Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

"The Macarte Lion"

The Illustrated London News, 1874. Web Source: Wikimedia   

    Out of all the stories I read, the fable, "The Lion in Love" from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894) (source here) was what stuck with me the most. 

    From the perspective of the lion: I can't help but feel so much pity for the lion, which is what made the really lasting impression on me. I know that the moral of the story is "Love can tame the wildest of hearts," but I think that it can be taken further. Just because one would be willing to completely change oneself for another person, that doesn't mean one should. The lion turned himself into an unrecognizable being because of how much he loved this girl. But isn't true love an unconditional acceptance and trust of the person you love? I know that the whole point is his willingness to change and that the girl's family took advantage of his love, but doesn't that in and of itself teach an important lesson? Someone who doesn't accept you for who you are may not be worth loving. I know so many people that changed everything about themselves because it was what their partner wanted, and, by the end, they weren't the same person. Long story short, I think that there's a deeper lesson to this fable about how people we love can use that love to take advantage of us and hurt us in ways we may not be able to recover from (the lion can't get his teeth and claws back).

    From the perspective of the girl and her family: It's easy to get caught up in how hurt the lion must be, but I think that, looking at it from the girl's eyes, she didn't want to marry him, and he wouldn't have taken no for an answer. So, even though what she did could be seen as "taking advantage" of the lion's love, she was also protecting herself. Just as people can manipulate us into changing ourselves, people will also use love as an excuse to force others into situations they aren't comfortable with. If we change the scenario slightly, this is a lot of the logic behind people who sexually harass others. They assume that the person they are harassing should be grateful for the attention and that someone is finding them desirable, and get angry (and frightening) when they are told to back down. As a small woman (I'm only 5'2" tall), I get scared when I get catcalled. I'll stand up for my friends, but when it comes to being harassed myself, I put my head down and keep walking because I'm worried that I'll be attacked or hurt in some way if I speak my mind and tell the person to leave me alone.

    Overall, I think this fable has some really interesting and lasting applications, especially if you look at it from the different perspectives.