What Should We Forget Or Remember?

By Yong Kim

In the world, there are two groups of people; one group wants to forget their past and history, and the other group does not. People cannot judge which group’s approach is the better one. However, I am sure that either group that chooses “forgetting” or “remembering” will someday regret it and want to change what they had chosen. Memories are crucially essential for living humans. If they cannot remember their past, they are not able to move on. Ironically, sometimes, if people keep their memory until tomorrow, they cannot move on. That is the dilemma and task that God gave people to conquer. The play, Eurydice talked about those two groups and their choices. To forget or not, that is the problem.

Eurydice, who seemed like a childish girl who did not understand the world well, was complaining about her boyfriend, Orpheus, who seemed only to think about music. Despite this, they profess to love each other very much. They decide to marry, which began this tragedy. Eurydice’s father, who was dead in the Underworld, was thinking of her and wrote a letter to Eurydice. However, an evil man who found the mail from Eurydice’s father lured Eurydice with the letter and led her to death.

Orpheus, who lost his wife, felt the saddest feeling that he had ever had. Orpheus called a telephone company and asked them to find her. He went to a rooftop and listened to the underground world. He composed the saddest song since the world had been created. He was madly in love with Eurydice, the girl who completed him. This is what happens when people fall in love. The person who falls in love thinks he or she is not mad, however, others think he or she is crazy. Orhpeus’s ardent wish for Eurydice was so strong. I understand how strong love is. There are many ways of falling, such as falling hair, falling flower, and falling in better. But the best kind of falling is falling in love.

Meanwhile, Eurydice went to the underworld and met her father. She had forgotten everything that she had when she was alive. She was not even able to recognize her father. Her father still loved her very much. He tried to tell her who and what she had been when she was in the living world. He gave her anything she wanted including a room. While he was making the room for her out of thread, I was so touched because it reminded me of how great a father’s love can be. He did everything that he could do and spent his time with her. When Orpheus found her, he sent her to a place where he could no longer speak with her. He merely pledged that their next meeting would be after she died.

The Lord of the Underworld decided to send Eurydice back to the living world with Orpheus who played the saddest song. However, there was a warning: “Do not look back until you reached the end of the Underworld.” However, Eurydice was unsure of her faith and missed her father, so she called out to Orpheus. Poor Orpheus who missed her so much, turned back and unconsciously saw her. Eurydice’s father knew what had happened and could not handle his sadness. He was determined to forget everything. Eurydice saw her father who had lost all memory of her. She then left her body to the Oblivion River as her father had done.

Here is the dilemma that most people keep asking: People only can see one step father from where they stand, they do not think of the second step. Because of Orpheus’ intense love for Eurydice, they were able to have a rare chance. However, because the woman was doubting, they lost the chance which they could never have again. At last, Eurydice’s father and Eurydice decided to forget everything, because that was the only way that they could live peacefully. Becoming silent was the only way. But is it true?

From the play, I found that nobody, including Eurydice, knows the formula of life. People should not be bound by their past. As I mentioned earlier, we could not say which choice is the better one. However, now I can say only one thing. We need to forget some things, but have to remember other things, such as love. This play raises a question. How many people are bound to their past or present? Eurydice’s and Orpheus’s tragedy happened because Eurydice was bound to the past by her father’s letter and time with him in the Underworld. However, she was tied to the living world also because Orpheus could not forget his love. Was silent to her father. Orpheus became mad. The Lord of the Underworld asked the couple to not lock their eyes on each other, but they forgot. They are both restricted by past and present. They should look to the bright future. Either groups “forgetting” and “memorizing” should know whatever they choose, they should not be restricted by their choice. Keep moving on is the best answer that I give you and make the dilemma make sense.