Now in the midst of this intense fight and the 2 hour long discussion of my club… the interaction with the gay man and the blond that has yet to be introduced, the soldier mentioned this new fact – he associates me with the Little Match Girl.
I was not too happy when he told me because I was overwhelmed as it was after 24 hours of intense process but I did get up and quick-read the thing which made me cry, but not profusely because I did not process it at the time.
I didn’t want to and he didn’t want to. It just popped out of him for some reason and he said we’d save it to discuss later. “We will talk about that sometime in the future,” he said. “I’ll tell you about it.”
I agreed because never mind the fight, we were already so embroiled. For example out of the blue sky he was telling me what he thought the men in the club would be saying about me and he was quite sure he’d know. And maybe you notice the man does not mince words! But anyway we were up to our necks when this came up so we both let it go but now it’s 24 hours later and I decided to begin to think about this. I called satori because I know she is a thoughtful and insightful person, very familiar with children’s literature.
“If someone told you someone was the little match girl what would take that to mean?” I asked.
She said she did not think the way he meant it would be the way she would take it… she would take it bad.
“Like how?” I asked.
“Well I would think the person was beyond hope. There is no choice. It’s like she was already dead. But I don’t think that’s what he meant by that.”
“I don’t either,” I said. “No, he’d not have meant that…”
I told her what had occurred to me and then asked her what she thought people reading my blog would make of it.
“I don’t know but it would be an interesting question to ask…”
A Mercury in Pisces question I think:
If someone were to tell you someone was like the Little Match Girl, what would this describe to you?
Read the story – The Little Match Girl
hopeful / looking forward despite the situation..?
She’s like Anne of Green Gables, isn’t she? She can find (imagine) such beauty in things, even in very hard circumstances. I know their stories aren’t the same, but…
I don’t know… I can’t quite articulate it. I just see the light of the girl’s matches reflected in Anne’s eyes.
You’re not like the Little Match Girl, Elsa. She gave up / was unaware and/or gave up in the face of the dangers of life. She did not have the instinct to protect herself.
Not buying it.
Elsa, I know this isn’t what you’re asking, but take these lines:
“She drew another match against the wall: . . . with such an expression of love.”
And . . .
“She wanted to warm herself,” people said. No one had the slightest suspicion of what beautiful things she had seen; no one even dreamed of the splendor in which, with her grandmother she had entered on the joys of a new year.”
She gave everything of herself. . .
Terribly unprotected. Somehow invulnerable anyway.
A main theme I find in the story is one of poverty- a little girl who is trying to support herself, and possibly her family, but who does not have the resources she needs to do so. The thing that strikes me most is the little match girl’s relationship with father- he is angry and she will “get it” when she returns home without having sold her matches. The situation is most unfair, one cannot help but feel outrage and sadness for the little girl. Adults are expected to be able to care for themselves (sell matches/make money)but a little girl with bare feet in the freezing cold….no. And that part of the story is Saturine/Capricorn all the way. The other part of the story, the grandmother, is the little girl’s Piscean escape into fantasy. And there is no question about it, the little match girl deserves her peace.
That is my feeling about the little match girl. It sort of reminds me of Sedna and her story too. Not sure why but that just came up.
~SS
…… she didn’t give up. she was looking on to better things. for the little match girl, death was a better option than getting smacked around by her dad/her life for no real reason. she was looking UP and not letting a bad situation control her whole existence. a child is naive to the idea of suicidal “giving up”.
regarding elsa & the solider, i recall a conversation where elsa said she wouldn’t fight in a particular war situation. i don’t remember the exact story, but… this is like that.
She transcended her misery. She escaped her tormentor into the arms of the one who loved her. I see the New Year being significant as well.
be nice to poor people
I agree with Tam. I don’t think it’s an insult — I think he sees you as a figure of hope. And considering how you saved him, I think he’s right.
She’s someone that needs to be protected. Personally, I think that it tells you much more about the Soldier than it does about you, Elsa. He views himself as a protector, so it’s natural that he views you as someone who needs to be protected…
saturn/neptune
Hey, Elsa, the Pulitzer Prizes have been announced, and the winner in the music category is The Little Match Girl Passion by David Lang (G. Schirmer). You and the soldier might want to check it out.
She’s a beautiful girl who needs warmth and protection. I agree with Marc that this is about the soldier. He probably wants to wrap his arms around you in protection from everything you have experienced in this life.
Yes, Michele, he has a history of falling hard for little girls who are capitalist.
There is a good story here – Selling Plantains.
I just read your link and I cry every time I learn more about you guys. You have a beautiful and heartbreaking story. I’m glad you have each other.
Thank you, Michele.
I have to admit, I’d be very offended too. The Little Match Girl is about a poor little girl starving to death on the streets, and having little hallucinations on her way out. She is a figure of victimization, of pipe dreams/delusions. Yes, she tries to stay hopeful. I’m always a sucker for the underdog, but this is a story in which the girl doesn’t even have a chance of survival. It’s kind of like, be a good sport even when you know exactly how this story is going to end – with your death. I’ve always hated this fairy tale, and a little extra reading up on fairy tales has made this even more so.
Hans Christian Anderson is also pretty well-known for being a total sadist when it comes to poor little girls. More than other fairy tale authors.
Hm. I’m sure this is all going way deeper than the soldier ever intended, but these are my thoughts. If nothing else, he might want to reread the fairytale!
Wishing you two the best, tho. 😉