Carmen

Youngest Daughter is fond of the opera Carmen, and we've had several discussions about which interpretation is the true picture of Carmen. It's a testimony to Bizet's skill that her character will bear so many interpretations. Perhaps our explanations of why the opera is so popular are a kind of Rorschach test of our own characters. (Aside from it having great music, of course.)

I think Carmen is a fool. She knows the life she leads will destroy her, but she goes ahead anyway. Don Jose is a different kind of fool. He refuses to see what is in front of him and believes a lie that destroys them both.

The two of them are Everyman; we recognize ourselves in one or both and empathize accordingly.

I wonder what that interpretation says about my character.