So I am reading Willa Cather’s Song of the Lark and it is an absolutely brilliant portrayal of the puella aeternus, the female version of the puer aeternus, and I am gaining much insight into my self. The main character, Thea, has a talent for singing and the story is about her emergence as an artist. She has great disdain for bourgeois sensibilities and longs to be recognized for her special talent. Cather has fabulous paragraphs that nail the contemptibility of the bourgeoisie (I find myself cheering her on) followed by evocative paragraphs of the spiritual ascendancy of the puella that I initially identify with, but moments later think, “Thea is a delusional, condescending, arrogant, egocentric princess.”
I used to know a mechanical engineer. I simultaneously admired and hated this guy. He was a free spirit, an adventurer, but he was also unbelievably arrogant. I could hardly stand to be in the same room with the guy, but I envied his travels and adventures. One day he and I went to lunch. He looked at me across the table and said, “You know Scott, you are the most arrogant SOB I have ever met.” I laughed and told him, “Right back at you, you cocky bastard.” From then on, we got along great.
If you would all simply acknowledge how special I really am, things would go so much smoother.
All bow to the Puer.
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