“In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once, no matter how many lifetimes you live.” - Robert James Waller
I finally read “The bridges of Madison County”. A book that talks of love: eternal and soulful. Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid and their 4-day love affair that has leapt through the boundaries of time and generations to find its place on the charts of sacrifice and passion. A love affair that made a lonely Italian Iowa housewife, fall in love with the Last Cowboy (as Robert called himself). A love affair that made a National Geographic magazine photographer, who had come down to visit Iowa, for a feature on covered bridges, eventually bridged his life for eternity with the woman who never left his heart and mind after the four days of togetherness.
The candles, the brandy, the beer, the cigarettes (Camel), the essence of life in the dance, that rolled with the radio in 1965. The essence of love that melted between Robert and Francesca. Love that would never die, for it never lost the respect for its responsibilities, for its truthfulness, for the exiting life that would come to a standstill, for the death of the animal, that she believed existed in him…
Francesca Johnson: “I'm not sure you can [be yourself] with me along. Don't you see, I love you so much that I cannot think of restraining you for a moment. To do that would be to kill the wild, magnificent animal that is you.. I have feelings of responsibility here.. To Richard (her husband), to the children. Just my leaving, taking away my physical presence, would be hard enough for Richard. That alone might destroy him. On top of that, and this is even worse, he would have to live the rest of his life with the whispers of the people here.. the children would hear the snickering of Winterset for as long as they live here. They would suffer, too. And they would hate me for it.. I cannot live with the thought. [of abandoning my responsibilities] If I did leave now, those thoughts would turn me into something other than the woman you have come to love.” – Robert James Waller
Are love stories like this true enough to survive? What were the reasons behind the story being eternal…
They truly loved each other, for whatever little time it was, they gave themselves wholly.
The fire that they saw in each other, they had never known before, neither did the see it ever after they parted…
They had never believed, that they would ever come across something so beautiful, that would change their life forever…
They had lived together only for four days…
Was that the basic reason, why Francesca and Robert’s love became eternal?
The basic reason being that they never let the relationship into the fire and grind of monotony, they never even had the time to get used to each other. How would have Francesca been, had she left her life in Iowa and gone with Robert to Asia, Would the monotony that she had earlier felt in her farm life, never crept in? Would Robert always 24*7, for years to come, had been as romantic as he had been in those 4 days? Would they have actually spent the rest of their life in music, brandy, cigarettes, candles, love making and dance?
If it has to be eternal love, then I guess it has to be my parents, 26 years of togetherness, and yet I have never seen them yell at each other, never seen them show a divided reaction in front of us, Never seen any decision from them, other than a unanimous one. They are the ones who have learnt that the special animal is inside them to unleash. They are ones who have survived and yet defied the chains of monotony.
I might be saying all this because I have not come across my share of eternal love, the ones who have might vouch for it differently. I do not even know if I am actually waiting for my share of it. Somewhere deep inside yes, but on the face of it, in a practical manner, not really...
I finally read “The bridges of Madison County”. A book that talks of love: eternal and soulful. Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid and their 4-day love affair that has leapt through the boundaries of time and generations to find its place on the charts of sacrifice and passion. A love affair that made a lonely Italian Iowa housewife, fall in love with the Last Cowboy (as Robert called himself). A love affair that made a National Geographic magazine photographer, who had come down to visit Iowa, for a feature on covered bridges, eventually bridged his life for eternity with the woman who never left his heart and mind after the four days of togetherness.
The candles, the brandy, the beer, the cigarettes (Camel), the essence of life in the dance, that rolled with the radio in 1965. The essence of love that melted between Robert and Francesca. Love that would never die, for it never lost the respect for its responsibilities, for its truthfulness, for the exiting life that would come to a standstill, for the death of the animal, that she believed existed in him…
Francesca Johnson: “I'm not sure you can [be yourself] with me along. Don't you see, I love you so much that I cannot think of restraining you for a moment. To do that would be to kill the wild, magnificent animal that is you.. I have feelings of responsibility here.. To Richard (her husband), to the children. Just my leaving, taking away my physical presence, would be hard enough for Richard. That alone might destroy him. On top of that, and this is even worse, he would have to live the rest of his life with the whispers of the people here.. the children would hear the snickering of Winterset for as long as they live here. They would suffer, too. And they would hate me for it.. I cannot live with the thought. [of abandoning my responsibilities] If I did leave now, those thoughts would turn me into something other than the woman you have come to love.” – Robert James Waller
Are love stories like this true enough to survive? What were the reasons behind the story being eternal…
They truly loved each other, for whatever little time it was, they gave themselves wholly.
The fire that they saw in each other, they had never known before, neither did the see it ever after they parted…
They had never believed, that they would ever come across something so beautiful, that would change their life forever…
They had lived together only for four days…
Was that the basic reason, why Francesca and Robert’s love became eternal?
The basic reason being that they never let the relationship into the fire and grind of monotony, they never even had the time to get used to each other. How would have Francesca been, had she left her life in Iowa and gone with Robert to Asia, Would the monotony that she had earlier felt in her farm life, never crept in? Would Robert always 24*7, for years to come, had been as romantic as he had been in those 4 days? Would they have actually spent the rest of their life in music, brandy, cigarettes, candles, love making and dance?
If it has to be eternal love, then I guess it has to be my parents, 26 years of togetherness, and yet I have never seen them yell at each other, never seen them show a divided reaction in front of us, Never seen any decision from them, other than a unanimous one. They are the ones who have learnt that the special animal is inside them to unleash. They are ones who have survived and yet defied the chains of monotony.
I might be saying all this because I have not come across my share of eternal love, the ones who have might vouch for it differently. I do not even know if I am actually waiting for my share of it. Somewhere deep inside yes, but on the face of it, in a practical manner, not really...
