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Although Blue's main area of study was minerals and precious stones in Mesoamerica, he'd become fascinated by their ritualistic use and cultural connotation. Slowly, that interest had extended to other areas and they'd both embarked on a deep dive into the religions of the region.
"Ok, here I go," Noelle smiled as she pulled up his paper on her computer.
"I'm ready. Do your worst," Blue retorted, waiting for her question.
"Can you explain why you argue that the novel shouldn't be used as a cultural blueprint, but rather an observation on the dynamics of power via means of religion?"
Blue chuckled.
"Damn it, curiouscat, you went straight for the throat, didn't you?"
"I aim to please," she answered cheekily. "Now answer the question."
He cleared his throat before he began.
"Lawrence wrote the novel based on his experiences on his short visit to Mexico. From the start, we're talking about an outsider's experiences looking into a culture that he can barely begin to understand. Though it can be dismissed as yet another attempt at colonial literature and a white man's desire to understand the arcane, as these cultures were often regarded in the west, I don't believe that was his intention. He merely borrowed the locale and the culture for the background, but at its core, The Plumed Serpent is about ideas that can be applied in different parts of the world. It doesn't attempt to do an ethnological or anthropological study of the Christian and pre-Christian communities in Mexico, but it does try to put the two ideologies in juxtaposition to look at the dynamics of power."
"Can you discuss these dynamics of power more?" Noelle continued.
"The main conflict of the novel is between the New World Order and the Old World Order. The former is characterized by the Catholic Church while the latter by the Old Mexican Gods. At the beginning of the novel, Kate, the main character, reads an article titledThe Gods of Antiquity Return to Mexico, which is a foreshadowing for the conflict to come. Soon, men become the personification of these gods, come back to earth to save the people. A discourse soon follows on the theme of aSaviorand that every culture needs this type of messiah. Though at a first glance the conflict is steeped in different religious sentiments, it's soon clear that it had nothing to do with belief, or freedom or worship. Instead, the two warring religious entities embody different ideals—modern versus traditional; new and ancient; autochthonous rather than foreign. It's all about a uniting sentiment that allows people to put their faith inoneman—one Savior. And that is where power truly comes from."
"From letting someone else make the decisions for you?"
"No. From trusting someone else to make the right decisions for you because they have been imbued with divine power."
They continued back and forth for an hour, covering every potential topic.
"If anything, you're overprepared, Blue," Noelle said, proud of him.
He was the smartest man she knew and she had confidence in his ability to woo his professors. After all, who wouldn't be impressed with him if they engaged in a debate? He had a way of seeing every little perspective, regardless of whether it served his argument or not.
Usually, Noelle was the one who was obsessed with one point while Blue was able to play the Devil's advocate despite his own personal convictions. It was something she deeply admired about him. Whereas she could get wrapped up in one point, he could look at everything from a holistic perspective.
"You think so?" His voice held the slightest hesitation to it.
Noelle couldn't understand how he couldn't see his strengths and that he was nothing short of brilliant. Of course, in her view, he was the epitome of perfection, and as such, everyone must see him accordingly. It never crossed her mind that not everyone would agree with her assessment, or that she was looking at Blue through the eyes of someone in love, and thus was unable to be objective.
"Iknowit. I asked you anything I could think of and you nailed everything. You'll be fine."
"I wish you could be there," he added in a wistful whisper.
Noelle pretended she didn't hear him, though his words touched her heart unlike anything else. She wished she could be there too, supporting him and being his main cheerleader. She wished she could be by his side at all times, yet the reality was that she couldn't. At least not yet.
"Now that you're more relaxed about your presentation, why don't we watch that new movie that came out?" She suggested instead.
"Deal. Let me get some snacks first," Blue replied.
They both got food and drinks and started watching the movie.
All the while, though, Noelle couldn't let go of his invitation. Their time for the day ended and they said their good nights and Noelle still couldn't let go.
She wanted to see him more than anything.
It had been a few months since the department store incident, and since then, he haunted her thoughts constantly.
After seeing what he looked like, everything had changed.
Where before she felt a comfortable warmth at interacting with him, now she got butterflies in her stomach whenever she imagined his blue, blue eyes at the other side of the monitor. Her dreams, too, were full of him—of them together.
