tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28690185.post3372359637138222167..comments2024-03-23T11:25:07.693-07:00Comments on MOVIES MADE ME: T.S. Eliot and John Middleton MurryJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02536096683421557320noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28690185.post-71590787544199634322013-03-15T09:18:44.287-07:002013-03-15T09:18:44.287-07:00I love your phrase "the blessing of Both/And ...I love your phrase "the blessing of Both/And instead of Either/Or." That gets right at the heart of the matter. <br /><br />I must admit that when I started reading Murry's work, I felt a bit distraught.... because I found myself sympathizing more closely with Murry's perspective than with Eliot's. Unfortunately I think their differences of belief strained the personal relationship to its breaking point. Each simply became too frustrated by the other's perspective, and so they drifted away from each other. To me, the cooling of this friendship and dialogue is truly heartbreaking.<br /><br />Thank you again for your feedback!Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02536096683421557320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28690185.post-52224886276129237982013-03-15T08:21:40.906-07:002013-03-15T08:21:40.906-07:00Thanks for this, Joe. I have enjoyed all of your e...Thanks for this, Joe. I have enjoyed all of your essays in this series, but this particular one spoke to me very powerfully. It is a deep meditation on friendship...how Murry and Eliot could maintain a personal relationship even as they debated in public. Also, it reaffirmed for me how intimately connected the emotional and spiritual worlds continue to be. Your focus on Katherine and Vivien was so refreshing to me...because those relationships were central to the spiritual struggles of both men. Can we separate our ideas from the deepest aspects of who we are? Both men arrived at different conclusions...conclusions that would help to give order or meaning to their lives. I know some people who fear this because it represents a "relativism" or intense "subjectivity" where faith is concerned. For me, this represents the blessing of Both/And instead of Either/Or. When we look at the natural order...or the human one for that matter, what do we see? A sameness...no. Why would we expect the spiritual realm to lack this wondrous variety? One last thing about these two men and the women in their lives: As I read your essay, I could see Katherine as a kind of "holy ghost" who changed Murry's life. And, for Eliot, Vivien came to represent a powerful feeling of betrayal...a betrayal that could never be forgiven on simply human terms. Thanks, Joe, for another important piece.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11604311253569759187noreply@blogger.com