Too+Late+To+Apologize

=**Too Late to Apologize **= = -Tanya Yang- =

[[image:http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/images/set3/bible-1.jpg width="425" height="320" align="right"]]
====Much of what we see of characters within the Bible is left to interpretation. Their interaction and speech don't provide solid evidence in characterization, leaving the reader to interpret and analyze the small details and nuances to form their own image of the character.==== = = = = = = ====I've always been curious as to why Jacob was portrayed positively in many instances, such as in children's bibles, despite his previous actions and behavior. Who is he really? We will never know. However, the fascinating aspect of the Bible is that it provides enough textual evidence to allow one's personal opinions to intermingle with the "truth."====

====Exploring the truth being one of the goals of freshman year, I thought it appropriate to push the boundaries and bit on the characters and fill in gaps where they appeared in the Bible, such as with Leah. In this manner, I set out to create my own "truth."====

=Dialogue =

media type="file" key="Too Late to Apologize (Leah & Jacob).mp3" width="240" height="20" align="center"

note: In this dialogue, Rachel did not die in childbirth and lives to settle down in Canaan.
[song fades in/out]


 * NARRATOR**: A few months after Isaac’s death, Jacob’s family begins to settle down in the land of Canaan. As everyone begins to feel relatively comfortable with their permanent dwelling, new problems arise. [pause] In the far distance, Jacob is seen dragging Leah away from the watering hole towards an empty field.

Enough of this pointless conversation. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have workers to oversee. [walks off] Fine, go ahead and walk off. Don't you see how desperate I am for you to give me the attention you pay towards my sister? I don't care what tactics I use, but I'll make you look at me. [exhales sharply] Zilpah! [calling out] Rachel, my beautiful sister! Let us go for a walk. There is a certain area of land just past the sheep pastures I would like to see. Shall we go?
 * LEAH** [breathless]: Stop, Jacob! Where are we going?
 * JACOB** [stops]: What were you thinking? Look at you, a married woman lingering by the waterhole.
 * LEAH**: ...But I was talking with the women.
 * JACOB** [exhale]: Have you no shame? You were clearly trying to seduce the men as I approached.
 * LEAH** [hopefully]: Were you jealous?
 * JACOB**: Leah, enough of your hanky panky. I could care less about who you cavort around with. But think about me, my reputation! I wouldn’t have the courage to show my face around here if rumors went around as to why my wife was unfaithful.
 * LEAH**: But—
 * JACOB**: Could you for once just think to spare me of your pettiness and instead focus your efforts towards my wellbeing?
 * LEAH**: But Jacob, I do! Every waking moment I think of you. Why don't you do the same for me? Don't I love you?
 * JACOB**: If you love me, why don't you behave like Rachel? She doesn't play your little games. She doesn't lie or deceive. She doesn't ask so much of me all the time, troubling me like you do.
 * LEAH**: She stole our father's household gods!
 * JACOB**: [pause] Well, Laban deserved it. Both you and him are schemers, cheating me out of those honest 7 years I worked for Rachel.
 * LEAH** [quietly]: Didn't you con Esau out of his birthright?
 * JACOB** [sharply]: Don't mention that here. What if the field workers heard?
 * LEAH** [losing a bit of patience]: What about when you took all of my father's good sheep and ran away to avoid confrontation? You tell me to be selfless, and to face things honestly when you should be telling that to yourself.
 * JACOB**: Silence! Rachel would never speak to me this way.
 * LEAH**: Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. It's always about her. What does she have that I don't? I only resort to trickery because you never give me any attention! Why don't you love me the way you love her? I want you shower me with love and attention just like do you for her.
 * JACOB**: You have to accept the fact that I love Rachel the most. I am your husband, and you are obligated to respect my wishes. After all - trickery or whatnot - you are my first wife, are you not?
 * LEAH:** But it's cruel of you to give me just a tiny bit of love, a sliver of hope. I'll need more than that, though. Yet, you can't give me the attention you give Rachel when we both are your wives. Why must you torture me so?
 * JACOB**: I cannot help it if I love one wife more than the other. As I said, it is your duty as a wife to understand that and unquestioningly take care of me.
 * LEAH**: Jaco-
 * ZILPAH**: Yes, ma'am?
 * LEAH**: [pauses] I have an idea...Once I leave, I want to you to run to Jacob. Tell him that out of a fit of jealousy, I went to spread vicious slander about him to our workers and neighbors. Although he might not believe it, I know he'll come because of his self-centered nature...[pause] and he'll definitely come once he finds out that Rachel is missing. Be sure to hint about that. Go, now.
 * ZILPAH**: Yes, ma'am. [starts leaving]
 * LEAH**: Oh, and one more thing. Do //not// tell him I ordered you to tell him this. Now, time to find Rachel [walking]
 * RACHEL**: Alright, Leah.

[Rachel cries in surprise] [music building up]
 * NARRATOR:** By the time Jacob hears the news, Leah and Rachel are long gone. He quickly runs towards the direction Zilpah pointed out. At the scene, he sees Leah and Rachel by a large well. Upon spotting him, Leah pins Rachel against the well's mouth.


 * RACHEL** [simultaneously]: Jacob!
 * JACOB** [simultaneously]: Rachel!

[dramatic pause/music]
 * JACOB** [panting hard] - What are you playing at, Leah?
 * LEAH**: Not another step closer. or else I'll push Rachel into this well.
 * JACOB** [unsure]: Leah.
 * LEAH:** Rachel is the object of all your attention. Perhaps if I get rid of her, you'll finally look at me
 * JACOB**: No!
 * LEAH**: I tried so hard, //over// and //over// to make you "see" me. Why do you selfishly devote your heart to Rachel and still insist that I give back as much as she does? You've never reciprocated any of my attention, love, and care towards you! All Rachel has to do is just sit back and be loved by you!
 * JACOB**: Leah, please don't do this.
 * LEAH** [raggedly]: I love you, Jacob! But your actions pushed me to resort to these low tactics. Answer me honestly, now. Will you ever be able to love me as much as Rachel? [pushes Rachel a little further upon saying her name]
 * JACOB** [talking through his hands (which are covering his face)]: I'm sorry, Leah. I will never. [quickly, almost pleading] But I'm begging you now. Rachel is your kin. You can't kill your own sister. We need her. We both can't afford to lose her...you should know that.

[long pause] [Leah slaps Rachel]

[pause as Jacob waits for her to go on] For once, could you think to spare me of your incomplete feelings towards me? You will never love me as much as I love you. If you aren't capable of showering me with as much attention as you devote on Rachel, don't give me any, unless you want me to revert back to my games, deceit, and situations like these. Give me a little, and I will want and expect everything from you. Don't do this to me anymore. Storm clouds seem to be moving in. Let us head home before the rain falls. Come, Rachel.
 * LEAH** [pained, almost pitiful]: I think it's more of //you// can't affording to lose her. Would you have reacted the same way if it had been me instead of Rachel? You don't need to answer. Fine, I give up. Here, have Rachel back.
 * RACHEL** [running to Jacob]: Jacob.
 * JACOB:** Leah, I -
 * LEAH**: Promise me one thing.
 * JACOB**: ...I promise. [pause]

[song fades in/out; rain falls]

= Dialogue Analysis = ====Jacob's interaction with Leah amplifies the selfishness and cowardice of his actions and speech. In the first half of the dialogue with Jacob and Leah's argument, Jacob's chastising of Leah first comes off as genuine shock towards his wife's behavior. However, he then indirectly explains the motivation behind that chastising: "I wouldn’t have the courage to show my face around here if rumors went around as to why my wife was unfaithful." The first half of the sentence demonstrates a blatant admittance towards running away when the going gets rough, and the second part denotes that he cares more about his own reputation than sparing a thought towards his wife.====

====As their argument continues, Jacob quickly finds fault with Leah, but dodges comments such as the one about him conning Esau out of his birthright. As well as proving him a hypocrite, Jacob's behavior shows that he is all too willing to only focus on his //own// worries, opinions, etc. and once again highlight the "running away from reality" aspect of his personality when Leah brings up touchy subjects.====

====When Leah blackmails Jacob in the second scene of the dialogue, she brings up many valid points in her spiel: "For once, could you think to spare me of your incomplete feelings towards me? You will never love me as much as I love you. If you aren't capable of showering me with as much attention as you devote on Rachel, don't give me any..." Jacob still views Leah as wife and loves her in that sense, but his true love obviously lies with Rachel. Even so, his selfishness drives him to want to keep Leah by his side, despite his half-hearted feelings towards her. He reinforces his cowardice by utilizing his husbandly authority to, again, dodge the touchy subjects. At the end, though, this facade breaks down when Leah plays at his weaknesses, but ironically still prove his cowardice.====

= Webspiration Chart =

= Character Analyses =

[[image:rachelandleah.png width="509" height="560" align="right"]]
====Because Leah’s rather demanding nature affects her surroundings, her often unrequited needs act as a catalyst in bringing out her deceitfulness. After Leah trades her son’s mandrakes for Rachel’s consent to sleep with Jacob, she informs her husband, “‘You must come in to me…I hired you with my son’s mandrakes’” (Gen.29.16)====

Her use of the modal auxiliary “must” emphasizes the fact that her statement serves as not a request but a command, something that requires much attention.
====Despite Jacob’s strong love towards Rachel, Leah continuously vies for his attention, bearing three sons in hopes of gaining favor with him. Although her character is described as “unloved,” her struggle to attain such attention deviates from the motif of the lovely, submissive wife in Genesis.==== ====However, she holds one thing in common with the women of Bible – a deceitful side. In the painting //Dante's Vision of Rachel and Leah//¸ Leah is depicted sitting by a water fountain over a small creek, her sister standing to the side holding flowers and vines.==== ====In juxtaposition to Rachel’s calm face and demurely closed eyes, Leah’s facial expression suggests something “else” is happening raging beneath her face. Her dark, cloudy eyes draw attention to a slight murkiness in her character, a masking of true emotion or intent.==== ====Leah’s joint deceit with her father Laban in tricking Jacob to marry her just adds to the reoccurring motif of women’s deceit in Genesis. Rebekah’s blessing scheme, Rachel’s stealing of household gods, and Potiphar’s wife’s framing of Joseph emphasize the redactors’ rather negative view on the honesty of women.====

In Leah’s case, however, one can argue that her deceitfulness manifested through her desire to fulfill her need for attention regardless of the method used.
====Although Jacob’s selfish personality seems to imply a strong, arrogant character, his cowardly nature causes him to flee whenever his self-seeking actions turn on him.====

Jacob makes a deal with his father-in-law about taking sheep from Laban’s flock but manipulates the loophole in a way so that “…the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s” (Gen.30.42).
====His taking of the “stronger” sheep reflects that he only cares about his own wellbeing, discarding the seemingly leftover sheep for Laban. Similarly, Jacob’s purloining of Esau’s birthright and blessing demonstrate his sole interests in personal benefits.==== ====His selfish actions highlight the irony in the lack of punishment from God throughout Genesis. The “chosen ones” such as Noah, Joseph, and Jacob repeatedly get away with actions that would be condemned when committed by a regular person==== ====. The redactors of the Bible utilize this motif to justify Jacob’s questionable actions, including his cowardice. The painting //Isaac Blesses Jacob// depicts Jacob kneeling at his blind father’s bedside and Isaac reaching out to touch him.====

====Although Jacob is holding his father’s hand, his stiff posture shows that he doesn’t have complete courage to go through with the plans. Because his shoulders are hunched, his lowered head causes him to look upwards at his father in a timid manner. In both this happening and when dealing with Laban, Jacob chooses to run away from his problems. Despite that negativity, both Esau and Laban treat him with great respect; forgiveness is not even needed. Again, the concept of a “chosen one” gives Jacob, who would have been a dislikable character, justification for his rather negative actions and personality traits.====

= Artist Info = ====Born as Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti in London on May 12, 1828, Dante Gabriel Rossetti grew up as a bright, talented child in medieval Italy, in which art had heavily influenced. Composing plays, poems, and drawing often, Rossetti grew up living relatively comfortably despite the fact that his family was not wealthy. At the age of 28, he was accepted into the Royal Academy at F. S. Cary's Academy of Art. Unsatisfied, he studied briefly under Ford Madox Brown in 1848. He then exhibited his earlier oil paintings titled //Girlhood of Mary Virgin// (1849) and //Ecce Ancilla Domini// (1850). Apparently, he did not possess natural technical talent, and these two paintings were produced as a result of meticulous technical effort. Still, he continued painting and in 1855, he painted his //Dante's Vision of Rachel and Leah// (1855).====

====In many of his paintings, he used his wife Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal as his model and muse. They married in 1860 after meeting in a hat shop a decade ago. In 1863, just a year after Elizabeth killed herself from depression, Rossetti painted==== ====//Beata Beatrix// (1863), a portrait of his beloved wife. Many regard it as one of his last masterpieces as his feelings towards painting began to wane. Later in his life, he turned to his pen and paper, preferring poetry to painting.====

[|Dante Gabriel Rossetti:]more about his life as a painter and poet. [|link2] = =

====Born on January 25,1615 in Cleves, Germany, Govert Flinck harbored and passion for painting and drawing in his youth. However, due to his father's disapproval, he was sent off as a apprentice to a silk merchant. Preacher Lambert Jacobsz later convinced Flinck's father to allow. Around 1629, Flinck followed Jacobsz back to his studio in Leeuwarden and boarded there. At only the age of 18, he studied with Rembrandt, unconsciously mirroring his style in a way that many works of Flinck's were mistaken for Rembrandt's. He later tried to change his style, which shows in his earliest paintings that date back to 1636, the year he left Rembrandt's studio.In the 1640s, Flinck's life went uphill his use a portraitist came into demand, gained good contacts and patrons in Amsterdam and Cleves, and married Ingertje Thoveling in 1645.====

[|Govert Flinck]: brief biography of his life and rise in painting. [|link2]
= = = = = = = Reflection = ====I had a great time doing this project; my two favorite aspects were crafting the dialogue and creating the audio. The concept of creating a made-up conversation fascinated me, and I realized how much subtle characterization can be weaved in between the lines. Even with a different tone when pronouncing words or phrases can change the entire meaning. This segued into actually recording the dialogue, which I had much fun doing. My lack of experience with dealing with the audio posed as my greatest challenge along with time. However, my sister, who voiced Jacob/Zilpah/Rachel, helped me along the way whenever I blundered in editing. While it took some time, I overcame this obstacle rather smoothly. Overall, I feel pleased with how this project came out.====

= Citations =

Artists:
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