Hi, procrastinators!
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. As someone who loves chocolate but has never had a boyfriend to exchange it with, I have mixed feelings about the holiday. In some years, I've got bags of candy that I'm eagerly passing out at school; in others, it's all I can do to show up at school, knowing that I'll be greeted by teddy bears and kissing couples and those stupid Mylar balloons. Last year, Eliza (from Odd Tidbits From Eliza McFarlish-check her out) and I wore black to school to celebrate our single-mess. "Singles Awareness Day," she called it. Though I'm feeling less cruddy about it this year (I'm not hopelessly swept up with the guy I liked around this time last year), I'm still not feeling all warm and fuzzy about it.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. As someone who loves chocolate but has never had a boyfriend to exchange it with, I have mixed feelings about the holiday. In some years, I've got bags of candy that I'm eagerly passing out at school; in others, it's all I can do to show up at school, knowing that I'll be greeted by teddy bears and kissing couples and those stupid Mylar balloons. Last year, Eliza (from Odd Tidbits From Eliza McFarlish-check her out) and I wore black to school to celebrate our single-mess. "Singles Awareness Day," she called it. Though I'm feeling less cruddy about it this year (I'm not hopelessly swept up with the guy I liked around this time last year), I'm still not feeling all warm and fuzzy about it.
I say "happy Valentine's Day from Ophelia" because, if you haven't read Hamlet, she basically had one of the worst breakups in literature (that I've read, of course). After her father tries to manipulate the relationship, Hamlet, who's ostensibly crazy, calls her a liar and a slut within a handful of lines. Has anyone heard of the phrase "get thee to a nunnery"? It's from Hamlet, when Hamlet's insisting that Ophelia shouldn't get married so she couldn't bring more liars into the world. Harsh, huh?
Below I've put one of her songs:
Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donned his clothes,
And dupped the chamber door.
Let in the maid that out a maid
Never departed more.
By Gis and by Saint Charity,
Alack, and fie, for shame!
Young men will do ’t, if they come to ’t.
By Cock, they are to blame.
Quoth she, “Before you tumbled me,
You promised me to wed.”
He answers,
“So would I ha' done, by yonder sun,
An thou hadst not come to my bed.”
Without going into the smutty details, the song is basically about a guy who used her before abandoning her-mostly likely a thinly veiled reference to Hamlet, who's supposed to be away at England. I didn't get it when I first read it, but after rereading it with No Fear Shakespeare in my left hand and the original play in my right, it made a lot more sense. And though I haven't had the experience she's describing, I do know how it feels to be chewed up and spit out by someone I really liked. In fact, I think everyone does. And that line does a better job of describing Valentine's Day than most of the pink and red cards I've seen in the store.
Optimistically yours,
T
Optimistically yours,
T
This is the mad scene from Hamlet 2009, the version that I watched and loved. You may not appreciate this as much if you haven't seen or read Hamlet (or if you have), but I think it's awesome, so I've included it anyway.