Hello @gracielaacevedo,
It is like you to present a story with subtle complexity. You have drawn these characters very well. You have described a beautiful friendship. Of course, the beauty is marred by Daniel's duplicity. We know nothing about his girlfriend, but we do know he is not honest with her. He lies readily, and the suggestion is that she might be jealous.
So complicated. No easy judgments to be made of these people. It is a lot like life.
A well-told story. Thank you!
Thanks for reading, dear @agmoore. The way I see it, Daniel lies to his girlfriend (here the word girlfriend does not mean engaged to be married, yet), so as not to risk losing her. She still doesn't understand what Quetta means to him. Someday he will tell her the truth. I like that he continues to defend their history of friendship. I also suggest that Quetta's husband does know about Daniel and was once jealous of the rapport between Daniel and his wife.
It's not easy to understand such a friendship.
During the first part you thought it was a meeting between boyfriend and girlfriend?
Hello @gracielaacevedo,
As I say,
It is of course easier, and more forgivable, to judge characters in a story. The characters are symbolic (if a story is well written) of our life experience. That is the highest function of fiction. As such, I find your character Daniel worthy of reproach. This reflects my world view, my values. It is obvious that the friendship is long-standing and platonic. You make this clear (good job!). It is obvious that Quetta has been forthcoming with her husband and has resolved the jealousy issue. However, Daniel is not honest. It doesn't matter (to me, in my value system) whether his mate is a wife, a fiance or a girlfriend. He's lying, in a very complicated, calculated way. So, for me, that character is flawed. For me, the relationship he has with Quetta cannot be beautiful because it is marred by this duplicity. It is a value I would apply in my own life, with my own acquaintances.
Of course, I try not to judge. But in a story, judgement is OK, because it is symbolic. It is a template for how we would like to behave and how we expect others to behave. The skill of your writing invites me to react strongly to this character. Kudos :))
Dear @agmoore .
I understand your reaction to my character Daniel, as it clashes with your value system. Perhaps it may in some ways clash with mine as well. But that's not the important thing, I think.
I think it's more important to make the character believable and the truth is that people lie in different circumstances, sometimes insidious lies, sometimes white lies so as not to cause pain.
I don't know Daniel's girlfriend yet, I don't know how long they've known each other and it's possible that I think she won't put up with this reality ... It is complex ...
I remember the blind seer in Oedipus Rex, Tiresias, when he warns Oedipus not to investigate because discovering the truth could be terrible. Oedipus, King of Thebes, arrogantly decided to discover the truth and plunged himself into such a painful, conflicting and terrible situation.
Sometimes reality is not the same as truth.
Reality, truth and lies ... great topics..
I love your comments. Best regards.
Isn't Hive wonderful? We get to meet and share. Thank you for your nuanced response.