Remember Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? In the initial Longbourn chapters in the novel, there is a very interesting scene. In a party, Elizabeth guesses that if she is invited as a dance partner, it is to mock her, to deride her, to consciously belittle her. She rejects that invite stating openly that she has seen through the game. The title of this blog is a take off on her parting shot.
In real life, facts are stranger than fiction. Let me give you a few examples. If the person, for example, who apparently has the power to pass the work involved, starts yaking about how the person passed some one else's work, nay, even managed the very draft in seven days, because that person provided "every thing", what would be the deep structure of this message?
Suppose one's so called relatives are not exactly happy that one is progressing, doing well, and hence go out of their way, no holds barred, money, gossip, scandals, all sorts of favours extended to some crook or the other to trap one? What if one is so horribly straightforward that one does not even recognise such behind-the-back contraptions for quite some time? How many times does one walk in to mazes!?!The worst problem, moreover, is that there is no proof against such subtle viciousness!
Suppose one has come up with a good, unique insight, and is working on it real well, and suppose behind one's back that very insight is provided to someone else because they all are in cahoots? One is informed about this subtle sleigh of hand out of the blue. One confronts the people concerned. Answers can hardly be satisfactory. One is pressurised for further material. People are spying on the books one reads. Little bits of such information reach all sorts of people. For whom? For the advantage of the person to whom one's idea is passed on?
In other words, there is a very subtle, indirectly woven conspiracy behind one's back. What does one do? Walk in to it? Be victimised in multiple ways? Or dare such hypocrites and their hyper powerful mafia to despise? Either ways, one is victimised. Either ways, for no fault of one, one would face countless difficulties and huge losses!
Such sick games get played everywhere. Suppose there is a singing group. One gets invited to sing by an elderly person whom one would not like to hurt. So, despite multiple difficulties, and even despite the mourning mood, one does a decent job of it. One sends the recording on time, and only when it is to be played, a technological error erupts. Nothing before, nothing after. Okay, none can help the technological hitch. How to ignore the conscious smirks and the uncontrolled/uncontrollable body language and facial expressions that tell the real tale?
One knows perfectly well that all of these nefarious activities are conscious, taken up to please the powerful or to lick the feet, not to mention other ugly appendages, of the people whose favours are thus being returned at one's cost so that those favour granters can appear to advantage by belittling one!
Sure one laughs at the cheap childish pettiness of it all. Sure one does pity the crookedness involved. How does one protect oneself from such traps? Especially as an intelligent, sensible, sensitive person, one has seen through the whole game?
Well, anyways, one is such a small fry in the entire scenario that nobody would come to one's rescue either ways. People who care for one would indirectly support, but without getting their skin scorched. To begin with, one does not want them hurt or bothered in any way as one deeply cares for them. All that is great. Yet the main issue is unresolved, how to save oneself from such traps? Walk in to them knowingly, do one's best, get roasted live, or completely avoid the victimising thrown at one time and again?Each time look at it as a new learning experience?
Yes, this game is the greatest when a man, to hide to his personal and/or familial problems, spreads everywhere the good news that he is interested in one, though one has never shared a simple handshake or a full cup of coffee with the grandee. But even the worst bugger on the road taunts one about being a loose "chudail", a "crazy nut" (what stupid lousy English, of course!). Yes, sure that reflects on these paid minions and their masters for sure. Yet again though, for no fault of one, one is in deep trouble.
One cannot react in any way as one has seen live demos of how girls have been declared mad by the rich and the mighty. One would be accused of all sorts of imaginary and absolutely false crimes/scandals even by the oh-so-liberal-democratic-feminist gangs as such men(!) are their friends! These very worthies would be encouragement incarnate for extremely cheap floozies, known real well for their drink and dope ways, whom they themselves, too, acknowledge to be so!
Tough times! True, in real life, as in literature, Darcy's are not dime a dozen. But one has to continue being an Elizabeth, saving oneself from all sorts of Wickham's and Cousin Collins, quite a funny task indeed! Remember the end of Eliot's "Preludes"? "Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh!"
Pratima@ One bears the Abhimanyu feel as one deeply loves one's parents and one's siblings. What else?
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