Art and Lies: Romance

homework for Friday, 4/3
Do a close reading of a particular passage in Art and Lies: what question does it stimulate you to ask? What does it answer?

First Section of "Handel" pages 14-15:

I was standing at the station, waiting for the train, when a woman approached me, with a wilting red rose in a plastic wrapper.
'Buy it for your lucky day.'
'When will that be?'
'The day you fall in love. I see romance for you. A tall blonde lady.'
'Romance does not interest me.'
She stared at me as though I had uttered a blasphemy in church, and I suppose we were in a church of a kind, the portable temple of sentimentality that can be flapping about your head at a moment's notice...My colleagues think me a remote sort of man, but, if I do not know what feeling is, at least I have not yet settled down into what I know it is not.

What is romance? Why are me made to feel like we need it?
If we don't desire romance, we are made to feel like something is wrong with us, like some significant part of us is missing. I think this ties in with our previous discussions about the pressure to lead a fairy tale kind of life. Romance is the ultimate goal; if you are involved in some sort of romance, you aren't just supposed to wish for one--you must pine for one. And if you simply don't think about romance at all, you are not a part of society. And this is not just a Western idea. In Japan, for example, the annual Tanabata Festival involves tying paper slips to trees that contain wishes for the fulfillment of romances.

Clearly, Handel is aware of this distinction between himself and the lady selling roses. He can perceive the disdain that the lady feels for him, and he understands the mystery he presents to his colleagues. But Handel truly isn't interested in romance. While at first it may seem as if this is a sad, pitiable quality within person, it retains a sense of respectability. Handel doesn't understand the feelings associated with romance; thus, he does not want to falsely sink into something just for the sake of being a part of society. He knows there must be more to romance than everyone believes there to be; he knows he is missing something, but unsure of what it is. And at least he possesses enough self-awareness to understand that since he knows what romance is not, he should wait to discover what it is before jumping in.

This seems to be cautious on Handel's part, and he does strike as a cautious sort of man. But perhaps his ideas hold some validity--before we simply follow the rest of the flock, we should stop and evaluate: do we understand what we're following? Does it make sense? Perhaps we should be like Handel, and instead of deciding to follow, we should wait until we are ready to lead.