Levana and our ladies of sorrow. Internet History Sourcebooks 2022-10-28
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Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow are two intriguing and complex figures that have captured the imagination of many readers and writers over the years. Both are associated with the concept of sorrow and grief, and both are depicted as mysterious and enigmatic figures that hold a certain power and influence over those who encounter them.
Levana is a character from the popular science fiction series The Lunar Chronicles, written by Marissa Meyer. She is the ruler of the moon colony of Luna and is known for her ability to manipulate the emotions of others through her "glamour" powers. Levana is depicted as a cruel and manipulative character who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, even if it means causing harm to others. She is driven by a deep resentment of Earth and its inhabitants, and she seeks to destroy the planet and enslave its people.
Our Ladies of Sorrow, on the other hand, are a group of female personifications of grief and sorrow that have been depicted in literature and art throughout history. These figures are often depicted as wearing black clothing and veils, and they are associated with the concept of death and loss. They are often depicted as mourners who are grieving the loss of a loved one, or as figures who are themselves experiencing sorrow and grief.
While Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow may seem like very different figures at first glance, they share some important similarities. Both are associated with grief and sorrow, and both are depicted as mysterious and enigmatic figures that hold a certain power and influence over those who encounter them. Additionally, both Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow are seen as symbols of the dark and difficult times that we all must face in life, and they serve as reminders of the importance of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity.
Ultimately, Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow are complex and fascinating figures that have captured the imagination of many readers and writers over the years. They remind us of the power of grief and sorrow, and they serve as powerful symbols of the resilience and perseverance that we all must exhibit in the face of adversity. So, these figures are not only interesting characters but also holds a significant moral lesson for us.
Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow. Thomas De Quincey. 1909
This sister, the eldest, it is that carries keys more than papal at her girdle, which open every cottage and every palace. Her kingdom is not large, or else no flesh should live; but within that kingdom all power is hers. She wears a diadem round her head. She droops not; and her eyes, rising so high, might be hidden by distance. Do they talk, then? But her blind father mourns for ever over her; still he dreams at midnight that the little guiding hand is locked within his own; and still he wakens to a darkness that is now within a second and a deeper darkness.
She is humble to abjectness. But she raises not her eyes; her head, on which sits a dilapidated turban, droops for ever, for ever fastens on the dust. One of the stories she found was this short piece by Thomas de Quincy 1785-1859 The themes in his short story Levana and Our Ladie sof Sorrow, was a surprise and a revelation to me. Her eyes are sweet and subtle, wild and sleepy, by turns; oftentimes rising to the clouds, oftentimes challenging the heavens. They may utter voices through the organs of man when they dwell in human hearts, but amongst themselves there is no voice nor sound; eternal silence reigns in their kingdoms. They conspired together; and on the mirrors of darkness my eye traced the plots.
Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow by Thomas de Quincy
For she can approach only those in whom a profound nature has been upheaved by central convulsions; in whom the heart trembles and the brain rocks under conspiracies of tempest from without and tempest from within. Every slave that at noonday looks up to the tropical sun with timid reproach, as he points with one hand to the earth, our general mother, but for him a stepmother,—as he points with the other hand to the Bible, our general teacher, but against him sealed and sequestered;—every woman sitting in darkness, without love to shelter her head, or hope to illumine her solitude, because the heaven-born instincts kindling in her nature germs of holy affections which God implanted in her womanly bosom, having been stifled by social necessities, now burn sullenly to waste, like sepulchral lamps amongst the ancients; every nun defrauded of her unreturning May-time by wicked kinsman, whom God will judge; every captive in every dungeon; all that are betrayed and all that are rejected outcasts by traditionary law, and children of hereditary disgrace,—all these walk with Our Lady of Sighs. If, then, these are the ministries by which Levana works, how profoundly must she reverence the agencies of grief. Deep lie the roots of her power; but narrow is the nation that she rules. She, to my knowledge, sat all last summer by the bedside of the blind beggar, him that so often and so gladly I talked with, whose pious daughter, eight years old, with the sunny countenance, resisted the temptations of play and village mirth to travel all day long on dusty roads with her afflicted father. I began in art school, but spent many years in the theater acting, dancing, choreographing, singing. Hers is the meekness that belongs to the hopeless" and depression "She is the defier of God.
"Levana and our ladies of sorrow" by Thomas De Quincey
Whisper she may, but it is to herself in the twilight; Mutter she does at times, but it is in solitary places that are desolate as she is desolate, in ruined cities, and when the sun has gone down to his rest. Let me describe their form, and their presence; if form it were that still fluctuated in its outline; or presence it were that forever advanced to the front, or forever receded amongst shades. These are the Sorrows, all three of whom I know. Now, I am far from saying that children universally are capable of grief like mine. I will tell you a common case.
So shall he rise again before he dies, and so shall our commission be accomplished which from God we had,—to plague his heart until we had unfolded the capacities of his spirit. Him I led astray, him I beguiled, and from heaven I stole away his young heart to mine. Her eyes are sweet and subtle, wild and sleepy, by turns; oftentimes rising to the clouds, oftentimes challenging the heavens. Whisper she may, but it is to herself in the twilight; Mutter she does at times, but it is in solitary places that are desolate as she is desolate, in ruined cities, and when the sun has gone down to his rest. I will tell you a common case. Banish the frailties of hope; wither the relenting of love; scorch the fountains of tears; curse him as only thou canst curse. She is the defier of God.
So shall he rise again before he dies, and so shall our commission be accomplished which from God we had,—to plague his heart until we had unfolded the capacities of his spirit. In the spring-time of the year, and whilst yet her own spring was budding, he recalled her to himself. Wordsworth this fine image of the revolving wheel and the glimmering spokes, as applied by him to the flying successions of day and night. This is he that once I made my darling. Reader, that do not pretend to have leisure for very much scholarship, you will not be angry with me for telling you. The rules of Eton require that a boy on the foundation should be there twelve years: he is superannuated at eighteen; consequently he must come at six.
They conspired together; and on the mirrors of darkness my eye traced the plots. They spoke not, as they talked with Levana; they whispered not; they sang not; though oftentimes methought they might have sung, for I upon earth had heard their mysteries oftentimes deciphered by harp and timbrel, by dulcimer and organ. She spoke by her mysterious hand. They may utter voices through the organs of man when they dwell in human hearts, but amongst themselves there is no voice nor sound; eternal silence reigns in their kingdoms. Every slave that at noonday looks up to the tropical sun with timid reproach, as he points with one hand to the earth, our general mother, but for him a stepmother,—as he points with the other hand to the Bible, our general teacher, but against him sealed and sequestered;—every woman sitting in darkness, without love to shelter her head, or hope to illumine her solitude, because the heaven-born instincts kindling in her nature germs of holy affections which God implanted in her womanly bosom, having been stifled by social necessities, now burn sullenly to waste, like sepulchral lamps amongst the ancients; every nun defrauded of her unreturning May-time by wicked kinsman, whom God will judge; every captive in every dungeon; all that are betrayed and all that are rejected outcasts by traditionary law, and children of hereditary disgrace,—all these walk with Our Lady of Sighs. I knew her by her Roman symbols. Madonna moves with uncertain steps, fast or slow, but still with tragic grace.
Grief of that sort, and at that age, has killed more than have ever been counted amongst its martyrs. She stood in Rama, where a voice was heard of lamentation,—Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted. And I knew by childish memories that she could go abroad upon the winds, when she heard the sobbing of litanies, or the thundering of organs, and when she beheld the mustering of summer clouds. These sisters - by what name shall we call them? Mutter she does at times, but it is in solitary places that are desolate as she is desolate, in ruined cities, and when the sun has gone down to his rest. Hush, whisper whilst we talk of her! So shall he rise again before he dies, and so shall our commission be accomplished which from God we had, - to plague his heart until we had unfolded the capacities of his spirit. She is also the mother of lunacies, and the suggestress of suicides. Do they talk, then? These statements tended to one of two results: either they unsanctified the characters of those who founded and nursed the Christian church; or they sanctified suicide.
Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow by Thomas de Quincey
Arid I knew by childish memories that she could go abroad upon the winds, when she heard that sobbing of litanies, or the thundering of organs, and when she beheld the mustering of summer clouds. Reader, that do not pretend to have much leisure for very much scholarship, you will not be angry with me for telling you. Him, this young idolater, I have seasoned for thee, dear gentle Sister of Sighs! She carries no key; for, though coming rarely amongst men, she storms all doors at which she is permitted to enter at all. Let me describe their form, and their presence: if form it were that still fluctuated in its outline, or presence it were that for ever advanced to the front, or for ever receded amongst shades. What is it that they do? So shall he read elder truths, sad truths, grand truths, fearful truths.
At the very moment of birth, just as the infant tasted for the first time the atmosphere of our troubled planet, it was laid on the ground. Suffer not woman and her tenderness to sit near him in his darkness. Murmur she may, but it is in her sleep. Hush, whisper whilst we talk of her! For her kingdom is chiefly amongst the tents of Shem, and the houseless vagrant of every clime. But her blind father mourns for ever over her: still he dreams at midnight that the little guiding hand is locked within his own; and still he wakens to a darkness that is now within a second and a deeper darkness.
