Amor Divino

"The young woman was flying up into the sky and the groom was holdig her by the ankles, trying to pull her back down" (20). The painting by Chagall descibes Yolanda and her gradmother completely. These are two women remind me of children that have seen the playgound, but have never been able to play and enjoy the playground. Yolanda is held down by her husband, John, by him simply not wanting to play and joke around with her. She's a fun loving person that loves to enjoy life and has open arms to receive what the world has to offer her. Her grandmother, the first Yolanda, has the same attitude, but in a different sense. She's been there and done that so before she died she wanted to live, but to really live with no inibitions. They didn't care what other people said to them or about them, as long as they were free and happy. That's why the grandmother tried to stop Yolanda from marrying John by throwing a "handful of rice out of turn" (16). The grandmother saw her granddaughter as herself and John as Papito.

The men, on the other hand, were stern and always thought what other people thought of them and your charater must be in front of other people. Both Papito and John wanted to keep their spirits and bay, but what they didn't know is that if you keep something too tightly in your hand is that it dies. "He had tricked her. He had brought her to live in the compound when she had wanted to pend her old age spreading her wings in the apartment she hd talkd him into buying in New York" (21). They crushed it and I think it was because they were afraid. Afraid that they were going to loose the most important thing to them. What those two men didn't realize is that their wives wouldn't hvae left them behind, they would have taken them with them to the next adventure.

Being free doesn't mean that you have to let go the person you love most. Being free and happy is just letting go of all of the responisibilities of everyday life and have ing fun. Papito and John didn't understand that, but both Yolanda's did. The younger Yolanda just wanted to have fun with John; while, the older Yolanda wanted to gamble and get away from her "bossy children" and "the vigilante nursemaids" (21). It must suck to live in this world for a very long time and have people try to tell you what to do when you gave birth and raised them.

I tried to google the portrait by Chagall and couldn't find it, but I found a lot of other work he did. Most of his portaits are about love and marraige. Either both the bride and groom are on solid ground or are fyling high in the sky. But there's one painting called "Promenade." In this painting the woman is flying in to sky or at least trying to and the man is on the gornd and has her by her hand. If you look closely the woman is frowning and the man is smiling. Being free has everything to do with love, but I don't think Papito and John saw that. I think they were insecure. They killed the love that they never wished to kill. For the men in this the women were their "Amor Divino, " but for the women living life was "Amor Divino."

What do you think the author meant by saying, "Yes, for a moment, she, too, has found love's divine treasure buried deep in her grandfather's memory" (24)?