Hello,
When the subject of gender equality is brought up regarding Santiago’s quest for treasure versus Fatima’s fate of simply waiting for Santiago, how do you respond?
Do you feel it is sexist to give Santiago a Personal Legend involving travel, treasure and adventure while making Fatima’s Personal Legend a man, thereby causing her to simply wait for his return in order to be fulfilled?
It almost sounds like you’re saying women need only the love of men to be fulfilled and to grow spiritually, but men, in addition to needing the love of women, also need to follow their passions…and if that means that women have to wait around forever doing the necessary household chores, so be it.
I suspect that this was not your intended message, so if you would share your thoughts on these themes and what they symbolize to you, it would be much appreciated!
Dear Joshua,
Indeed, when I wrote the story of The Alchemist, I wasn’t thinking on gender terms. It is impossible in my eyes to tell a story having a “politically correct” agenda.
Having said this, even though Fatima portrays the condition of women in traditional cultures, I don’t believe women today are to be confined to the house-wife status at all.
In other books of mine, especially in The Zahir, I show the personal legend of a woman that feels the need to part from her loved one.
I believe there are as many personal legends as there are people in this world. If a woman feels her personal legend is to wait for her love – then it’s valid in my eyes (and not degrading at all). In the other hand if a woman feels her soul is asking for other things, then it’s equally valid. We should all focus in what truly makes us happy.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I mentioned the story of Penelope in “Journey to Ithaca, who waited ten years to his beloved. Another Penelope that lasted all his life without doing anything interesting and her lover never returned.
True love is what one feels oneself.
I’m with Penelope on this one, she had the right idea. She made sure she recognised her husband and he had to strive to get her to recognise him. In order to even enter his own castle, he had to turn into a Beggar.
Love always finds a way, and if it doesn’t, in my opinion it is not true love.
Pop-eye still looking for the right recipe with the good Olive Oil.
X
as a modern girl i am very sensibile to the question of the equality,but one of the reasons i addore so much Paulo Coelho is that i don*t find sexual rasizm in his books. ( didn*t the witch of portobello follow her legend?)
i also think that a woman doesnT have to give up following her dreams,and the man beside her has to help her in reaching them.my mom has never been a housewife,cos the sosiety was other,and i am thankful that she hasn*t ever been close to me,so i tought to survive in life by my own,and although i am not the person i would like to be,my mom loves me ,and although i missed her sometimes, i love her very much.i can*t say the same for my father,who brought the bread home :)) how rediculous
and still….ALL of my african friends call EVERY day to their moms,some more then ones.NONE of them calls his father.maybe men should think about it,i suppose they r the ones to fight for equality.
to marie-cristine:best chef doesn*t mean hi is happy and satisfied and reached his treasure.at least for me
thanks for that oli- I understand what you meant.
In his book, Veronica decides to die, is that why Zedka gets mad and loses the desire to live, is because an impossible love. Still keeping it around her husband, children, a happy life, she returns to where he was, with a desire to find that past love.
My opinion and I admit that I am a Sedka more in my life is that we must stop this search, and let Mother Nature is the one who bless us and accept the blessings, a famous phrase is: “Let him go, if you return to yours. ” If you continue pushing the situation and will never, let love be free, like when we are caught by a fever, the heart of that person is full of love if ever love was yours, while you continued with your search, because if you follow the path of a single line, without the love of being loved, you’re like Sedka, or probably die while you live or even die for real.
Please write a book, knit, paint carpet, to care for children: Paulo, I’d like to read “Time to break and time to Weave” Zahir, to understand if a woman can make your personal legend is intereze by Love she. I think that response is very deep and requires much patience, dedication, humility, accepting that this is the feeling. I believe that love is everywhere and you can always know your true love. The challenge is to break with the past history of love, but I feel pretty always start a new love, even with the same person from the past. It’s difficult to change the feeling, fear and think of main, but your live is more valuable that wait for him, live waiting the love that never return like Penelope.
Dearest Paul from Austria, I do not believe in total equality for men and women!!! We cannot compare …different worlds!! You are from .. Mars and we, from Aphrodite! Our bodies are made to bring ..life and the men’s body to bring ..the food for the ..nest.
We cannot exchange roles. The role that for a woman, I think, is the most important, is to be a mother. I would not want to miss it. I believe I did my duty to the utmost and I am proud of my daughters.
If I have followed my .. personal legend?? No, I was a … coward and too … sensitive. I was also very ..ambitious. My standard was .. Sviatoslav Richter. This standard, of course, could not be achieved in the sunny, island of Aphrodite. .
So, I do not want to tire you more and all our friends. The party of Paulo Coelho is .. coming and we may have the opportunity to … review.. my biography! ;]
LOVE,
Thelma
Now,I can say ,you are one of the most fair,open minded writers ,or even men.So much respect for womens figures I hardly encountered.You unique even for that reason.I admire you so much.Do take care
“The only thing that could make us happy is self-satisfaction”
-Mybheja
Thank you Joshua Wilde [you could be either Joshua.. Bell or Oscar Wilde!;] {I am joking}
Thank you Paulo Coelho for your .. diplomatic answer!!
As a … house-wife with .. ‘missed call’ for a career, I think that for each one of us, destiny/Karma is offering us every possibility. As a woman I say that ‘without love we are nothing’. There are so many roles we have to play and fulfill. I remember ‘ISIS’s hymn in the ’11 minutes’.
LOVE,
Thelma
As a home engineer in training, I can’t help thinking about how the best chefs are always men and they feature prominently on all those T.V. shows, however and correct me if I am wrong, there does not seem to be too many of them doing it in their own homes. Why?
Aside from doing myraid things for people,my personal legend also tells me to wait for my right man,chosen by God for me and it is written in my fate,but i take it as honor along with others.To wait is also as hard as following our personal legend,if it wasn’t then there wouldn’t be any debauchary,or infidelity or betrayel.For me it is as important and as honorable to wait for the right person and i know my other half is doing the same.( why woman highlighted ?? maybe she has more strength than male maybe)It is just how u would like to see it.Being a guy also he is doing the same but if u want to highlight gender then it wouldn;t be my problem would it?There are different sets of glasses and no one can force anyone to wear particular set,everyone has right to see things form different glasses i reckon.