Discussion Favorite Historical Figures?

[Celerity]

Simone Weil

Simone Weil - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I don't think we would agree on much, but I really admire her spirit. Albert Camus said she was "the only great spirit of our time". When we have all moved on from the sacred in favor of the mundane and have become cynical, Simone Weil championed ideals. She died at a tragically young age. I think if she had put more thought into it, she would have tried harder to live. Definitely ahead of her time and died too young. I wonder what would have happened to French philosophy if she had lived.

Jeanne D'Arc: another famous French woman who died young. She may have been crazy, but it takes real guts to do what she did. I have admired her since I was a young girl.



It's really odd that I as an atheist would choose two very religious figures, but here we are. I guess I respect what they were striving toward even if I too belong to the mundane and cynical modern world.

 

[Bootleg Astolfo]

Luigi Cadorna, a general so great the Isonzo front had 12 encores just in the hopes they could witness just a little bit more of his grandiose strategies.
AVANTI !

 

[mediocre.marsupial]

Mithridates VI. He was so metal that when his father was poisoned, he went into exile, lived in the woods and slowly built up an immunity to that poison and many others so nobody could assassinate him that way. He wiped out Roman presence in his region and put up a damn good fight against the most powerful empire in the world.

 

[FML_]

Nikola Tesla, he really was ahead of his time by 1000 years atleast. I wish all of his research was made public.

 

[Jeannine]

TE Lawrence. Fascinating guy beyond the Lawrence of Arabia (great film) portrait, wish people looked more into him. Opposing sentiments keeps him a controversial figure, and discussions are always interesting. I see myself a lot in him, may he rest in peace

 

[Fayefaye]

Not a favorite, but a very interesting figure: Yukio Mishima. Celebrated Japanese novelist who was considered for the Nobel prize for literature multiple times, at one point considered marriage with who would become the Empress of Japan, and whose nationalist ideals would culminate in leading a small militia to attempt a coup on the Japanese Army in 1970 to revert power to the emperor.

It didn't... And after a small speech Mishima committed ritual seppuku along with another of his allies.

It's heavily speculated that the coup was a pretense for a "glorious" suicide as it seems it had been an obsession of his from a young age.

I've been reading I think his most famous work, "Confessions of a Mask" and he does seem like a very severe person. It's semi-autobiographical also.

Other than him, I've looked into people like Sylvia Plath, Osamu Dazai, Virginia Woolf, who I'm just realizing are also all writers who committed suicide oof lol. Dazai's "No Longer Human" was the first book I ever read that made me feel "seen". Highly recommend with the caveat it might make you feel worse after lol

 

[Celerity]

Not a favorite, but a very interesting figure: Yukio Mishima. Celebrated Japanese novelist who was considered for the Nobel prize for literature multiple times, at one point considered marriage with who would become the Empress of Japan, and whose nationalist ideals would culminate in leading a small militia to attempt a coup on the Japanese Army in 1970 to revert power to the emperor.

It didn't... And after a small speech Mishima committed ritual seppuku along with another of his allies.

It's heavily speculated that the coup was a pretense for a "glorious" suicide as it seems it had been an obsession of his from a young age.

I've been reading I think his most famous work, "Confessions of a Mask" and he does seem like a very severe person. It's semi-autobiographical also.

Other than him, I've looked into people like Sylvia Plath, Osamu Dazai, Virginia Woolf, who I'm just realizing are also all writers who committed suicide oof lol. Dazai's "No Longer Human" was the first book I ever read that made me feel "seen". Highly recommend with the caveat it might make you feel worse after lol

I have not yet read any of Virginia Woolf's writings, but I have read some articles and listened to a recording of her literary criticism. She had interesting ideas on language.

 

[Fayefaye]

I have not yet read any of Virginia Woolf's writings, but I have read some articles and listened to a recording of her literary criticism. She had interesting ideas on language.

Yeah neither have I! I want to though, focus is just bad. To the lighthouse and Orlando are a couple I'd like to read.

Tbh, I really like the history/biography aspect of these writers too. maybe a bit more than reading their works. Definitely in conjunction though.

I'll have to find those articles. I like literary criticism too. Would be interested to see what she thinks.