The title reminded me of the Chinese movie “一个陌生女人的来信, starred by Xu Jinglei and Jiang Wen”。Not surprising, for I watched the movie before reading the novel. Recommended by one of my colleagues, I started to know the author Stefan Zweig. “Letter from an unknown woman” was his first novel I have read.
Reading the novel, a feeling of sentiment grasped me tightly. I did not quite understand why the unknown woman loved him wholeheartedly without letting him know. At the first glance, she started the journey of devoting herself to him. After several years being apart, she still loved him with least decreased passion. Besides twice intimate physical touch, the only thing she possessed was her imagination on him. Just because he gave her 3 white roses as thank-you-message after their first being together, she sent him white roses on each of his birthdays. She did desire him to recall her, to love her back as normal men and women did. But she only hinted him instead of explicitly informing him. Was she afraid of losing him once he knew the truth? Was he like a perfect God in her heart, which was the reason she dedicated herself completely? She even gave birth to his son and managed to raise the boy by being a high-rank courtesan. Her son served as a little HIM, who carried her desperate love to him. Within a decade, they lived in the same city and bumped into each other from time to time yet he behaved like a stranger. She learned by her heart every movement he made, every glimpse he put on her and every expression on his face whenever she saw him. But he recollected few memory of her. She was just like one of women in his life, coming and leaving, fading like a flower, though she took him as her destiny until her death. Her son’s death took away her only hope and cut out the only connection between them in her heart.
Was her love toward him too unselfish to be true? Could someone lead a life only depending on missing, waiting and admiring in a distance, depending on memories? When he received her first and last letter, was he moved by her affection? Did he regret to have ignored so many clues of remembering her? No matter what, her perseverance; patience and tenacity were very touching.
The following is the song in the movie, Chinese version. The song may explain more about the story.
melly 发表评论于
Your English is excellent to me.
来源: RPV 于 07-12-27 10:31:09 [档案] [博客] [旧帖] [转至博客] [给我悄悄话]
回答: I am so flattered. Thank you. 由 melly 于 2007-12-27 09:07:21
I haven’t met many people, like you and me that came from China, whose English is as good as their native language. You are one of the few I know being able to write beautifully as you do in Chinese. By the way, I went on your blog to read before.
I like reading a novel first and watching the movie adapted from it after. Since spending quite a bit time on ready weekly, I almost stop going out watching movies. While reading Robert James Waller’s The Bridges of Madison County, I couldn't hold back the tears that were streaming down my face for quite a while. Later on, I watched the movie. My tears started flowing out of my eyes at a few moments during my watching, but the feelings were not alike. Many times I sensed more the beauty of English language narrating people and things through reading a novel than watching its adopted movie.
melly 发表评论于
I heard of the novel and movies,
来源: RPV 于 07-12-27 08:45:26 [档案] [博客] [旧帖] [转至博客] [给我悄悄话]
回答: Letter From An Unknown Woman 由 melly 于 2007-12-26 17:41:19
but it seemed remote to me, a guy getting used to paying more attention to people and things happening in our daily lives. I read everyday and usually accommodate my reading to preferences of my own, for fun first, and then for language and culture learning. I know little about English literature and English linguistics and rarely read the classics or kind of famous novels. Thanks for sharing the sad story and your review about the novel and the movie starred by Jiang Wen and Xu Jinglei. I really enjoyed them and enjoyed your writing, beautiful!!!
melly 发表评论于
回复goodbaby98的评论:
You guys were early educated. I read this novel 20 years later than you. what a shame. :-)))
I personally think the movie is worth watching. Xu is very gifted. However, the deion in movie is not as sad and depressing as that in novel. You may try.
Hi, welcome back. How's your trip? Any beautiful pictures to share? :-)))
The Chinese movie was adopted from the novel. I just read it.
归来 发表评论于
静水苍兰's comments is so true. I also wonder the lady in novel was just writing to some imaginary being. Melly, you are right, the movie is somehow different from the original novel. They had many chances together in the real world.
I really do believe that sometimes a good one-sided lovesickness is the most beautiful, touching feelings, I often moved by this kind of feelings.
On the country, a bad one-sided lovesickness, unrequited love can be a killer.
So just like I wrote on my first post. I enjoy the love that comes from both-sided, which feels calm and comfortable, occasionally exciting but never crazy.
lindows 发表评论于
很久以前读过斯蒂芬.茨威格的小说《一个陌生女人的来信》，听说是从这个故事改编的。
melly 发表评论于
回复静水苍兰的评论:
Hi, sis,
your oppinion is always special and unique. I really enjoy your sparks. :-)))
Keep going.
静水苍兰 发表评论于
Stefan Zweig的女主角，爱的是一个自己编织的梦，一个不愿醒也不能醒的梦，所以才得以贯穿一生地长久。
melly 发表评论于
BTW, it seems they met many times in the movie. But I did not find the similar scenes in novel. So the leading lady in novel was much painful than in movie.
melly 发表评论于
回复归来的评论:
How can you remember so many details? I watched the moive, but remember none. :-)))
I did not know the saying: the man's one night, the woman's whole life. But it is so true in most cases. Seems like you understand more and deeper than I do. I have to say you have not only a soft heart, but a sensitive one. (maybe sentimental too???)
归来 发表评论于
I watched this touching movie. A section of the grieved moving story, the author speaks tirelessly works, the joy, pain, confusion and despair of the two individuals can quietly into my soul. All unique beauty of the magic seems like a really realistic world.
I also remember the words of introduction about the movie: the man's one night, the woman's whole life.
But to be honest, I don’t enjoy this kind of love. I prefer the love that comes from both sides instead of only one side. How about you, melly? If you deeply love someone, but he doesn’t give any response back, are you keeping your love forever?
