I received the following reaction to my reflections on Blue.

“Ah yes Dan.  Good analysis of the play, however, you forgot Queen Marenda who in Scene 7 hopelessly tried to convince her husband the king, to explain the laws and teach the laws to the poor, confused people of the kingdom and he did not heed her wise advice.  Dave Ramsey is right when he says that men should listen to their wives advice because as a rule, women are very intuitive."  Don't you agree? 

Blessings,

Connie Wetzell a.k.a.  Queen Marenda  ” 

Wow. Busted! I did indeed forget the good Queen. Here she was, she speaking truth all along and I ignored her. So, I responded just like the king. “Sweet thought, my dear. Sentimental and kind. All that stuff. Now go cook or so whatever else it is that you do whenever you are not saying such sweet things to me.”

Leon Kass says that the Hebrew way of creating dynasty and legacy is to encourage both patriarchy and matriarchy. God wants both strong male and strong female leaders, in other words. Why? Because both male and female are made in the image and likeness of God but each reflect His image and likeness in different ways. Because of these differences, patriarchs and matriarchs clash, contrast and create strong children and families that endure. Either a weak male leader or a weak female leader tends to cripple a family because important parts of an individual’s formation gets let out. In the case of Blue, the kingdom would have been strengthened and spared much sorrow if the king and crown prince would have listened to the Queen mother. As for sweet Sophie, one wonders if she is going to mature to become a real adult either. She seems to fade beside her two competing brothers. What would have been her take on the situation?

One thing for sure, sermons, songs and plays are meant to be discussed like this. Their meaning must be “milked.”   To merely watch a play, or read a book, or hear a sermon is to be scarcely more than entertained. Lasting insight comes from the discussion, debate and interaction with the ideas that these venues offer.  

 

Dan