Notre-Dame Burning

I don't have a religious bone in my body. Easter is just another Sunday to me--I haven't dyed an egg in fifty years. But, as with most religious holidays, a secular person can find meaning in it. Easter, occurring in Spring, translates to rebirth, with flowers and trees blooming, the air warming (not too much, please) and people having a better outlook on life after a cold winter.

And so, like Christians who were shocked and saddened to see Notre-Dame cathedral burn, so was I. Not for any religious reasons--it is not the function of the cathedral that interests me, but it's value as an object of art. It is a testament to the beauty created by humanity.

I have never been to Paris and I don't know if I ever will, but I liked the photos shared on Facebook over the past week or so by friends who had been there. A chilling little clip from the film Before Sunset with Ethan Hawke noting that Notre Dame will not last forever surfaced as well. This reminds me of Shelley's poem "Ozymandias," about the impermanence of anything on Earth, even mountains. Art, most of all, is temporary, as it was fashioned together by human hands, and not the forces of nature.

I suppose other than the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame is France's most iconic structure. It's full name is Notre-Dame de Paris, and of course that translates as Our Lady of Paris. When I was a kid Notre Dame was a football team, but the cathedral has been around since 1160, when construction began (it ended in 1260, so those who started it didn't live to see it finished). Years like those are mind-boggling to an American, where Western structures are considered ancient going back 400 years.

Like many old things, Notre-Dame fell into disrepair, and was damaged during the French Revolution. As I mentioned in my discussion of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, interest was revived in the cathedral upon the publication and success of Hugo's novel. Many cartoons depicted the sadness of Quasimodo. The cathedral is also known for its gargoyles, which I'm interested to find out is a general term for water spouts made to look like grotesque creatures--the cathedral has the strix, which are ominous birds, and the chimera, a monster made up of many parts.

The architecture of the cathedral is known for its flying buttresses, which we know today as a Gothic arch, often associated with churches but also used in vaulted ceilings. It also contains many examples of statuary, which I've been looking at online. I once toured Westminster Abbey and found that overwhelming, I'll be Notre-Dame is just as so if not more.

Fortunately the destruction was limited (and flying water tanks were not needed, thanks Mr. Trump) an it will be rebuilt. Billionaires jumped to donate money for renovation, although the Catholic Church hardly needs money. I'm glad that someone was finally shamed into donating to rebuild the historic black churches of Louisiana. And to those who think there was some kind of divine intervention keeping the cross from burning, remember that gold has a much higher melting point than wood.

Someday Notre-Dame will be no more. It has survived many wars, including the Nazis, but almost went up in smoke due to an accident (if it was the fault of one particular worker, he must be feeling pretty bad these days). Whether it will outlast humans is the question.