Monday, August 15, 2011

I spit on your happiness!

A while back, everyone's favorite cucurbita Lady Pumpkin wrote one of those all about me posts, and I was surprised to find that we have the same favorite play, Jean Anouilh's Antigone. I thought this was pretty awesome. It's not the best known work of literature in the world. It's not like I discovered, wow, we both like Harry Potter books or something. (Which, by the way, I do.) So when she offered to make an embroidered onesie for Bun Bun, I felt like I really had to choose something from the play to honor the weird coincidence. I chose the most famous line from the most famous scene: I spit on your happiness! It seemed oddly perfect for a baby. After all, Bun Bun spits on my happiness multiple times a day.



At the time we didn't know Bun Bun was a girl, but now the full quote seems even more apt.

I spit on your happiness! I spit on your idea of life--that life that must go on, come what may. You are all like dogs that lick everything they smell. You with your promise of a humdrum happiness--provided a person doesn't ask much of life. I want everything of life, I do; and I want it now! I want it total, complete: otherwise I reject it! I will not be moderate. I will not be satisfied with the bit of cake you offer me if I promise to be a good little girl. I want to be sure of everything this very day; sure that everything will be as beautiful as when I was a little girl. If not, I want to die!

I mean, I want to die is not exactly a sentiment I'd like my daughter to feel. In reality, I'd rather she choose life, even if it is humdrum. But I do want her to have passion, even if it's a petulant adolescent passion like Antigone's, and most of all, I want her to have a whole lot of cake, not just a bit.

And for the record, Pumpkin is quite the needlewoman. Every stitch is perfect. As someone who can't embroider for shit, I think this is MOST IMPRESSIVE.

12 comments:

  1. What a sweetheart you are! I love the picture, and especially my moments-ago acquisition of the word "cucurbit"--you sent me to the dictionary with that one. So glad my delay in finishing and sending the onesie wasn't such that it was already too small for Bun Bun...provided you didn't substitute another, smaller baby for photographic purposes...Enjoy!

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  2. adorable!! Pumpkin is most talented for sure.

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  3. I absolutely adore that picture and the onesie...all of it. It rocks. And it is beyond appropriate. All that's missing is your matching one.

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  4. Love the quote and the cute, cute pic.

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  5. I COVET THIS. And it should be made available in adult sizes.

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  6. Perfect. Your baby is going to be so cool with such a cool mom. Why can't we be that cool? We wear our little Gerber onesies with stupid footballs and trains on them. Poo. Good thing Ian's so cute you don't notice the cliche content of his wardrobe. :)

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  7. Love this. Can you take bunbun out in public with this on please? Would love to see/hear ppl's reactions!

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  8. Bun Bun is such a little doll! Too bad we didn't live closer, we could parade all of our cuteness around this fine city. Super duper cute onesie, but definitely not as cute as the baaaaaybaaaaay wearing it! ;)

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  9. Beautiful onesie. That Pumpkin is amazing, indeed. Now I have to find the quote in French to see how it translates. I'll send it to you if I find it.

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