"Perfection" // Taylor Vice

               Esther Summerson is seen as the "perfect" child. She knows what her duties are, and she never complains. Never putting herself first, her main goal is to care for others and put their needs above her own. Even if she disagrees with the statements of another, she would never admit it as she aims to please others. Her character conforms to the rules, and she would never step a toe out of line. She is a follower, and her actions at this time would be highly praised as women are supposed to go along with whatever they are instructed to do.
            A lot of people today have the same problem as Esther, which is appeasing to others and trying to reach "perfection". None of us will ever reach perfection no matter what we do. Even if we conform to others and do whatever we feel is necessary to make others happy, we will still never attain perfection. God does not expect for us to perfect, so we should not try to be perfect for the sake of earthly people. Being true to ourselves and doing what we know is right is the best that we can do, and we should never fall to the approval of other human beings.

I commented on Abigale Bell's and Emmett Bryant's posts.

Comments

  1. Emma DOctober 25, 2021 at 10:33 PM

    I agree that Esther seems almost too pure for this world... however, I'm not sure I would say that she is perfect (with her being an unreliable narrator, this is difficult to see). I would say that Esther has a difficult time receiving love from others, especially with the loveless experience that was her childhood with her godmother. While she demonstrates so much "goodness," her own words say otherwise, as she feels she is insignificant. Her childhood shaped her into having an incredibly-low, almost unrealistic self esteem - although this sounds shallow, it has profound effects on how she interacts with the other characters. She doesn't confide in Ada, and struggles to converse easily with Mr. Jarndyce at first. Frankly I am just waiting for a character that Esther will allow into her confidence (if any will arrive), as she seems to unconsciously hold everyone at arms-length because she feels like she is unworthy. (She certainly didn't allow Mr. Guppy into her life, however, which may disprove my theory! :))

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  2. Braylan StringfellowOctober 26, 2021 at 8:53 AM

    Perfectionism can absolutely be a problem. I would classify myself as a perfectionist and it honestly causes me more problems than it helps me. You are absolutely right about God not demanding us to be perfect, a lesson that took me forever to understand. That is a big problem people do have today because a lot of people think that God want them to be perfect.

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