The other day in class, we were discussing the Tiger Woods contretemps and I said I'd probably end up posting on it. So here I am, posting, and I still think, as I said in class on Thursday, that the whole L'Affaire Tiger reminds me of "The Emperor's New Clothes."
Who tells Tiger Woods the truth? Does everyone lie to him, because everyone needs to? When everyone around "the king" relies on him for money, who tells him to get some clothes on? Is he so afraid of showing his imperfections, that like the "Emperor," he pretends he sees his suits of Superman, Superkid, Superdad, Superswinger, that he actually believes that the women who flock to him think he's Supergreat? Given what the mistress numbers may be, surely he doesn't believe they all love him for him. He may not care, in the moment.
Unlike the tale by Andersen, a little child did not call out the truth to him, but his wife, Elin, sure did. In any case, if you'd like to see evidence of the tenacity of Norwegian women, here's The Mastermaid.
PS: Please, no lectures on how Woods' life is private. Fairy tales invade human privacy with more abandon than any other literary form I can think of. They just do it with trolls.
10 comments:
You are right on so many levels; who really loves Tiger for Tiger? And fairy tales do reveal the truths of human nature, most people don't look at it that way though. Most wouldn't consider a child's bedtime story as holding the perils we face through human nature.
When I read "The Emperor's New Clothes," I felt like Andersen was spreading the blame around equally. Sure, the king was a meal ticket, so it could be argued they had to kiss up to him, but they also talked up the non-existent robes amongst themselves. When the little girl finally makes it okay to admit the king isn't wearing anything, they're all quick to laugh and point, and equally quick to forget they were guilty of the exact same stupidity.
Of course, Andersen's king never admits anything, not publicly anyway - he just holds up his head all the higher, and continues with his parade. Andersen was an equal-opportunity judger, but aristocracy always has been "more equal" than the commoners. Still, Andersen was usually very aware of the implications of his tales, so it's very interesting to note that he seems to blame everyone else for allowing it.
I'm not suggesting Tiger woods isn't to blame, but it would be interesting whether his inner circle even admitted amongst themselves that their king wasn't wearing any clothes. At the time, that is. Not retroactively in a tell-all book.
I would definitely start reading about the Tiger Woods story if it did, indeed, involve trolls.
Professor Wolford makes an excellent point on how Tiger’s actions are very similar to the story, The Emperor’s New Clothes. It also reminds me of the fairy tale Bluebeard minus the gory and unsightly looking man. Bluebeard gave his wife whatever she desired and so did Tiger Woods.
It seemed that Tiger and his family had the “perfect life”. I believe all things went downhill when Tiger’s father passed away. He did not know how to control his life. I feel that Tiger was on a pedal stool at times for his public image, how he thought he wasn’t good enough looking, his career, and how he represented himself. Everyone in the world was baffled at Tiger’s actions. I do not feel sorry for the man. The only sympathy I have is for his wife and children.
Elin should not be with a man that breaks the promises and rules of marriage and family. And this shows that sometimes the fairy tale dream does not go on in a happily ever after.
Ashley G.
I agree with Sam. Irrespective of whether his life is or isn't private, who cares? Isn't it just a fruitless waste of energy to be thinking, talking, commenting about it. In fact, I spent 18 trillion nano-joules on this very comment itself!
Trolls are cool, though.
masterymistery at cosmic rapture
This whole thing with Tiger Woods seems more than just a little bit silly to me… Don’t get me wrong, he should not have had one affair, let alone many, but the hullabaloo that is being shown in the media is perplexing. There doesn’t really seem to be an equal standard across the board for cheating spouses and infidelity. A major sports figure has an affair, and frequently people just laugh and pat him on the back, telling him what a stud he is and how much he’s envied. The same usually goes for movie stars. But the common man, and quite a few of the less common ones, such as politicians, get crucified by everyone they know, and the populous of the world if they are enough in the limelight. I suppose it is in a way like the Emperor’s New Clothes, in that no one ever wants to talk about it to the one making the moral mistake, though it seems that no one will hesitate to talk about it amongst themselves.
I concur that Tiger Wood’s situations may indeed bear similarities to the Emperor’s new clothes. Indeed, anyone allowed to run amok in our society without rules or boundaries is as hurtful as watching parents introduce profound challenges to their child lives by spoiling them ridiculous.
I believe that Nathan’s analysis of Andrew’s attempt to distribute blame among those who break hurtful norms as well as those who allow it in their attempts to gain status via proximity adds an element of complexity to the argument that is most fruitful.
Though Ashley sources Tiger as mostly to blame, I think her compassion for Tiger’s children offer deeper insight into the Emperor analogy. Some might say children can’t embrace the complexity of situations and are dismissed as simplistic beings unable to afford us with greater understanding. Yet children often see through the pomp, circumstance, and outright bull (you know what!) cutting right to the heart of the matter. Sadly, his children will be the first to see a father who’s betrayed them, versus a celebrity persona with layers of constructed sensationalism covering the pain experienced by the family.
Melissa L.
I have to agree with Melissa->children are much more likely to see into the heart of things than adults. We may be able to fool them in regards to whether Santa exists or not but when a parent betrays the trust of the entire family, because it wasn't just Elin that Tiger was lying to, children feel that betrayal so much more strongly than adults. I really hope they can patch things up and move on from this but when he cheats once can you trust him not to do it again and again? Can your kids trust you not to do that as well? This is a mess for any family and adding in the media frenzy is not going to make this any easier for the family at all.
Corrine, we don't know that he lied to the children. His marriage vows clearly have been broken and therefore constitute a lie in relation to his wife.
But I would speculate that strictly speaking he has not and did not lie to his children, at least on this matter.
I can't even conceive of the form of words that a lie to his children might take. Something like this clearly would not work....
"Listen up my Darling, Daddy has to go away for a while to play in a tournament overseas. But while I'm away, I promise I won't have sex with anyone. To tell you the truth, darling, there have been times when I've been away when I have had sex with other women, and in some cases, even paid for it. Just telling you the truth. Don't want to lie to my own children. Is that OK darling?"
I think this whole matter has gone too far for too long. He hasn't committed a crime. I would speculate that at least a third if not more of married men have sex outside the marriages.
He's a horny guy. So what?
masterymistery at cosmic rapture
He hasn't committed a crime? I'm sure Elin feels the same way that you do.
I wasn't suggesting that he had up and told his kids that he wouldn't do that. I was saying that the inherent trust that they had in him, or that any kid has for his/her father, has been damaged by his sneaking around.
Post a Comment