Old Man And The Sea

My sister was in Cuba last week so she brought me back a Hemingway picture to place on my writing desk. I like the idea of always keeping an artist you respect close-by to watch over you. It keeps you accountable at the very least. It takes even more courage to find your own path with an onlooker like Hemingway, watching you through the process. 

My favourite piece of prose is from The Old Man And The Sea: 

“He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish when they love her. Sometimes those who love her say bad things of her but they are always said as though she were a woman. Some of the younger fishermen, those who used buoys as floats for their lines and had motorboats, bought when the shark livers had brought much money, spoke of her as el mar which is masculine. They spoke of her as a contestant or a place or even an enemy. But the old man always thought of her as feminine and as something that gave or withheld great favours, and if she did wild or wicked things it was because she could not help them. The moon affects her as it does a woman, he thought.” 

The world is filled with such a masculine presence, and I love how the old man refers to the sea as “la mar”. It’s such a romantic notion and shows a sign of respect. This wisdom is acquired from years of contemplation while fishing for marlin, something that may be a lost art one day. 

I try to imagine everything in nature to have a feminine spirit. 

I think about the Old Man often. I wonder if that was his last fishing trip? If he created a sufficient legacy to hang his hat on? Is he still following the Great DiMaggio?