Passion can be visualized mentally as the performance by Natalie Zemon Davis that I witnessed upon her arrival to Susquehanna University. While “performance” is often a word given to experiences in the acting endeavors, it truly is a descriptor for the amazingly honest and quirky personality imbued by Davis. She places her own spin on and fuses life into her passion for history, specifically history featuring France and its Revolution.
When she took the stage, she quite literally took the stage, lighting it up with her sympathetic smile and soothing voice. When talking about her passion for making past history into a present pastime, Davis talks excitedly, yet with maturity and a deep knowledge of her craft. The sideshow presentation on display behind her played second fiddle to the live demonstration that she showed. In short, the way she talked about her passion could best be described as infectious, easily captivating her audience with details of one of the last Civil War-era slave charters and making it an interesting story.
The only time I can conceivably compare myself talking in the same fashion as Mrs. Davis is about passion concerns my own, which is when I write out my thoughts and ideas for novels. The act of writing, an essential trait for a Creative Writing major, is enough to transfer me into a similar state to that of Mrs. Davis when she related a tale from a Native American tribe. I enjoy the craft of storytelling, of passing on lessons through the written word and bringing fictional characters to life.
On this level, Davis and I share a love for what we find important and valuable in life. The way she describes wartime documents(specifically French Revolution-era and Civil War-era), which at first to me would appear rather boring in taste, lends an attractive aspect to the entire proceedings. Her ways were a true inspiration to me. In fact, her entire message could be summarized as such:
“...this passion to know and to understand is positive insofar as it encourages us to explore a mysterious world...But it also brings a danger—that of being possessed by the illusion of greater familiarity with the past than one really has.” is a quote taken directly from the Common Reading Anthology. This quotation can be directly related to both Davis and myself.
For me, this quote resonates as a resounding warning, a precautionary quote that the objects of our affections' flaws may be invisible to those of us who deeply care for our projects. I understand the literary world has its downsides, as every paper I turn to read more about Harry Potter is another tree that has been cut down for my benefit. In the same aspect, I'm certain Davis is aware her passion can be seen as “in vain” to others, or easily manipulative depending on who records the information. In this aspect, every passion, for its many “ups”, have its inevitable downsides.
One place I truly find inspiration is in Rome, Italy. Just as Davis was fascinated and mesmerized by the sights and histories rich in detail within France's culture, I too found solace in Rome's vast informational architecture.
The mythological stories of old ring alive and vibrant while visiting there in their food, words, and atmosphere as a whole. Comparing myself to Davis, I can see why she was able to speak to us, the Class of 2020, with such vigor on accounts of Germanic lore she found in libraries and how utterly floored she was upon discovering those Indian tribal markings.
In conclusion, Natalie Zemon Davis is an amazing woman who not only shared her passion with us but aided in my personal journey of growth towards discovering my own. I can't thank her enough for taking the time out of her day to relate old tales to us, her own spin turning them on its head and bringing them to life. For the future, I hope I can be as successful and inspire as much joy in other as she has in me.
