Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Love is a Ridiculous, Wonderful, Powerful Thing

Road Trip #169 at YA Highway
What's the craziest thing you've done for love, or what's your favorite book/movie moment of someone doing crazy things for love?



I'm always too serious when it comes to love. I am crazy but my "crazy" doesn't come out in love. I feel that loving someone is almost crazy and scary enough, that small acts of my love which are "crazy" for me are not crazy in reality.
I am serious with love when it comes to literature as well. I am always captivated by Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth's romance as well as Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre. So when I thought about "crazy love" the only example I could summon was between an extraordinarily small and courageous mouse and a princess.

“Love is ridiculous. But love is also wonderful. And powerful. And Despereaux's love for the Princess Pea would prove, in time, to be all of these things: powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous.” 
 Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux

If you have not already read this book (which I highly recommend) you may be asking, "A mouse? How romantic can it be between a mouse and a human being?" I completely understand. I hate mice. Actually I just don't feel comfortable with any animal smaller than a cat. Back to the point, love sometimes can be so "powerful, wonderful and ridiculous" and a love story between a mouse and a princess can win your heart and also make you fall in love with a gross rodent. 
And really, who can't relate to this poor mouse? Don't we all love somebody, at some point in our lives, that we know they could and would never love us back? Not only was Despereaux small, poor,not royalty, barely literate, and a little (well mostly) unattracitve--he was also a completely different species. You would think with all that going against him, he would keep his love secret, as have most of us when we have an impossible love. But no, Despereaux was in love, and that love gave him courage, ridiculous courage to profess his love.


“Desperaux," she said. He saw his name on her lips.
"I honor you," whispered Desperaux. "I honor you.” 

That ridiculous courage did not give Despereaux the love of his life. The fact was, the princess did not have romantic feelings for the mouse. But it did give him a friend for life and that is something well worth the courage it took to love ridiculously and profess it unapologetically. 

“Despereaux thought that he might faint with the pleasure of someone referring to his ears as small and lovely. He laid his tail against the Pea's wrist to steady himself and he felt the princess's pulse, the pounding of her heart, and his own heart immediately took up the rhythm of hers.”
― 
Kate DiCamilloThe Tale of Despereaux

6 comments:

  1. Awwww... great post. Love can be wonderful even if it's not reciprocated. I'm thinking Ducky in 'Pretty in Pink' here. Even though the love isn't mutual, it makes their friendship stronger.

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    1. I LOVE that movie! I completely agree, even though its sad sometimes when it doesn't work out but I love that the friendship is still strong :)

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  2. Unrequited love is food for the romantic. I love the best friend love story, where one has no idea the other loves them. I especially like it though when it works out. Being a romantic, I prefer happy endings.

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    1. I prefer happy endings too. That's why I try and always find out what happens at the ends of movies (especially who dies) before I watch them. Everyone says this is cheating but I see it as being cautious with my heart!

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  3. I love THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. I read it to my son, and I think it was one of the best books ever for reading out loud, because it was just so beautifully written. As you've pointed out here, it contains some wonderful messages about love, even if they're communicated through such an unlikely source as a mouse. Great post!

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    1. I'm so glad you're another Tale of Despereaux fan!! The first time I read this book was as a read aloud to my 5th grade class and completely fell in love with the book and the writing. I love putting emotion into the dialogue and I love how the author addresses the reader as they're reading it :)

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