Hale Centre Theatre<\/a> in Sandy City.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I often do, I wonder whether people living along the Wasatch Front realize what a priceless treasure they have in this theatre. \u00a0It is spectacular, and very versatile, and the performances featured in it have been quite worthy of it. \u00a0There may have been two or three empty seats tonight; if so, that was a tragic waste.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the way home, I tried to figure out why I (obviously along with many others) find the story of The Scarlet Pimpernel<\/em> \u2014 and others rather like it, which also feature heroes masquerading as subpar men, such as the tales about Superman and Clark Kent, and the adventures of Don Diego de la Vega (aka \u201cZorro\u201d) \u2014 so perennially attractive.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can think of two reasons, though there are probably many more:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
First, no doubt, many of us dream of doing great feats of goodness, courage, and derring-do (whether literal or metaphorical) as an excape from the humdrum, routine ordinariness of our actual lives and daily reality. \u00a0We like to think that, somewhere within us, admittedly deeply hidden but perhaps only awaiting an opportunity that may or may not ever come to bring it out, there is the potential, at least, for greatness. \u00a0(That\u2019s why we like stories like that of Oskar Schindler and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington<\/em>\u00a0and To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em>, where seemingly ordinary or, sometimes, even rather bad people rise heroically to meet serious challenges. \u00a0We like to imagine that we, to, might rise to the occasion in such fashion.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Second, I think that, for all the cynicism of our age, we still resonate with moral heroism. \u00a0We love to see a hero \u2014 like Sir Percy Blakeney \u2014 who, perhaps at great risk and with no thought of self-interest or glory, does the right thing simply because it\u2019s right. \u00a0That\u2019s among the reasons, I think, for the long-standing popularity of the character of Jean Valjean.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know whether she admired Sir Percy, and I know that I often dislike her<\/em> heroes. \u00a0But I\u2019m reminded of a passage by Ayn Rand, in her book The Romantic Manifesto<\/em>:<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The motive and purpose of my writing is the projection of an ideal man. \u00a0The portrayal of a moral ideal, as my ultimate literary goal, as an end in itself \u2014 to which any didactic, intellectual or philosophical values contained in a novel are only the means. . . . \u00a0My basic test for any story is Would I want to meet these characters and observe these events in real life? \u00a0Is this story an experience worth living through for its own sake? \u00a0Is the pleasure of contemplating these characters an end in itself? . . . \u00a0It involves such questions as: \u00a0What kind of men do I want to see in real life \u2014 and why? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayn Rand was a vocal admirer of the works of Victor Hugo, among which is the great\u00a0Les Mis\u00e9rables. \u00a0<\/i>So perhaps she liked Jean Valjean. \u00a0I hope so. \u00a0If she did, there may still be hope for her redemption.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I really, seriously, genuinely didn\u2019t have the time, but I wanted to go and we had tickets. \u00a0It\u2019s quite simply one of my very favorite stories, and I\u2019ve never tired of it. \u00a0(I also very much like the novel itself, as well as the 1982 film version featuring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2018\/01\/Sandy-Sunset-photo.jpg\")
<\/a>