In an effort to increase my liturature knowledge I've been trying to read more books, and I've currently been reading one in particular called "Pandora's Curse". I'm almost done, but I came across a very interesting paragraph in which one of the characters explains what he calls a paradox to the mythological story of Pandora.
For those who are unaware of this story, I'll explain it in a nutshell. Pandora in Greek mythology was the first woman, created by the God's to punish Prometheus for stealing fire, and was given to Epimetheus, who was Prometheus's brother. Out of curiousity she opened a box or jar (depending on the translation) of given by Zeus, by doing this she accidentally released all the ills on the world, such as greed enby and disease before she could close it again. This was Zeus's revenge for Prometheus stealing the fire of the God's. However, there was one thing that remained in the box when she closed it. It was hope.
The character in the book proposed an interesting question, why was hope locked in box with all the other evils? He goes on to say that, "hope is just as destructive as any of the others, maybe worse. It was never meant to be a gift from the gods. It was a punishment. Hope gives you strength when you have a chance, but when the situation's impossible, it becomes a torture."
Is hope really a curse? Do you find is toture when hoping for something you know won't come true?
On a side note, have you read any good books lately?
Chatboard (0)