Sunday, February 28, 2010

Wicked ecstasy

After having my fun with some of the descriptions in Adso's big love scene, I was actually pretty touched by his experience. What about you?
Posted by at

6 comments:

kc said...

Yes, cl! I alluded in a previous comment to the fact that even though Adso called what he did a sin he didn't seem to genuinely regret it. In fact, he seemed to cherish it and regard it in almost sacred way for the rest of his life.

I think it's a fantastic sex scene. There's nothing prurient or graphic or manipulative about its description. It really captures that "heavenly" aspect that you imagine sex having when you're still a virgin. (This is all from Adso's point of view, of course. The girl's experience was another matter, but at least it didn't feel coerced.)

And I think the fact that Adso was so flattered by a peasant girl finding him "beautiful" was really touching. It was a charming display of teenage vanity.

1:45 PM, March 01, 2010
Erin said...

Yes, I found the whole thing really sweet. I like that he felt he was "in love" despite the old monks insisting all women were cesspools of filth.

And the scene was quite lovely. It seemed to be a sort of spiritual experience for Adso, even if he did acknowledge the sin of it.

10:22 PM, March 03, 2010
cl said...

I thought it contained some insight about Adso's character that he was able to have this really innocent and lovely interpretation of events despite what he'd been taught. Sort of like innocence is more a part of your makeup than what's beaten into you. You know? Like despite what he'd heard, he couldn't view it as a sinful experience. Instead, it was a gift from God.

KC, I hadn't thought about how it conveyed his youthfulness so well -- the starry-eyed virgin part or the flattered ego. Perfect.

Erin, I think it's neat, too, how he loved the girl. Again, some of that's youth, but there wasn't some depraved, cynical side that came out of him after the event. He can't even fully regret his actions decades later when his worldview had expanded.

11:41 PM, March 05, 2010
kc said...

I thought it contained some insight about Adso's character that he was able to have this really innocent and lovely interpretation of events despite what he'd been taught. Sort of like innocence is more a part of your makeup than what's beaten into you.

Oh, that's an excellent way to put it, cl! Character, yes. And now that you mention it, all the superior (and empathetic) minds in the book — William is the other big example — belong to people who think for themselves, whose reason, and even passions, aren't clouded by prejudice.

6:00 AM, March 06, 2010
Erin said...

Yes, it's like what you said earlier, kc, about William and Adso being less judgmental of people's moral failings. Do you think that's the author's modern notions creeping in?

1:20 PM, March 08, 2010
kc said...

I don't know if that's a case of the author's modern notions creeping in. It crossed my mind. But then I always went back to the idea that William and Adso, the problem-solvers in the novel, were supposed to be extraordinary people, so it stood to reason that they would have notions that didn't necessarily conform to the conventions of their time.

10:45 AM, March 10, 2010

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)