Les Noces

I wonder if people still describe marriage as something akin to a spider catching a prey in its web. Trapping. Snagging. Getting hitched. (No, wait, that's a different metaphor...)

And if people still do describe marriage as like a spider web, then I wonder if the spider is male or female. Of course it is traditionally female—black widow, hey hey—but I wonder...if our conceptions have perhaps changed? There is that saying in Chinese—鮮花插在牛糞上—that describes a "waste," like a fresh flower being stuck in manure. Or a young wife marrying an old man. Ponder.

Ah, musings about marriage. What better way to pass the time? And to contemplate the meaning of life, reproduction, beauty, and music? On Saturday Buddy and I went to a performance of the La Jolla Symphony (and Chorus), where the evening was packed with music by folks like Bartók and Stravinsky. My favorite piece was Les Noces by the latter, and the performance of it included choreography that featured Lux Boreal Contemporanea Danza. ::sigh:: It was so beautiful, the portrayal of the wedding, the emotional torment, the drama, the tears...

But wait a minute. I am puzzled why the very suggestion of marriage and (legal) union invokes polar reactions from me. As though I feel like I should steer clear of it, or maybe I should really take a look at it to see what is so wonderful about it. Of course it's wonderful, I'm not questioning that. The beautiful choreography only convinces me more. Except...

Well, it's a good thing I'm writing that dissertation to hash out these ideas. Two nights ago we also went to a performance of chamber music through the Camera Lucida concert series. It is so great being on a university campus that offers these (hoity-toity?) opportunities... Future performances of the same series feature Beethoven pieces, so I must needs go. Especially since I'm missing LJSC's Beethoven performance...

But, alas, we must go where fate takes us, whether that is marriage or a spider web...