Preface: Perhaps you can tell that my article is written bit by bit. It is divided into three parts in total.#
Part 1#
Is "Thunderstorm" really about class? It's just about love between men and women. But it happens to take place in a chaotic family.
Part 2#
When I saw the plot here, I inexplicably thought of Qian Zhongshu's "Window".
I'll paste the original text here:
Window
Author: Qian Zhongshu
It's spring again, and the windows can be left open. Spring comes in from outside the window. When people sit in the house, they can't sit still and go out through the door. But the spring outside the house is too cheap! There is sunshine everywhere, not as bright as the darkness in the house; there is a lazy wind that has been sunbathing in the sun, not as lively as the dullness in the house. Even the bird's song seems trivial and weak, needing the silence in the house as a foil. We understand from this that spring should be viewed through the window, just like a painting with a frame.
At the same time, we realize that doors and windows have different meanings. Of course, doors are made for people to enter and exit. However, windows can also be used as entrances and exits. For example, thieves or lovers in novels like to climb through windows. Therefore, the fundamental difference between windows and doors is not just whether people come in and out. If we look at the appreciation of spring, we might as well say: with a door, we can go out; with a window, we don't have to go out. Windows break through the barrier between nature and humans, enticing the wind and the sun to come in, keeping a part of spring inside the house, allowing us to sit and enjoy it without having to go outside again. Ancient poets like Tao Yuanming had a similar sentiment about windows, which is quite understandable. In his poem "Returning Home Farewell," he wrote: "Leaning on the southern window to show off my pride, examining my knees for easy comfort." Doesn't this mean that as long as there is a window to look out of, even a small house can be lived in?
He also said: "In the empty leisure of summer, lying high under the north window, the cool breeze blows, and I feel like an immortal." This means that as long as the window is ventilated, a small house can become a paradise; even though he is from Chaisang and has Mount Lu nearby, he doesn't need to go up there to escape the summer heat. Therefore, doors allow us to pursue, expressing desire, while windows allow us to occupy, representing enjoyment. This distinction is not only the view of people living in the house, but sometimes it also applies to visitors from outside. A visitor who knocks on the door and enters, making requests and inquiries, is at most a guest, and everything has to wait for the host to decide. On the other hand, a person who enters through the window, whether stealing or having an affair, has already made up their mind to be a temporary master for you, regardless of your welcome or rejection. In Musset's poem drama "What Dreams Did the Young Girl Dream," there is a clever line that says the father opened the door and let in the material husband, but the ideal lover always enters through the window. In other words, someone who enters through the front door is only a formal son-in-law, although he has been approved by the father-in-law, he still needs to win the affection of the young lady herself; if someone enters through the back window, he is the true lover to whom the girls completely entrust their souls and bodies. When you enter through the front door, you have to be announced by the gatekeeper, then wait for the host to appear, and exchange a few pleasantries before you can explain your purpose. It takes effort and time, unlike entering through the back window, which is direct and straightforward. It's like taking a shortcut in learning, which depends on the references behind the book. If you start reading from the main text, it seems more roundabout. Of course, this distinction is only applicable under normal social circumstances. In abnormal times like war, when the house itself cannot be preserved, what's the point of talking about doors and windows!
All houses in the world have doors, and we can still see houses without windows. This indicates that windows represent a higher stage of human evolution than doors. Doors are the needs of people living in the house, while windows are somewhat luxurious. The original purpose of the house is like a bird's nest or an animal's den, prepared for people to come back and spend the night, closing the door is considered protection. But when windows are opened on the walls, allowing in light and air, we can stay indoors during the day without having to go outside, even with the door closed.
Therefore, the house gains meaning in life. It is not just a place to shelter from wind and rain and spend the night, but also a place where we think, work, entertain, and perform the comedy and tragedy of life from morning till night. Doors are the entrance and exit for people, while windows can be said to be the entrance and exit for the sky. The house was originally built by humans to avoid the threats of nature, enclosing a corner of the sky within the four walls and a roof. Windows entice a corner of the sky to come in, tame it, and make it available for human use, just like how we tame wild horses and turn them into domesticated animals. From then on, we can come into contact with nature inside the house, without having to go outside to seek light and fresh air. Therefore, windows are a victory for humans over nature. However, this victory is like a victory for women over men. On the surface, it seems like a concession - people open windows to let in the wind and sunlight and occupy the space, but who knows that the one who comes to occupy this space is also occupied by this space! We just said that doors are needs, needs that cannot be controlled by humans. For example, when you are hungry, you have to eat; when you are thirsty, you have to drink. So when someone knocks on the door, you have to go and open it. Maybe it's like Ibsen said, someone younger than you from the next generation wants to rush in, or like De Quincey said when he heard the sound of knocking on the door after committing murder, the world of broad daylight wants to invade the world of darkness and evil, or maybe it's a prodigal son, or maybe someone is borrowing money (or maybe collecting debts), you don't know, you're afraid to open it, but you want to know what's going on, so you have to open it. Even the sound of the mailman knocking on the door every day makes you hopeful with suspicion, because you don't know what news he brings. The opening and closing of the door is not up to you. But what about windows? When you wake up early in the morning, as long as you pull the curtains aside, you know what's outside the window, whether it's snow, fog, rain, or a beautiful sun, and then you decide whether to open the window or not. As mentioned earlier, windows can be considered luxury items, and luxury items are something that people consider increasing or decreasing according to the situation.
I often think that windows can be considered the eyes of a house. Liu Xi's translation says: "Window, cleverness; looking out from the inside, is cleverness." This is just like the opening line of Gottfried Keller's "Evening Song": "The double pupils are like small windows, capturing beautiful scenes." But both of them only tell half of the story. Eyes are the windows of the soul. We see the outside world, but at the same time, we also allow others to see our inner selves; the eyes often follow the heart, so Mencius believes that the eyes are the most honest part of a person. In Maeterlinck's plays, the lovers don't close their eyes when they kiss, they can see how many kisses are rising from the heart to the lips.
When talking to someone wearing dark glasses, I always feel uncertain about their intentions, as if they are facing me with a mask. That's probably why. According to Eckermann's record of Goethe's conversation on April 5, 1830, Goethe hated everyone who wore glasses, saying that they could see the wrinkles on his face clearly, but the glasses they wore dazzled their eyes and couldn't see their state of mind. Windows allow people inside to see outside, and at the same time, they allow people outside to see inside. So people who live in crowded places need curtains to protect their privacy. When visiting someone at night, as long as you see lights through the window, you can roughly guess whether the host is at home or not, without having to open the door and ask. It's like not waiting for someone to speak, but seeing their thoughts through their eyes. Closing the window is equivalent to closing your eyes. There are many scenes in the world that can only be seen when you close your eyes, such as dreams. If the noise outside the window is too loud, it's better to close the window and let the soul explore and meditate freely in peace and quiet. Sometimes, closing the window and closing your eyes are related. You feel that the world outside the window is just ordinary and cannot give you any satisfaction. You want to return to your hometown, see your separated relatives and friends, and you can only do that by sleeping, closing your eyes and searching in dreams. So when you wake up, the first thing you do is close the window. Because it's only spring, and there's still a lingering chill, the windows cannot be left open day and night.
It's interesting that in Xu Zidong: "Thunderstorm" is Cao Yu's best work, it is mentioned:
Cao Yu was initially influenced by Yu Dafu and imitated "Sinking". He wrote his first work, "Where to Wake Up from Tonight's Drunkenness," and Yu Dafu even replied to him. Cao Yu went to perform Ding Xilin's "Oppression" when he was only eighteen, and also performed "A Doll's House". Later, when his father passed away, Cao Yu studied journalism at Tsinghua University. At this time, he met a school beauty named Zheng Xiu. He knew that Zheng Xiu loved acting, so he wrote a play for her to perform. This play is "Thunderstorm", and Zheng Xiu came to play Fan Yiyi. When someone asked Cao Yu what "Thunderstorm" was about, Cao Yu said, it's about Fan Yiyi, Fan Yiyi is like a fire, and it's written for this fire. In fact, he was writing about Zheng Xiu, Zheng Xiu is like a fire. He wrote "Thunderstorm" in 1934 when he was only twenty-four years old.