Magic Lantern

Magic Lantern

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Elyse Dumas Bluets

Passage 54 in Bluets stands out to me.  This section speaks of how “long before either wave or particle” philosophers and scientists were trying to decipher light and colors.  Whether by wave from the eye to the object, vice versa, or a mix of both, they all held different opinions on how the phenomenon worked; all of which I think were attempts to explain the feeling and meaning of sight.  This section is one of the few that talks about a more direct and factual aspect of colors, rather than thoughts or recanting of experiences and opinion.
I think passage 54 speaks to the larger part of the book by trying to explain and rationalize the phenomenon of color, even though this passage does not directly mention the color blue (and therefore the main theme in the book).  Maggie Nelson might have written this section because she connected with these philosopher’s interpretation of what they were seeing and their fascination behind it, or quite possibly to rationalize her own fascination with the color blue by rooting sight/light/color with facts, history, and science.  I think rationalizing these feelings are what she is trying to accomplish and portray in this section. 

              I have really enjoyed this book so far. I find her thoughts to be interesting and her style of writing to be unique.  I never would have found this book to read on my own but I am glad we are studying it. 

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