At first I must admit a certain amount of jealousy towards the narrator/writer/what have you of the short story Covered Bridges. His life, and love for his wife, seems to incredibly pure and perfect. The relationship housed between this couple is something I pray for each day. This story gave such a lightness to my heart, while also keeping a heavy grip. Is that heaviness felt, I pondered, in regards to the fact I don't (as of yet) have a relationship like I had read about; or, was I simply weighed down by the pure truth of such love shared here. I'll admit that on Lena's action of spitting out a hornet, I sank and whispered a thought, "oh shit..." like I too had everything to lose in that moment.
I only gave a few moments thought towards the title given to this piece, thinking that obviously their tour of the bridges wasn't substantial enough to label the story as a whole. But in that few moments I realized what symbolism a covered bridge can house. A bridge is something that helps one achieve the task of passing from one location to another. Without a bridge, it is not possible to walk across a rushing river without getting wet, or crossing a canyon without falling far below. In life we have bridges that arise before us, helping us travel to the next moment in our lives. High school, for example, is a bridge that leads us to a number of destinations; whether it is to college or an immediate start to a career.
The image of a covered bridge has me thinking of an individual crossing a bridge, but unable to see the location around him. The bridge is covered in each direction, walls and ceiling. The individual only sees that the bridge comes to an end before him, but where exactly is not necessarily known for sure. This is a metaphor for crossing bridges in life, that lead to places one cannot be quite sure of. Like the story, the couple decides whether or not to cross the bridge into child bearing. As they cross that bridge, they discuss back and forth the pros and cons of such an act, not knowing if they're going to reach that destination or not. It isn't until they come off that bridge that they realize their destination is not filled with the soul of a new born.
This story grabbed my attention, and whether it be the writing or the story's fault for this, I cannot be sure. I was interested to continue reading, and never got sidetracked or bored at any point during. I felt I had learned so much of these people's lives, and began to feel like I belonged with them. The man's love for his wife passed on to me, and I began to see her beauty and perfection. I connected, simple as that. When one can do that in a story, a film, or what have you, it is such an incredibly power thing.
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Where the previous story held me strong with thought and emotion, The Woman Who Lost Her Names left me simply confused and indifferent. The ending line of the story holds so much power and strength, yet I'm not quite sure the significance of it's being.
The story follows a girl who grows to a woman, who is given new names several times in her life. The name being a very important part of passing on the family through generations. Her mother speaks of others marrying for money and changing their names, ridding themselves of their birthrights. And Sarah meets her cousin who's name was changed, saying that the name is nothing as the soul underneath is the same. There are contradictions in the belief of the necessity of a name and it's importance in continuing a line of family.
Sarah's name is changed so for her marriage, and in the end the couple disputes over the name of their new born daughter. Sarah has a name picked out, but her husband says she should be named after her mother. Sarah tells her that her mother will understand and it must be the name she chose. Eventually she raises her voice and reads from her bible so her husband understands that he is trying to name their daughter after a rape.
I don't quite understand the significance of this story, and it's possibly due to culture differences in myself and the characters of the story. Perhaps a discussion in class will help straighten things out.
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