Jealousy

Jealousy is like an insidious animal. It is stored somewhere in a person's womb. Probably in one of the intestinal folds. You do not even think it's there. Until one day he lifts his head and fingers like a thorn. When it arrives, a little hand bomb explodes inside you. You did not notice when the pimin was pulled. Do not worry. It's always like this. You do not understand. First your eyes are dry. Yet you were laughing a few minutes ago. Maybe you're anxious like a child. But it's too late now. Now the integrity of the world is broken. The images were shattered. Now moments do not have continuity. You can not trust anything after that.

Alain Robbe-Grillet's novel "Jealousy" (La Jalousie), one of the forerunners of the "New Roman", tells of such a break. The novel is written in the mouth of a man whose wife suspects her deceit. This is a story of a man who wants to get rid of his mind's reflections and see objects (and therefore events) "as they really are".

But where is the man himself in this picture? At this point the writer does something strange, he decides not to hide his character. He does not say much about his feelings and thoughts. So much so that the narrator will never talk about himself, even 'me'. So the thing we really want to hear, the main man's emotional world, is removed from the story. It becomes a 'space' rather than a central person.
Of course this is a revolution in the name of this novelty. The character-centered story of the modern novel has gone and has taken this strange narrative based entirely on its place. It is a narrative that has been turned into a very object by subject.

This could be a very important development. But what really interests us is that the story of jealousy, which is always described by focusing on the inner world of the character, is transmitted through the "almost disappearing" of the novel here.

Robbe-Grillet's novel is a huge hole in the jealous person, even as a "black hole".

When jealousy seizes you, we are empty. All your cells turn out. Why? Because you're looking for evidence. You are trying to find a sign that you have betrayed you. Then you should look. You should look more carefully. You should not miss anything. You must find evidence of your doubts at any cost. You have to learn everything and be satisfied.

The pathetic thing is that someone who focuses so much on looking will not see "the truth". You can see the surface of 'Things' though. The dust on the table, the spots on the wall, a pair of chimes that extend to the liquor's wall, or the hair that floats to the surface unexpectedly. It records all of this. But the story that connects these details is irrelevant. Even worse, he will get himself out of sight while trying to catch every detail.

The equation seen in all minister-viewed stories is completely reversed when jealousy is concerned. The ruling party is no longer in power here. On the contrary, power is in the hands of the people. The other is a glance that turns from the inside to the outside. A body look.

The insight in the name of Robbe-Grillet's narrative becomes important at this point. The name of the novel also means "blinds" as much as jealousy. This is a kind of window-closing mechanism made of strip-shaped plates that allows you to see the outside without seeing from the inside. Here, "La Jalousie," tells a story of jealousy that seems to be ordinary through such analogy. The hero, who is in total darkness, puts him in the face of the enemy world, which is threatened with exaggerated details.

"Jealousy" is, in fact, the pathetic story of someone who thinks things can reach reality by adding images from different angles. It is a long and boring inventory made by someone who records fragments like a bark behind a jalousie. After all, we come to such a point that the narrator begins to see the trail of a betrayal in every detail. The position of the banana trees, the painted paint on the walls, the wooden holders of the chairs ... They all say the same thing. His wife is cheating on her neighbor. All this is his proof.

The jealous man's tragedy demands the truth. However, as far as the attainment of reality is concerned, it is far from reality. He wants to know the whole details. He must be able to see the matter from every angle. He keeps looking for him. He thinks you can be in a judgment when you have a full-time judge. Thus, he will be able to rebuild his world of shaking, claim it on him.

However, the world is big and the openings are endless. From the jealous man, only one eye remains. A pair of eyes out the back of the jalousie. Beyond that, it's a huge space. Nothing's missing.