Introverted Bear

I think this book deserves 3.5 stars, 4 stars if rounded up. This story has a lot going on. It's a classic story of a man controlling a woman's life and the friendzone.

The narrator tells us a story about a Greek slave, Theophe, who he rescued from a harem. He finds the slave's charms as well as her virtues alluring. As she rejects the love of other suitors, the narrator thinks he has a chance with Theophe. However, she rejects the narrator too. Theophe claims that she just wants to live a quiet life, but the narrator denies her this desire.

Feminists would have a field day with this novel. I think psychologists would too. The story basically shows how easy it is to misinterpret someone's actions and words. It also shows that someone can manipulate you by telling you what you want to hear. The reader must decide if Theophe was just playing hard to get or if she was sincerely living up to the values that she was taught. I honestly think Theophe just doesn't like the narrator in a romantic way, and the narrator indulges himself too much in a one-sided love. However, Theophe's actions can be interpreted in multiple ways. She's not that innocent, but she's not as guilty as the narrator thinks.

The Greek Girl's Story makes me think about the times I had a one-sided love for a person and thought the person had wronged me. In reality, they weren't wrong. They just had other plans for themselves.

I feel sorry for Theophe. Men pursue her relentlessly because of her beauty. It's as if her beauty is a curse because it prevents her from living the life she wants.

This story was a fun read. Sometimes it's hard to follow what's going on in the story since the antecedents for the pronouns aren't easily found. Sometimes the wording of the story can be hard to follow. However, that style is typical of older books. The translation of the book is new, but it reads like an older story. Despite the age of the story, I think it's still relevant to women's problems concerning love, beauty, and relationships with men. Some men think just because a woman is attractive, the woman should give them attention, as if the men's desires matter more than a woman's opinion. It's unfortunate that some men still think that way, but I think there are fewer men like that nowadays.