tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092896.post109863801777469479..comments2023-11-13T04:15:43.184-06:00Comments on Cantànima: A wonderful sentiment, but does he mean it?jack perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14681558050302289235noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092896.post-1099930983263609192004-11-08T10:23:00.000-06:002004-11-08T10:23:00.000-06:00FYI, I was reading about The Brothers K on the wee...FYI, I was reading about The Brothers K on the weekend, and the critic claimed that Dostoyevsky is known to have admired Les Miserables, and that some critics believe he based Father Zossima on Bishop Bienvenue.<br /><br />ElliotAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092896.post-1098898946657023512004-10-27T12:42:00.000-05:002004-10-27T12:42:00.000-05:00My horror isn't that I find Javert sympathetic; it...My horror isn't that I find Javert sympathetic; it's that Javert is the <I>only</I> character I find sympathetic. My horror is not with Hugo, but with <I>me</I>. My situation is comparable to watching <I>Star Wars</I> and not finding any of the characters interesting except Darth Vader. Well, even that's not right, but I think it gives you an idea what I mean.<br /><br />This would probably be jack perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14681558050302289235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092896.post-1098851973418929122004-10-26T23:39:00.000-05:002004-10-26T23:39:00.000-05:00Actually, Jack, all the Great Writers made most of...Actually, Jack, all the Great Writers made most of their villains sympathetic, or at least ambiguous. <br /><br />Of course, in our modern world in which Ideology is the only important virtue, ambiguous, and especially sympathetic, villains must be purged from our consciousness. So our literature professors go to great lengths to cleanse any hint of sympathy from Petruchio, or Magua, or Carton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8092896.post-1098803846519924892004-10-26T10:17:00.000-05:002004-10-26T10:17:00.000-05:00I think Hugo has more sympathy for Javert than he ...I think Hugo has more sympathy for Javert than he lets on... It's not that he's a bad man, he's just incomplete. He's justice without mercy.<br /><br />Maybe if you combined Javert, cold reason incarnate, with Marius, a sentimental idiot, you'd get one balanced person!<br /><br />ElliotAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com