"If many old women of eighty were occasionally to tell you the history of their loves, you would perhaps find that the feminine soul contains sources of good and evil of which you have no idea." ~George Sand
The French certainly have a way with words - Honore de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant. They are all names that were familiar, but that I had not read before. I've also never much read short stories, and so I've stepped twice outside of my known reading. And boy has it been worth it so far!
The stories are so beautifully crafted - part of the art of these short stories is in their rich language and description, which brought me to the reflection that - I wonder how much is lost or changed in translation? I've read literature in French before, and I wonder how much the language changes when it is translated. It's so beautiful translated into English - it almost makes me want to brush up my French and try to read these stories in their native tongue. Almost - not sure if I'm ready for language studies yet!
I picked the quote above because it made me think of a quote that shows up on the screens in the print office at the university where I work - it says something along the lines of "Spend some time every day with someone over the age of 70 and under the age of 7". I do not get the opportunity to do that each day, but I do love to spend time with my grandparents and inlaws (only some of whom have hit 70!), and my beautiful children and nieces. It's often amazing to think of all of the experiences that our elders have gone through. You may see a senior with their shopping bag and their plastic hair-wrap to keep off the rain. But that elderly lady was once a young woman. Maybe she modelled. Maybe she ran away with her military beau in her teens. Maybe she broke stereotypes and worked on cars, or went to university, or drove truck. You just never know to look at someone.
The quote above reminded me that inside every old person was once a young person - perhaps a bold one, perhaps a mischievous one, perhaps a helpful one, perhaps a heartbroken one. I wish I could sit down more often and talk to someone about their life. Maybe I need to volunteer at an old folks' home.
