two people grow old together slowly.
What a beautiful dream! A soul mate, a spiritual rival, another soul who is completely independent in personality and fits perfectly with himself, if such a person really exists, it is a miracle on earth!
Christopher thought that he would never be able to meet that person (in fact, no matter it is a thousand years ago or a thousand years later, only a very few lucky people will always have this kind of luck), he was determined to embrace this life. Corrupted to death with his own sense of responsibility, but a miracle happened so suddenly, he met Valentina.
If Sylvia's "feminism" refers to sexual liberation and the defense of one's own physical and emotional autonomy (an important theme of the feminist movement in the first place, like runaway Nora, like Anna Karenina), then Valentina's "liberation" is undoubtedly much deeper. She's well educated, she cuts her hair short and wears men's clothing to hide her gender identity, she cares about politics, she goes out to work, she's self-reliant, she's really on the cutting edge of a new age, and for men, it's not just sex objects and the mother of the child, but a "full spirit", an individual who can communicate equally.
In a sense, Valentina is a figurative symbol of modern women, and it is the sustenance of all the author's imagination and beauty, almost perfect. But it is also her perfection that makes this character too simple, too pure, too infatuated, too positive and upward, and the feminist education she has received in her thoughts and actions actively run to be a lover. In the face of contradictions (even her mother can't understand), her choices and answers seem too determined and too full of happiness, which indeed highlights her great love, but at the same time, she loses what Sylvia has in her. of flesh and blood.
But even so, you can't help but love Valentina, even if she's a phantom -- after all, who doesn't have a perfect phantom in their heart? It was the lover we never met, the unborn child, the foundation of our morals and goodness, the byword for all the good things in our lives.
If we don't love her/him, who else can we love?
When the show ended, there was only one scene that lingered in my mind, and it wasn't even a part of the story, it was just a simple picture of Sylvia and Valentina standing on opposite sides of the mirror and interacting with each other. The opposite picture. Sylvia is fascinated, Valentina is peaceful and joyful; Sylvia is the living beings struggling in that era, and Valentina is the beauty that the author deliberately "compensated" to Christopher Dreams - Silvia is the reality of us: contradiction, sinking, pain, loss; and Valentina is the other side we want to achieve: pure, tough, independent, complete... and the most noble in the world The men's hearts are united and they share sweet love.
The most interesting thing is that Sylvia, who was dependent on a man, had to be alone in the end, but Valentina, who was independent and independent, found her soul. What does this story tell us? Girls, don’t be foolish enough to be tricked by men to go home to wash clothes, cook, and take care of children. Although I greatly respect the dedication of full-time housewives to the family, you must know that countless Sylvia and Valentina’s lifelong struggles have In exchange for the opportunity for us to leave the family and enter the workplace today, once you voluntarily give up this power and lose your spiritual independence, even if you are as sexy and rich as Sylvia, you will inevitably be worn out by the rough life.
It is true that there are countless stupid men in this world who are obsessed with beautiful skin, but it has never been precious love, not the love that can make Sylvia happy. Love is dignity, understanding, perseverance, and courage. It is the gorgeous resonance of an independent personality and another independent personality, and it is a mutual projection that enriches the inner world. Girls, if you want to catch a real good man, you have to start working hard now!
--Wish you guys good luck.
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