Broken Wings
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Do you believe in the following quote by Gibran?
“Love is the only freedom in the world because it so elevates the spirit that the laws of humanity and the phenomena of nature do not alter its course.” (Gibran, 1957, 35)
Why or why not? Discuss by using the 3 R’s (Retell, Relate, and Reflect)
Kahlil Gibran’s famous novel Broken Wings is a love story for ages. At the age of 18, Gibran meets Selma Karamy, who sings “to him the poetry of real life.” (Gibran, 1957, 11) This novel is about two lovers facing with the hardships and the reality of life through the choices that are made for them and the paths that they are forced to walk through in life. Gibran’s father is a very old friend of the wealthiest man in North Lebanon, Farris Effandi, who is “…a good old man with a noble heart” but, “lacks will power.” (Gibran, 1957, 26) At his visit to the old town, Gibran meets Farris Effandi and his beautiful young daughter, who “…sees everything through the eyes of the spirit.” (Gibran, 1957, 33) I noticed that for days Selma and Gibran did not speak to each other much but Gibran has found the “freedom” that “so elevates [his] spirit that the laws of humanity and the phenomena of nature do not alter its course.” He justifies this love between himself and Selma through the poetic words: “Real beauty lies in the spiritual accord that is called love which can exist between a man and a woman.” (Gibran, 1957, 34) The love between them, however, is restricted only to a brother-sister love in the path of life. The two lovers’ wings are broken as Farris Effandi leaves his house to be forced to promise his daughter’s hand to the bishop’s son, who “is full of hatefulness and corruption.” (Gibran, 1957, 26) Nonetheless, the love between Gibran and Selma is so strong that it still continues even after her forced marriage. They secretly meet in the temple and speak to each other of the beauties of life. Yet, in the end, they are, once again, forced to separate until death brings them together eternally. This entire situation of love with broken wings resembles those in the countries that are accustomed to arranged marriages. The women are