-
A Parable
- Wesleyan University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
51 A Parable He had a firm hold on this sensation that it was daybreak. He turned in bed. This movement was in itself very gentle as his feelings were never devoid of the regard for the planks of the bed that could not withstand negligence and would dislocate from the frame. The rays of sunlight were piercing him, as if the sun, which belongs to nomads and charioteers all, and which for sundry considerations no one now calls God, was about to raise him on the lances of its rays. The same rays were also smarting his eyes, and for this very reason he had a firm hold on the event of the break of day, and for the selfsame reason he could not let go of the sensation of the loss of his sight. He could not see a thing, and it was morning. The listeners to this tale, by virtue of their altruistic nature or benevolence, might perhaps be expectant that further down, by error or through a miracle, the sight of the man will be restored, which is erroneous. When the man had no pretext left to refute the fact of the loss of his sight—for darkness is its own contention—he must have tried to make much ado: the usual reactions of a man during or after a calamity: crying, yelling, flailing arms about, turning away from God and resolving on suicide. Men who are not written about in stories take forever to get through these stages, but he lived them all in a flash, and then he again turned extremely gently in the bed, because after all the planks of his bed were vulnerable to disregard, and on the bed within his reach slept the woman who 52 was impregnated with his sight. He wished to reveal his situation to the woman, but left himself to be discovered. The woman is close to awakening; it is morning after all. As he had wished, the loss of his sight became apparent to his woman, became apparent to his neighbors, his kin, friends and acquaintances, his juniors, his superiors, all, and if he had had a mother it would have become apparent to her too. Then things took their usual course. He was retired from his position with a modest stipend, and his woman found employment. Then one day he told his woman that he wished to change the house. The house was changed. After a long time it dawned on the woman that he could not climb stairs from memory, that he had lost count. His woman, the fact of whose pregnancy has been detailed, one day gave birth to a girl. On the occasion the man was as overwhelmed with happiness as any father capable of regarding his daughter. After a long time he felt the contention of darkness being refuted. His daughter had light in both her eyes. He continued in his efforts to discern his daughter’s features by fondling her face with his fingertips when someone told him of her likeness to him, and on learning that, he was delighted. At that moment he thought of what his features were like, and the same moment realized that his face had been lost to him. He pondered for days and was continuously disappointed. His woman, neighbors, friends, kin, he entreated them all for the recovery of his features; many a memory that had been prevented from stirring went crazy, but despite all he could not [54.146.154.243] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 14:25 GMT) 53 recall his face, and now only a miracle could restore it to him. The reason for his continuing belief in miracles is beyond the comprehension of the storyteller. Often, when his woman was absent, he wished to strangle his daughter so that no one could remind him of their resemblance. But he could not rationalize such audacity with logic. In a small house by the sea a change came to his life. A girl whom he might have loved in adolescence came to know of his condition, and one day she graced a small house by the sea with her man and children. The same day his woman and the other woman’s man observed the miraculous likeness of the other woman’s children to the man whose story is not yet ended. This observation was ignored with as much ceremony as the surprise with which it had been made. Then on some...