It is said that each flower has its own flower language, such as peony represents wealth; iris represents love and agreement; hyacinth represents distant thoughts; tulips represent the meaning of happiness, and there is also a flower in the story told by shujun today.
That's the camellia, what does the camellia represent?
The book I want to talk about today is the nineteenth-century French novelist and dramatist Alexandre Dumas's "La Traviata".
It has been called a model of Romantic literature and an immortal classic tragedy in the history of literature.
In the social circles of Paris, there is such a special social flower, named Margaret.
In addition to the natural beauty of her appearance, she is difficult to give up, looking back at a smile and smiling, she also has a difference, that is, in the outfit she carries, she inevitably carries a white camellia flower, so people send the nickname "Camellia Girl".
Margaret's origin is actually not very good, is a poor country girl, god loves her, let her have a beautiful face.
In order to live, Margaret came to Paris and began her career selling "laughs".
However, during this time, the male protagonist Armand appears, and he is attracted by Margaret's freshness, but Margaret does not find the other party's love.
Due to the long-term irregularity of life, Margaret fell ill with lung disease and had to recuperate for a while. In the nursing home, there was a noble lady who resembled Margaret, who unfortunately died because of the advanced stage of lung disease.
However, the father of this young lady, the Duke of Morialon, accidentally found Margaret and wanted to take her as a dry daughter in order to transfer and pin his feelings.
But the Duke also had a conditional request, and he hoped that Margaret would change her past, say goodbye to the extravagant and rotten social life before, and be a well-behaved daughter.
However, Margaret, who has been in the bustling song and dance hall for a long time, has long been accustomed to that kind of life, and it is difficult to extricate herself.
Like all his parents, the Duke began to limit Margaret's living expenses, and Margaret, who lived in luxury, began to make ends meet and owed tens of thousands of enamel debts.
After recuperating, Margaret returned to Paris. One night, a neighbor came to visit her and brought two young men, one of whom was Armand.
Armand had not thought about food since the last time he had seen Margaret, and during Margaret's illness, he secretly inquired about her condition every day, but he did not leave a name, and loved deeply and shyly.
The neighbor told Margaret all of Armand's obsession, which made her very moved.
But Margaret, who has seen all kinds of people and things in the wind and moon field, seems to have lost confidence in true love.
Armand actually knocked on Marguerite's heart window at a ball where Marguerite fainted while dancing with friends and was rescued by Armand.
Armand advised her to cherish her body, and took out the missing button of Margaret that he had been treasured, and the man who hid his love in his heart finally captured Margaret's heart.
It is a small fortune in life to meet a man who cherishes him so much. Margaret sorted out her mood and was ready to start a relationship with all her heart.
In order to pay off the debt, Margaret pawned her jewelry, and Armand, upon learning of the situation, also transferred his mother's inheritance to help her pay off the debt. The two began to live a fairy-like life in the countryside.
Is that the end of the story? Of course not.
The matter was soon known to Armand's father, who, as an official of the upper class, naturally did not allow his son to give his true affection for the social flowers in such a wind and moon field.
So, in order to break up the pair of Mandarin ducks, Armand's father wrote a letter, used a trick to trick Armand into leaving, and then went to the countryside to meet Margaret.
Armand's father made it clear to Margaret that his son must never marry her.
And because of Margaret, her daughter may also be divorced. As a father, you will never allow the happiness of your children to be ruined in this way.
So the kind Margaret wrote a parting letter to Armand and promised Armand's father not to divulge the secret of their meeting. He then returned to Paris and resumed his decaying life.
Mistaken for margaret, Marguerite had left for glory and wealth, he rushed to Paris in anger, only to receive news that Marguerite had accepted the quest of the Duke of Valville.
So, armand, who did not know the truth, launched his own ruthless revenge, humiliated Margaret to his face, and said all kinds of ugly words.
Finally, the sad and melancholy Margaret relapsed from her old illness and became ill, and she moved to a house alone, dying alone in her thoughts.
Armand, who learned the truth in Margaret's diary, regretted it, and with remorse and deep love, Armand moved Margaret's grave to be buried, and in front of the grave was filled with white camellias.
In "La Traviata", there is a sentence that impressed the bookkeeper, that is, Margaret wrote in her diary:
"Apart from the fact that your insult is evidence that you have always loved me, I seem to feel that the more you torture me, the more noble I will be in your eyes when you know the truth."
So, remember the question that Shujun asked at the beginning?
The flower language of camellia is the ideal love.
For the first time in the history of French literature, a prostitute was featured as the protagonist. "La Traviata" is also a work created by the author Dumas Based on his personal experience.
In September 1844, Dumas fell in love with Marie Dupresi, a parisian prostitute. Mary came from a poor background, went into exile in Paris, and was forced into prostitution. She cherishes Dumas's true love, but in order to make ends meet, she still has to maintain a relationship with the guys.
In a fit of rage, Dumas wrote a letter of renunciation to travel abroad. When Dumas returned to France in 1847, she learned that Marie, who was only 23 years old, was no longer alive, and that her former suitors had abandoned her when she was seriously ill, and that only two people had been buried after her death.
Whether it is Marie or the experience of his mother who was ruthlessly abandoned by his father, Dumas, these real-life tragedies deeply shook dumas, who was full of remorse and longing, imprisoned himself in the suburbs, closed the door, and began the creative process.