In Preparation for Christmas

Preparation for Christmas 

In Preparation for this Christmas, 

I wish to send to you

a cup of gentle tidings

that will comfort through and through.

Remember your uniqueness,

that God's Blessings are in you,

and use those gifts to be the one

who uplifts humanity true.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

A Fundraiser for Jillian in memory of Joe

https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-joe-support-for-jillian?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR1v6Z4H5PPIPHjDjWa_Q2bU2RXijxXK7H43EOzW-E77d4hp93W2lOKMntA

Imre Madach's "The Tragedy of Man," Revolution and Knowledge

Photo: Illustration from website: http://www.wga.hu/html/z/zichy/index.html 

In The Tragedy of Man (1860), Hungarian playwright, Imre Madach, reveals the inherent spirit within humanity to resolve differences through knowledge. This play, consisting of fifteen scenes, depicts the first couple, Adam and Eve, in paradise whereby Eve questions the validity of the Lord’s request to deprive the couple of all knowledge. In her exchange with Lucifer in Scene II, she philosophizes:

Why should he punish? For if he hath fixed

The way that he would have us follow, so

He hath ordained it, that no sinful lure

Should draw us otherwhere; why hath he set

The path athwart a giddy yawning gulf

To doom us to destruction? If, likewise,

Sin hath a place in the eternal plan,

As storm amid the days of sunlit warmth,

Who would the angry storm more guilty deem

Than the life-giving brightness of the sun? (Scene II)

After leaving the garden of Eden for tasting of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve fall asleep in their new home and experience a number of historical events to become aware of the many ways humanity has grown into self knowledge, beginning in Egypt, where the couple learn of personal glory. Adam then longs to learn of humanity’s struggle for the good of nation, through experiences in ancient Athens, Greece. They discover hedonism in ancient Rome, Christianity in the form of knighthood of the middle ages, where he also discovers medieval fanaticism. This leads to his search for sense in the sphere of Johannes Kepler. However, in the world of Emperor Rudolph, Adam moves on to the French Revolution, where he encounters the deceit of Danton and the ultimate failure in humankind’s ability to execute a lasting revolution. He becomes disenchanted with humanity at the London Fair. In the final scene, Eve tells Adam of the upcoming birth of their second child. She foreshadows:

If God so will, a second shall be born

In sorrow, who shall wash them both away

And bring upon this wide world, brotherhood.

Well, we all know what happened with that relationship, so Imre Madach, who places the burden of man’s struggle at the hands of the woman, also illustrates that humanity has within its grasp the ability to seize control over its destiny as the heavenly choir of angels sings:

…Yet in the glory of thy road,

Let not the thought thee blind

That what thou dost in praise of God

Is wrought of human mind.

Think not the Lord hath need of thee

His purpose to fulfill,

And thou receivest from Him grace,

If thou mayest work His will.

The Lord responds: O Man, strive on, strive on, have faith; and trust! (Scene XV)

Therefore, Imre Madach reveals, through the artistry of his writing, his intense belief that within its own consciousness, humanity has the ability to advance harmonic relevance from dissonant experience, for he presents Eve as the mother of humanity with the conviction that her children will move humanity forward in their quest for true knowledge. (Lakatos 2007)

My Joycean Journey

Quite a few years ago, on June 17th, yes, the day after Bloomsday, I intended to attend a conference held on the IADT campus in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. Since I wasn't scheduled to present until the 19th, I thought I'd drive myself for the first day's activities. After carefully surveying maps and consulting Mapquest, I sat myself in the driver's seat and decided to drive myself. Since I'm left-handed, driving on the left side of the road comes naturally to me. I was set to go. FOUR HOURS later, I drove into the parking lot of IADT. The following days, I relied on the bus. 

Below is a photo I took whilst I was lost: 

Day After Bloomsday: 
My Own Odyssey in Dun Laoghaire

I pass by Davy Byrne's pub 

And think, “I must go there for a pint.”

It’s just off Grafton Street, ye know. 

And there’s the Ormond Hotel (Sirens chapter) 

But I must get on the M-50 to Dun Laoghaire.

It’s now 9:30. 

I get off the M-50 and drive along the highway,

I go through a town and find another highway.

Water is to my left. So beautiful! 

I take a picture and miss my turn.

So I ask for directions from a lovely garda. 

“Oh, I know exactly where ye want to go. 

I used to pick mushrooms there 

when I was a boy. Shame what they’ve done

To that land now. A real shame. It’ll take you

No time at all to get there.”

I follow his directions to the T…

And end up at the Martello tower.

The Coast Guard tell me I’m almost there.

10:30 I missed the first panels.

I drive around Sandycove 

And around Sandycove

And around Sandycove 

And around.... well, you get the picture...

I see cliffs in the distance. I want to jump….

End up back in City Center Dublin!

I pass the Gardai station again

in Dun Laoghaire... and keep driving

Eventually,

I see a little red pub: Dunpheys Pub

1:00 (I’ve missed Lunch.) 

I beg them to tell me where IADT is. 

“I’ve heard there’s a blue, boxy building,” sigh I. 

One kind gentleman says to another,

“Oh, I know where that is. 

Tom’s son goes there. 

Here, let me draw you a map.”

He proceeds to draw each traffic light, 

And tells me which lane to drive in.

I make it! Just in time for the 2:00 panel. 

When I return to my hotel room,

An email awaits me from my friend,

“Jeanne,” he says, “You MUST go to 

Davy Byrne’s pub, the Martello Tower,

(Opening Ithaca chapter-

where Buck Mulligan descends the stairwell.) 

Sandycove, the cliffs of Killiney… 

That’s real Joyce country.” 

I smile as my keys click the reply… 

Been there, done that. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 

Media Arts Building, IADT, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, where mushrooms once grew.