Tu BeAv

[lethargic_man]

Tomorrow is Tu BeAv, on which the Talmud tells us (תענית ד.ח):

The daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards located on the outskirts of the city. Everyone who didn't have a wife would go there. And what would they say? "Young man, lift up your eyes and choose wisely. Don't look only at physical beauty—look rather at the family—'For charm is false, and beauty is vanity. A G-d-fearing woman is the one to be praised...'" [Proverbs 31:30]

In modern times, it's become a kind of Jewish Valentine's Day, and aviva_m has somehow managed it without my quite realising that on Tu BeAv this year, we'll be in Verona, visiting the balcony from which Juliet is supposed to have made her "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" speech. Nice one! In vain do I protest that Juliet was a fictional character; she never existed, and the earliest version of the story is set in Siena, not in Verona. But the humbug in me will back graciously down this time, I think.

All of which is by way of saying I'm going to be away for the next week and a bit, and won't be following LJ (or my email).

Toodle-pip!

Comments

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

What has it to do with believing in a romantic fiction story to be fact with being romantic. People can be realistic and still be romantic without believing in fiction. Actually the shakespear story is awful. They are not allowed to love each other and kill each other at the end. That is not romantic. Speak of yourself. You are not a romantic person at all. You would never watch any of the films I watch. What you watch is bizzar and brutal. I do like romantic films with a happy ending but do not believe they are true or could ever happen to me in some form. I gave up on that. There are no happy endings. Welcome in the world of reality!

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

What has it to do with believing in a romantic fiction story to be fact with being romantic.

Who said anything about believing fiction to be fact? Go back and read my original post; I didn't say anything of the sort. The relevance, which you seem to be incapable of seeing, is the association of the story with Verona. (The balcony in question is that of the Capulet family house, so it's where Juliet would have made her speech from if she had existed, not that Shakespeare probably knew of its existence...)

Actually the shakespear story is awful. They are not allowed to love each other and kill each other at the end.

They don't kill each other; they kill themselves. Romeo and Juliet were a couple of lovesick teenagers who needed someone to bash their heads together and knock some sense into them. But most people have always had a soft spot for idealised romantic love, which is why even today most Hollywood films portray an idealised form of relationships rather than anything which correlates in any way with reality.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

You said in vain you protested Juliet being a fictional character. So I understood that she believed it was a true story and all the character were real. Ok, I mixed it up. I know they commited suicide. It is still not romantic. As I said I do not believe that Hollywood represents the reality. You even believed that Ben Stiller is really wanted by women. I tell you he is not. It was just a film not reality for not the best looking men ageing and dreaming of young women running after them. It was a comedy, anyway. The actors who are still run after although they almost hit their 50s are Tom Cruise and Brad Pit. You can ask women about it if you like. I think Ben Stiller looks ugly and not young anymore.