廊桥遗梦

The Bridges of Madison County

Teacher:赵子维

Author:张帆

Basic information

Robert James Waller is an American author, also known for his work as a

photographer and musician. Several of his books have been on the New York. Times

bestseller list including 1992's The Bridges of Madison County which was the top

best-seller in 1993. Both that novel and his 1995 novel, Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, have

been made into motion pictures. Waller currently resides in Texas.

Summary

Robert Kincaid drives through Iowa in summer and he gets lost, so he turns into

Francesca Johnson's farm to look for directions, the world-class photographer and the

Iowa farm wife are fall in love with each other by the first sight. Then in the following

four days, they put all worldly things aside, they live together, they kiss, make love,

listen to music, they talk about fantasy, love, dream...In a word, they joined in an

experience of uncommon truth and stunning beauty that will haunt them forever. it

can be said that the four days of condensation is the whole life. But in the end, when

Robert asks Francesca to leave with him, she refuses

Before Robert and Francesca met each other, what kind of lives did they have?

Robert was a photographer who devoted almost all his time to taking photos. He loves

what he was doing but at the same time he hated those photos he had to take in order

to satisfy his boss's profit needs. After he divorced with his wife, he didn't fall in love

with anyone else. Francesca's life was much more boring. She was a normal peasant

woman and she had a peaceful lifestyle. She could have pretty good relations with her

family me members but there was no passion. This kind of life couldn't satisfy her

needs. She knew that passion is sweet. She was eager to change her life in some way.

I believe that their lives are destined to have a intersection.

Their first met is impressive. "And out of the pickup came Robert Kincaid,

looking like some version from a never written book called An Illustrated History of

Shamans." The first sight Francesca got of this man suggested that everything would

change. She regarded his as a never written book. But later what she felt was very

complicated. "Ways that whisper to you in the final moment before sleep comes,

when the barriers have fallen......Ways that rearrange the molecular space between

male and female, regardless of species. It seemed that something they had expected

for a long time woke up in an instant.

Then everything became simply again. They had dinner together, chatted and of

course, took a photograph for that bridge. Gradually things were becoming out of

control. Both of them must have struggled whether they should follow their hearts or

refrain from calling attention to their strong feelings. Finally, emotion won. I guessed

that they had realized that it is impossible for them to stay together forever at the

beginning. But they would neither care nor regret. Maybe one-week precious memory

was enough.

Pleasant hours fly fast. No matter how unwilling you are to face it, leaving will

eventually come. It seemed that there is a different choice in front of Francesca. Love

or responsibility? But personally, I think there is no choice actually. She can't leave

without considering about his husband and children, that is for sure. How could she be

so selfish? What's more, she must love her family, as they had already lived together for so many years. Affection between family members can not be ignored easily. "Yes,

it's boring in its way. My life, that is. It lacks romance......Most of all, it lacks you. But

there's this damn sense of responsibility I have." (The Bridges of Madison County,

Page65) Francesca talked with Robert sincerely when he asked her to leave with him.

"On top of that, and this is even worse, he would have to live the rest of his life with

the whispers of the people here"(The Bridges of Madison County, Page65) I believe

that Robert must have known her answer before he asked, because he loved her than

any other people in the world.

With the leaving of Robert, everything returned to calm. It seemed that nothing

had happened that week. But from then on, both of them had changed, especially in

their deep hearts. They were pushed to continue their lives. Francesca began to collect

all his photos, articles that were showed in magazines and she was missing him over

day and night. After her husband died, she had tried to contact with him but finally

failed. She even dared not to continue looking for him because she was afraid of

hearing any bad news. After all he should be 66 at that time. When she received the