The Story of the Story by Lawrence J. Kurnarsky

Author:Lawrence J. Kurnarsky [Kurnarsky, Lawrence J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Positive Media Productions
Published: 2023-06-30T23:20:33+00:00

4. Setting The Stakes, Raising The Peril

Our Two Heroes in the Pickle Jar. How War Can Be a Good Thing?

Most storytelling dilemmas can be described generally as choosing between opposing maxims: “He who hesitates is lost” versus “Look before you leap.” As for our instructive exercise, we have arrived at yet another for our critical plot point: “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” We have stuffed our protagonists into the pickle jar and sealed it tight. This is as it must be.

Remember, in the latest interaction, they both have taken marriage vows. Marriage is a central principle of their society. So is sacrificing your own happiness, or perhaps even your own life, at times, for the “greater good.” Remember, they are both honorable, or at least, they both try to remain honorable in a very challenging situation. If the dashing Yankee Captain and the vibrant young wife of an aging Confederate colonel are portrayed as fairly decent people, they might “hesitate” before they “leap.” They might look at what is before them, consider what the conventional wisdom views as fundamental to moral and social wellbeing, and follow the social convention for “the greater good.”

Lofty words. If they did that, they would have to part ways and return to their respective spouses; and, in the Captain’s case as well, to his children. The young woman would still be facing what she is facing. But in so doing, they would lose their chance at “true love,” and the audience is denied the satisfying, “They lived happily ever after” ending. What to do?

It might be that the only resolution for how we have crafted this tale is that the young woman has to die. Sorry.

The protagonists could preserve their honor and take what is widely regarded as the high road, but the story would still need to shed light on whether any of that has real value. Are these merely social conventions, which often are ephemeral? (Consider the demise of the institution of marriage in our times before you answer that question.) If our tale ended here without resolution, the audience would be left unsatisfied. Act III would fail. Therefore, the tale cannot finish here. Our honor as story-smiths is at stake.

So, how to wrap it up? The answer always lies in returning to our story theme. War is a social convention just as much as marriage is it not. We have imagined a tale that dares take on the idea that true morality –precepts that really do promote human happiness and wellbeing– can sometimes conflict with conventional morality, which includes both marriage and war. We are taking advantage of the tendency war has to expose hypocrisy. War can let the light in, which is possibly why many people are at least unconsciously drawn to it. Fortunately, a good war story married to a good romance story can serve that same function without all the carnage.

So, if they do take that leap, if they do not hesitate … are the

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