Pondering the meaning of character one evening, I stumbled upon the much quoted citation from George Eliot (whose real name was Mary Anne Evans) in her 
masterpiece The Mill on the Floss (1860): “Character is Destiny.” Curiosity getting the better of me, and knowing the exertion would prove effortless, I dug deeper to discover the full context of the quote. It revealed a wonderful irony. It also led to a deeper mystery.
Here’s what Mary Anne wrote:
“Character,” says Novalis, in one of his questionable aphorisms – “Character is Destiny.”
First, let’s get to the beautiful piece of irony. Ol’ Mary Anne apparently didn’t even like Continue Reading “Mary Anne was Wrong! The Truth Behind Character and Destiny”
Twentieth Century Lorelei
[This Commentary originally appeared in the June 22, 1989 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]
Of course, the sweet love song drowns the most rational into a luscious lull. Unlike Hollywood, which seduces the naïve children and renders them soulless, the City dulls even the sparky young with pleasant serenity.
Manhattan calls for me. I guess it always has.
Some say Paris truly represents the romantic world of the twentieth century. Indeed, Gertrude Stein and her Lost Generation virtually proclaimed it such. Ironically, though, Continue Reading “Twentieth Century Lorelei”