Escaping Reality: Staffer reads books to escape our quarantine reality.

Amidst the spiking COVID-19 cases, I wanted nothing more than to escape reality and forget where I was for a few chapters at a time. These books kept me distracted and transported me out of the present-day, even though I was just sitting in my backyard.

The Heptameron:

There’s nothing wrong with not knowing things — and I’m not talking about whether or not you know the quadratic formula by heart. Marguerite de Navarre’s belief that “there is nothing more foolish than a man who thinks he’s clever, and nothing more wise than the man that knows he is nothing,” is a philosophical ideal I never thought to analyze. But I think it’s important to seek out different moralistic values and truly examine the lives we live and the world we live in.

“The Heptameron” is a book that includes a collection of 72 short stories.

But the fables aren’t told plain and simply, which I found to be refreshing. They’re told through characters in the book who use storytelling as a way to pass time while stranded in a mountain range — which I would gladly take over being stuck in a country plagued by a pandemic. 

The book is organized based on the eight days the characters are stranded — each day there is a different theme with new stories to be told. Themes in the stories include love, lust, adultery, hypocrisy and greed, which allows for interesting debate amongst the characters to determine if they agree with the moral of the story.

A particular story about a chivalrous knight caught my attention, posing the question, “Is it better to speak or die?” 

The purpose of the question is to ponder whether you should risk speaking your true thoughts and feelings with the possibility of being rejected, or if it would be better to keep those feelings to yourself to avoid possible humiliation.

The characters’ disputes made the read captivating and kept my mind at work — I tried to understand and determine the hidden meanings, reading between the lines.  

Walden:

With the news warning viewers about a new way the world is going to end every night — whether it be COVID, murder hornets, wildfires or political unrest, at times I feel like saying ‘sayonara’ and dropping off the face of the earth. But while I mean that figuratively, Henry David Thoreau meant it quite literally.

While extreme, he did well to vouch for the importance of civilization, but also to deem one’s relationship with nature equally as important. In his novel “Walden,” Thoreau writes about how one must reconnect with nature after being so consumed with modern life.

Published in 1854, the memoir/spiritual quest explores self discovery and independence, observes the importance of engaging with nature and mocks society using satire. I found myself nodding along as he criticized the blind respect given to elders, corrupt governments and the damaging materialistic values we’ve adopted. 

I found myself flipping back through each passage to make sure I fully grasped the mind-bending philosophies that Thoareau swore by, and I now find myself living by them everyday. Thoreau believes that as long as you live how you want, you can succeed. 

I respect Thoreau as a critically-acclaimed author, but I can’t ignore his narcissism and arrogance. He wasn’t all-knowing, but would attempt to convince readers that he always knew best and everyone else was living their lives wrong. 

Although critiques of Thoreau may be valid, the novel can still be appreciated on its own — even though his idea of living so minimally that you’re living in a tiny cabin you made yourself is a bit ridiculous. But this was all done to mock materialism and prove that you can live simply and be satisfied. Though he is mocking society and showing his disapproval of society, I have an appreciation and fascination for his commitment to living a self-sufficient life. 

Pride and Prejudice:

The frustrating pursuit that took place in the novel “Pride and Prejudice” made it impossible to set down — and I certainly wanted to be lost in the book for as long as I could. 

“Pride and Prejudice” follows Lizzie, the daughter of a humble country man and sister to five, and Mr. Darcy, a wealthy, aristocratic landowner, and their pursuit of each other as they overcome their overbearing qualities — stated in the novel’s title. 

I immediately related to Elizabeth Bennett, or Lizzie, the main character — and feminist icon years ahead of her time. She knows her own worth, and when Mr. Darcy professes his love for her after treating her so coldly, she’s quick to reject him. 

In the chase, it’s debated whether or not Lizzie is right to be cautious and not give into Mr. Darcy’s romantics as she rejects him initially. Some may consider Lizzie to be harsh, but I saw her as strong and independent.

I loved seeing author Jane Austen use Lizzie’s strength and independence to criticize the social standards and structure by having Lizzie constantly make fun of the higher class and the meaningless customs like dry small talk at sophisticated parties.

The plot also focused on Lizzie’s sisters and followed their lives as they found their own love interests — whether it be a male suitor or a passion of interest, providing a balance between the main characters and the side characters that support them.

I seriously recommend downloading the soundtrack to the film and playing it as you read — it provides the ultimate reading experience and truly does set you in 18th century England, while taking you out of the never-ending nightmare that is the year 2020.