S4: Narrator

Actions speak louder than words. Most of us have heard that maxim all our lives, yet somehow we still think that if we construct prose elaborate or emotive enough, we can convince recipients that when our actions do not match up to our words, the latter is the more important to focus on. We always and will forever continue to fail in that regard. Noelle’s parents spent years of her life instilling the value of educational success into the very marrow of her bones, but all of that was like a pin dropping in a rave. Noelle could see for herself a certain value (personal to her), of that indoctrination in the example of their relationship. So then we’re presented with the following considerations — Does Seraphin’s sacrifice warrant Noelle’s view on marriage? Is there wider merit in Noelle’s view of marriage? Can we really blame Noelle for her actions and behaviour towards Pascal, or is that the inevitable fruit of the confusion of words that don’t marry actions? Is Noelle unfairly assuming Pascal will not be able to accommodate the belief systems she wants to impart to her children, because of her parents? Either way, one thing is clear, Noelle used Pascal in an act which presents its own set of offshoot impact in another story told another day.

Claude is the quintessential busy-body aunt figure who is oblivious to the fragilities of her own existence. But is there a possibility that actually she wasn’t? That perhaps pride prevented her from ever divulging her awareness of her situations, but it was the context which inspired with the best of intentions, her seeking to see her niece married to someone who would love, care and respect her. Could it be that she wanted her niece to have a marriage as good as what she felt her sister had?

And let’s talk about Pascal. He knew Noelle didn’t want marriage and continued to visibly demonstrate his infatuation in private and in public. Does that mean he deserved the outcome of the situation? Could he be considered a protagonist in his own duping, or do we need to hold Noelle to account for the method which weaponised his infatuation, to bring about her personal goal? Could it even be said that as much as Noelle felt disgusted by her own father’s role in the fading of her mother’s dreams, has she not essentially played a role more sinister, with more serious consequences in which she has considered her own desires as superseding the moral rights of Pascal? It all gets quite dicey when you think about it!

I know what I think, but it’s never my duty to tell you what to conclude. This reflection may even have inspired some considerations I haven’t already posed. Irrespective regardless, I think it’s quite safe to say this story ends on quite the precarious cliff-hanger. Shocking though it may seem, it is as always a portrayal of scenarios that colour in the stencil lines of this complex human existence, of which I am determined to make you always…ride the wave.

Originally posted: 29, April 2022