Moja ocjena: 5 / 5
Goodreads ocjena: 3,85 / 5
Izdavač: Znanje
Žanr: povijesni roman
Broj stranica: 508
Nešto ću vam reći, na samom početku:
508 stranica nestalo u trenu. I to kakvih 508 stranica - fenomenalnih, očaravajućih, srcedrapajućih, moćnih... Vrijednih svake sekunde života provedene među njezinim recima.
Radnja je smještena u Novi svijet, konkretnije u Boston 17. stoljeća. Vrijeme je to naseljavanja tog dijela Amerike od strane Engleza, stvaranja novih gradova te čistog poretka posvećenog vjeri u Svevišnjeg. Uz to, novi su stanovnici nastojali u novi svijet ne dovesti zlo starog kontinenta.
Samo što je štovatelja zla uvijek bilo i uvijek će ih biti, kažu njihovi glavešine, a sposobnosti prikrivanja iznimno su vješte jer imaju nečastivog na svojoj strani. Zato je oformljen sud koji treba voditi računa o svemu tomu, pažljivo pratiti tko daje znakove opsjednutosti ili postupa suprotno vjeri i Bogu.
Mary Deerfield je dobra žena, pobožna. Svake nedjelje ide u crkvu. Kuha. Brine za životinje. Brine za muža. Ali ona je i inteligentna. Čita. Proučava. Razmišlja. Donosi zaključke i nije ju strah te zaključke iznijeti. Njezina pokornost i poslušnost su nešto što odgovara njezinu dvostruko starijem mužu Thomasu. Njezina sposobnost razmišljanja, stvaranja zaključaka i javnog iznošenja istih jest nešto što mu se ne sviđa.
Od silovanja pa sve do fizičkih napada, on ju nastoji preodgojiti, učiniti pokornom ženicom koju zanimaju samo kuhinja i djeca (koju mu nakon 5 godina braka još nije rodila jer je jalova, kaže selo) te briga oko njegova želuca i zadovoljavanja njegovih potreba. Takvi su stavovi i djela prisutni samo kada su sami. Pred svijetom daje sliku najboljeg muža na svijetu, prepunog ljubavi i razumijevanja, vrijednog čovjeka visoka ugleda i neokaljane časti.
Našavši dvije trozube vilice zakopane u vrtu, Mary ulazi u raspravu s mužem o tomu kako im netko priziva vraga pod krov. Ali umjesto njegova razumijevanja, dobiva tu istu trozubu vilicu, simbol nečastivog, zabijenu u ruku.
Tim je činom shvatila kako je njihovu braku stigao kraj. Stoga odlučuje sazvati sud kako bi se iz otrovnog braka prepunog nasilja i ponižavanja konačno i izvukla.
Našavši se pred sudom, smjer brakorazvodne parnice zakreće u opasne vode. Nije se raspravljalo o razvodu braka. Nije se dovodio u pitanje kredibilitet Thomasa Deerfielda, njegova posvećenost Bogu i radu, njegova ljubav prema ženi. Nikako. On je u tomu bio netaknuta strana. Njegovo razjašnjenje svih ženinih ozljeda su bili posljedica njezine vlastite nespretnosti i nesposobnosti. On je samo bio prisutan kako bi ju uhvatio ili joj pomogao prilikom brojnih padova, koji su redovito završavali ozljedama.
S druge strane, Mary je na svoju dušu primila težinu nespretne, jalove i brbljave žene sumnjiva morala. Neposlušna. Prkosna. Čak su došli do toga da ju optuže kako je sama zazivala nečastivog trozubim vilicama kako bi joj podario dijete. Sve najgore što joj se moglo prišiti, to je na nju i položeno. Sve njezine vapaje su zanemarili te ju uporno pokušavali uvjeriti kako je sve plod njezine mašte, njezine zlobe i opsjednutosti vragom.
Čitajući te retke, na momente sam ostajala zabezeknuta razinom zatucanosti i gluposti uzvišenog suda. Što god im Mary govorila, koliko god svjedoka ili dokaza stavljala pred njih, toliko su bili zadrti u svom razmišljanju, da niti jednu njezinu riječ nisu registrirali.
Koliko kontradiktornosti. Koliko nepravde. Koliko selektivnog slušanja i uvažavanja. Koliko slijepog vjerovanja, s obzirom na nečiju reputaciju u društvu. To je sve vidljivo iz ovih stranica. Koliko boli. Nemoći. Manjka vjere u doba kada im je vjera bila mjerilo svega i svakoga.
Grozna tematika, moram reći, ali ipak sam uživala u svakom trenutku. Jer nije samo do priče, nije samo do toga što čitaš. Treba gledati širu sliku, a ja ju sada konačno imam. Iz te teške tematike, u meni se budi osjećaj zahvalnosti i ljubavi. Živim punim plućima sa osobom koja me voli i podržava u svemu čega se primim. I sluša moje misli, sluša moje ideje i želje te istima pristupa sa razumijevanjem i odobravanjem. Vidi da rastem, vidi da sam velika curica i na tom putu me prati sa ponosom. Jer takav životni drug treba biti.
S druge strane, ponovno sam dobila uvid u to doba progona vještica, mentalitet ljudi tog doba, snagu njihove vjere, ali i kroničnu glupost. Samo što ta glupost proizlazi iz manjka razumijevanja i tumačenja određenih situacija i pojmova na način na koji su tumačili sve u svoje doba. Sve je ujedno i posljedica odgoja - da smo i mi, u 21. stoljeću, dobili od malih nogu da se treba paziti na svakoga tko odaje znakove opsjednutosti, i mi bismo postupili isto, kao i tadašnje društvo.
Nešto što je svakako ostalo i u današnje doba jest činjenica da se svakog tko je iole drugačiji, izuzima iz mase i stavlja po strani. Svatko tko izlazi iz zadanih okvira, definira se drugačijim i nekim s kime treba drugačije. Nisam sigurna hoće li se to ikad promijeniti, unatoč tomu što se masovno promovira kako je biti drugačiji sasvim OK - smijem se i mislim si kako je jedno pričati o tomu, a drugo je s riječi prijeći na djela.
Za kraj, samo ću vam reći kako biste zbilja trebali pročitati Vještičji sat. Sigurna sam da nećete požaliti.
Do iduće objave,
Voli vas vaša Goga
My rating: 5 / 5
Goodreads rating: 3.85 / 5
Publisher: Znanje
Genre: historical novel
Number of pages: 508
I will tell you something, at the very beginning:
508 pages gone in an instant. And what a 508 pages - phenomenal, enchanting, heartbreaking, powerful... Worth every second of life spent among her lines.
The action is set in the New World, more specifically in 17th century Boston. It is the time of the settlement of that part of America by the English population, the creation of new cities and a pure order dedicated to faith in the Almighty. In addition, the new inhabitants tried not to bring the evil of the old continent to the new world.
It's just that there have always been and always will be worshipers of evil, say their leaders, and their concealment skills are extremely skillful because they have the unholy on their side. That's why a court was formed that should take care of all that, carefully monitor who shows signs of possession or acts contrary to faith and God.
Mary Deerfield is a good woman, religious. She goes to church every Sunday. She cooks. She cares for animals. She worries about her husband and his happiness. But she is also intelligent. She reads. She studies. She's thinking. She draws conclusions and is not afraid to state those conclusions to the society. Her submissiveness and obedience is something that suits her husband, Thomas, who is twice her age. Her ability to think, form conclusions and state them publicly is something he does not like.
From rape to physical attacks, he tries to re-educate her, to make her a submissive wife who is only interested in the kitchen and children (whom she has not yet given birth to after 5 years of marriage because she is barren, according to the people) and cares about his stomach and satisfying his needs. Such attitudes and actions are present only when they are alone. In front of the world, he presents the image of the best husband in the world, full of love and understanding, a worthy man of high reputation and unblemished honor.
Finding two trident forks buried in the garden, Mary gets into an argument with her husband about someone conjuring the devil under their roof. But instead of his understanding, he gets that same three-pronged fork, the symbol of the wicked, thrust into her hand.
With that act, she realized that their marriage had come to an end. Therefore, she decides to call a court in order to finally get out of a toxic marriage full of violence and humiliation.
Finding herself in front of the court, the direction of the divorce case turns into dangerous waters. Divorce itself was not discussed. The credibility of Thomas Deerfield, his dedication to God and work, his love for his wife was not questioned. Not at all. He was the untouched party in that. His clarification that all of Mary's injuries were due to her own clumsiness and incompetence. He was only there to catch her or help her during the numerous falls, which regularly ended with injuries.
On the other hand, Mary took on her soul the weight of a clumsy, barren and chatty woman of dubious morals. Disobedient. Defiant. They even went so far as to accuse her of beckoning the unholy with a three-pronged fork to give her a child. All the worst that could be sewn on her, it was laid on her soul. They ignored all her cries and persistently tried to convince her that everything was a figment of her imagination, her malice and obsession with the devil.
Reading those lines, at times I was dumbfounded by the level of stupidity of the high court. No matter what Mary said to them, no matter how many witnesses or evidence she put before them, they were so stuck in their thinking that not a single word of hers has been registered.
What a contradiction. How much injustice. How much selective listening and appreciation. How much blind belief, given one's reputation in society. This is all visible from these pages. How much it hurts. Powerlessness. A lack of faith in an age when faith was their measure of everything and everyone.
Terrible subject matter, I must say, but I still enjoyed every moment. Because it's not just about the story, it's not just about what you read. You have to look at the bigger picture, and now I finally have it. From that difficult topic, a feeling of gratitude and love awakens in me. I live to the fullest with a person who loves and supports me in everything I do. And he listens to my thoughts, listens to my ideas and wishes and approaches them with understanding and approval. He sees that I'm growing, he sees that I'm a big girl, and he follows me along the way with pride. Because that's how a life partner should be.
On the other hand, I once again got an insight into that era of witch persecution, the mentality of the people of that era, the strength of their faith, but also chronic stupidity. It's just that this stupidity stems from a lack of understanding and interpretation of certain situations and concepts in the way they interpreted everything in their time. Everything is also a consequence of upbringing - if we, in the 21st century, had learned from a young age that we should be careful of anyone who shows signs of obsession, we would have done the same, as did the society of that time.
Something that has certainly remained in today's age is the fact that anyone who is even slightly different is excluded from the crowd and put aside. Anyone who goes outside the given framework defines himself as different and someone with whom he needs to be different. I'm not sure if that will ever change, despite the massive promotion that it's OK to be different - I laugh and think that it's one thing to talk about it, and another to move from words to actions.
In closing, I'll just tell you how you really should read The Hour of the Witch. I'm sure you won't regret it.
Until the next post,
Your Goga loves you
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