The knight in the big world of American TV series

Chapter 2267: Requesting guaranteed monthly votes!!! Requesting subscriptions!!!

Chapter 2267: Requesting guaranteed monthly votes!!! Requesting subscriptions!!!

The second hypothesis is... that love turned into hate.

Thor really doesn't know how to appreciate Sif.

Sif was seen by everyone as the girl who best embodied the traditions of Asgard.

First of all, it's beautiful.

Sif is from Vanaheim, where people are naturally beautiful—a racial trait. Asgardians, in comparison, are considerably less attractive.

Asgardians have a more rugged appearance; it's not that they aren't beautiful, just that they lack refinement. In contrast, the people of Vanaheim appear more refined and beautiful.

Sif perfectly fits Asgardian aesthetics: black hair (actually, she used to be blonde), blue eyes, and a tall, slender figure—everything about her perfectly aligns with Asgardian beauty standards.

Secondly, it is powerful.

It's often said that Asgardians are warlike. Their thirst for power permeates every aspect of their lives, especially when it comes to choosing a wife. They don't appreciate delicate beauty. As mentioned before, while Vanaheim girls are exquisitely beautiful, Asgardian men, though they may admire Vanaheim girls, would unhesitatingly choose an Asgardian girl over a Vanaheim girl if forced to marry.

Because while being exquisite and beautiful is aesthetically pleasing, for Asgardians, choosing a beautiful girl for courtship is one thing, but to settle down and build a family, a strong, even formidable, woman is needed!

Only in this way can strong offspring be born!

Just like Chinese aesthetics!

We Chinese now have our own set of aesthetic standards. Everyone thinks that fair-skinned, small-faced, long-legged, slender beauties are the most attractive, while for men, being tall and having delicate, strong features is considered a major advantage. However, in the past, rural areas had very different aesthetic standards. This can be seen in some rural proverbs that have been passed down to this day. Have you ever heard the saying, "A good man is covered in hair, a good woman is plump"? This proverb actually reflects the highest aesthetic standards of rural people in the past. Why did they think a good man should be covered in hair? This is because in the past, rural people mainly engaged in physical labor, so physical health and strength were the best indicators of a man's excellence. Rural people believed that a healthy man had relatively abundant body hair. Moreover, they believed that the more body hair a person had, the better. They believed that the reason a person grows body hair is because their internal energy and blood are abundant, so a man with abundant body hair is naturally strong and powerful, which means he has more labor power, can do more farm work, and generate more agricultural income. This was the ideal man in the countryside. In the eyes of rural people, their daughters weren't the skinny type that people admire today. Ideally, they should have plenty of flesh in key areas. You see, living conditions in rural areas used to be very difficult; many families might not even have enough to eat. In such an environment, a woman with some curves was definitely living a comfortable life. Moreover, women with more flesh were generally stronger and healthier, giving them an advantage in both housework and childbirth. Therefore, rural men used to prefer choosing women with more flesh as wives.

In the past, a saying circulated in rural areas: "Big hips mean good fertility." People preferred women with large faces and hips when choosing a wife. Women with large faces and hips were generally considered to be overweight. It was believed that women with large hips were physically strong, capable of bearing children, able to shoulder household chores, and be helpful to their husbands in the fields, even serving as the primary labor force. In contrast, thin or slender women were thought to have a difficult future and not bring good fortune to the family. This saying, of course, is heavily influenced by superstition and should not be taken seriously. The preference for a strong and plump figure as beautiful was an ancient aesthetic standard for women. For example, historical records show that Yang Guifei, the Tang Dynasty's most beautiful concubine, was a plump woman. In reality, due to poor medical conditions in rural areas in the old days, the rate of difficult childbirth was high, and many women died in childbirth. Therefore, farming families hoped to marry women with good health. Furthermore, if a woman is in poor health, marrying her would mean she'd be a "medicine addict," not only unable to help her husband but also a financial burden on the entire family. In the old rural areas, as long as there was a chronically ill person in the family, even the wealthiest families would fall into poverty; it goes without saying that families with average means would be in even worse shape.

This is a choice made out of practical considerations, not just for the sake of visual pleasure!

Asgard is just like that.

Sif is the perfect choice, possessing both beauty and strength!

She's practically the perfect bride candidate.

Yet, Thor repeatedly ignored and even humiliated such a person!

Yes.

At least from the Asgardian perspective, this was an insult.

Sif did nothing wrong; she did everything perfectly. When Thor was banished, she stayed by his side and even went to Earth to secretly bring him back. In fact, Loki always liked Sif, and they grew up together. But Sif only had eyes for Thor, and Loki did many foolish things to get her attention.

The most typical example is when Loki shaved off Sif's blonde hair.

When she was a teenager, Loki decided to play a trick on her because she seemed to prefer Thor's company to his. He cut off all of her blonde hair while she slept. Upon discovering this, Sif's cries echoed throughout Asgard.

Loki, knowing he would be punished, rushed to the dwarven kingdom to negotiate with the dwarves to have some pure gold wigs made for Sif as compensation. The dwarves agreed to his request and secretly prepared for Loki's breach of contract. Loki did steal the hair and gave it to Sif. On Sif's head, the hair grew naturally as if it were real and shone even brighter than before. However, because the dwarves hadn't applied a special potion to the hair before Loki stole it, the hair began to darken and eventually turned completely black. When Sif started crying again, her parents, tired of her vanity, sent her to learn combat and become a warrior girl. Years later, returning to Asgard, dressed as a warrior, Sif accepted her black hair.

Of course, Loki didn't get any good results either.

He got a really bad beating from Thor.

In short, everyone sees Sif as the absolute victim.

If it were anyone else, they would never have treated Sif like that, but Thor did it anyway, which made many people think that Thor was a tyrant!

But Heimdall believed that this might have been a mistake on his part and that of Odin and his wife.

They arranged everything so perfectly. It was as if Sif marrying Thor was the only natural thing in the world!

Things that are easily obtained are not cherished by anyone!

From a psychological perspective, when people don't expend much effort to acquire something, they don't psychologically assign it high value. For example, free concert tickets, because no money or effort was spent to obtain them, are subconsciously perceived as having a low cost. However, if the tickets were purchased after a long wait or at a high price, people would cherish the opportunity to attend the concert more because of the effort they put in.

Furthermore, easily obtaining things rapidly raises the brain's satisfaction threshold. For example, if a child frequently and easily obtains various toys, the excitement and satisfaction from each new toy will gradually decrease. They will become accustomed to this easy acquisition and no longer feel a particularly deep connection to new things, thus failing to appreciate them.

People often don't have a strong expectation for things they get without effort. For example, in a lottery, if a participant easily wins a prize, they may not have had a strong desire for it before the draw, so they won't cherish it as much after receiving it.

From a behavioral perspective, people generate rich emotional experiences and profound memories when striving for something. For example, someone who has studied and worked hard for many years to obtain a degree will find the degree incredibly precious in their heart due to the hardship and perseverance involved. Things easily obtained, lacking this process, are like objects without a story, making it difficult for them to leave a lasting impression.

If obtaining things is always easy, people will gradually form a habit. For example, in a family, if parents always easily satisfy their children's various requests, the children will become accustomed to this easy-to-obtain pattern, taking what they get for granted and not appreciating it.

Life is full of ups and downs, and this seems to be the case all the time. In our daily lives, work, and relationships, we often overlook the precious things that are hard-won, and value more what we can easily obtain. But the truth is, these easily acquired things are often not cherished by us.

Take money as an example. We often find that every penny we earn through hard work is cherished when we use it; however, we tend to squander any windfall or found money. This precisely illustrates a profound truth: things easily obtained are often not valued enough. Similarly, in the pursuit of desires, people often have a misconception that what is unattainable is the best, while what is easily obtained seems mundane. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in matters of the heart. People often lack sufficient respect and appreciation for relationships that are easily obtained or that come to them willingly. This is because they believe that relationships obtained without pursuit and effort are often lacking in depth.

Chekhov, in "The Dowry," reveals a profound truth: what is easily obtained is often not valued. This observation resonates deeply with our life experiences. Those you travel great distances to see may not remember your efforts, but you will certainly remember those who traveled great distances to see you. Those who genuinely want to help you will do their utmost, even in the face of great difficulties. Communicating with like-minded people, you will never feel like you have too much to say. Those who like you will love you deeply no matter what you do; those who dislike you will find it difficult to win their favor no matter how you change. Getting off the train halfway isn't because the scenery isn't beautiful enough, but because the effort wasn't sincere enough; turning back halfway isn't because the connection is shallow, but because the feelings aren't deep enough. In interpersonal relationships, there's no need to compromise yourself to please others. The key to getting along with people lies in affection and connection. If you cherish me, I will repay you doubly; if you don't care about me, then let everything return to nothing.

A person who has long fed monkeys doesn't simply place food where the monkeys can easily reach it. Instead, they cleverly hide the food in tree holes to stimulate the monkeys' desire to explore. This feeding method forces the monkeys to think carefully about how to obtain food, gradually teaching them to cleverly retrieve it from tree holes using branches. Some people find this puzzling and question the appropriateness of this feeding method. However, the monkey keeper understands that readily available food often fails to stimulate a monkey's appetite. He uses this unique method to give the monkeys a sense of challenge in obtaining food, thereby stimulating their initiative and creativity. This clever monkey keeper is also adept at discovering deeper principles in daily life. They understand that things that are too easily obtained are often not cherished. Therefore, they use similar strategies in cultivating relationships. They don't easily give away their true feelings but instead create challenges and obstacles to enhance their value, thereby earning more respect and appreciation in love. Meanwhile, as living conditions improve, our expectations for the Lunar New Year are gradually changing. In the past, the Lunar New Year meant being able to buy snacks and toys to our heart's content, and setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve. However, now that these once-desired things are within reach, we've lost the anticipation we used to have for the Lunar New Year. This further confirms the saying: things easily obtained are often not cherished. Moreover, this profound truth applies to our daily lives as well. Whether cultivating a bond with monkeys or maintaining relationships between people, we need to skillfully employ strategies. Giving too easily often only leads to being taken for granted, while by setting appropriate challenges and obstacles, we can enhance our own value, thereby earning more respect and appreciation in relationships. This profound truth applies not only to raising monkeys but also to how we handle interpersonal relationships.

Furthermore, this profound principle applies equally to our daily lives. Whether cultivating a bond with a monkey or maintaining relationships between people, we need to skillfully employ strategies. Giving too easily often only leads to being taken for granted, while by setting appropriate challenges and obstacles, we can enhance our own value, thereby earning more respect and appreciation in relationships. This profound principle applies not only to raising monkeys but also to how we handle interpersonal relationships.

Let's look at marriage. Why is it necessary to have a formal wedding ceremony, a grand procession, and the witnessing of family and friends? All of this is to make you understand that this relationship is hard-won and worth cherishing. If marriage were child's play, wouldn't we be getting married and divorced every day? The solemnity and trials of marriage are precisely to test people's financial and physical strength. Similarly, things that are too easily obtained or achieved are often not valued. Without experiencing the trials and tribulations of hardship, the joy of obtaining something is greatly diminished. Only by persevering on the path of pursuing dreams, overcoming difficulties, and ultimately achieving the goal, can one experience the most precious sense of happiness that rises from the bottom of one's heart. This experience is not only a series of efforts and rewards, but also a series of unforgettable memories.

And what about Thor and Sif?

Everything proceeded smoothly, and everyone took it for granted.

And that's where all the problems lie!

That makes perfect sense!

(End of this chapter)