Morning—When the lover wakes up from the bed

Author: Jean-Claude Carfantan (France)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: I woke up from a sleep I had never had before, from the deepest darkness. I strained to open my eyes, but what I saw was a roof I had never seen before. Slowly looking around, I found a completely unfamiliar and very unpleasant room. I had no idea how I had gotten there. I immediately told myself, "This is a dream!" However, the dream was vivid and clear—bright morning light outside, so bright it was dazzling, the continuous rumbling of carriages downstairs, the jingling of trams, and the noisy chatter of people. I couldn’t help but sit up and try to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, I turned aside and looked—words cannot describe the shock I felt at that moment: an unfamiliar person was sleeping next to me on a large bed, but I didn’t know him, I didn’t know him, I didn’t know him: a half-naked, unfamiliar person. Excerpted from Stefan Zweig's "The Twenty-Four Hours a Woman Spent in Love" ("Early Morning"), referring to the morning after a night of intimacy between a man and a woman. When lovers awaken drowsily, they begin to look with their eyes, search with their senses, perhaps hide awkwardness with kisses; perhaps feel sudden shyness when they get up; perhaps worry about the fear of facing disappointment; perhaps be startled to discover their own split personality. The atmosphere of early morning is a strange mix of various emotions. Perhaps, they quietly get out of bed and quickly get ready; perhaps, they have an impromptu love breakfast; perhaps, they flee in an indescribable mood; perhaps, they find that the sun today is brighter and warmer than any other day. Early morning is a rather dramatic moment in the plot of life. French sociologist uses this special moment as a starting point, through extensive actual surveys of men and women in love, to meticulously analyze the various twists and changes in body, mind, and emotions between lovers at this time, thereby depicting the development trajectory of love. Reading this book, readers will understand that love actually unfolds in the early morning; savoring this book, readers will discover the new rules of the game in gender relationships.