I have to say since reading this book I see special days of the week everywhere and in my dreams. When I say special days I am harkening back to Chapter 4 – “The Nineteenth Day” and how it is called Odstreth (the 19th day of any month). I think of this as a non-fungible token… it is not quantity (a counting), but a quality (a symbolic meaning).

On to chapter 9 – Estraven the traitor. I am linking to Aya’s post. She talks about doubling and the divine. I love this part while listening to a podcast with Jorden Petersen ” Petersen speculates that the greatness of Dostoyevsky’s writing is at least in part due to his ability to access this divine.” For me the artistic process is connecting with source and removing the mind, removing strategy.

So I will tell you now my take away from this chapter. I am a hopeless romantic so I loved this story of love and passion in the middle of a snowy night with people of two rival countries followed by murder followed by an orphan raised that then makes peace between two waring countries. It is sort of a Romeo and juliet tale. Also the tale told in metropolis in a way or told in many of love stories. Of the healing of great rifts through the power of love.

What does it mean to be a traitor? Here Estraven the love child is a traitor because he makes peace with the enemy country. There is also a traitor estraven in the parent frame of this story and why is he a traitor. What does it mean to be a traitor. I think of the last temptation of christ by Nikos Kazantzakis and the idea that Judas’ treachory is necessary of there to be Jesus that his job is some how harder and involves more surrender than that of Jesus. The traitor the whistleblower the catalyst prometheus Uranus.