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bystander on the earth

English translation: someone who simply endures the Earth...

05:41 Feb 19, 2021
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase: bystander on the earth
Hello everyone,

I was glowing with joy when the girl who played Louisa von Trapp (my singing sibling) took me by the hand and brought me into the yard in front of the house. Louisa had been one of my favorites in the play; she was tall and thin with long golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. Her face was innocent, like a Cabbage Patch doll who had shed her baby fat and now could sing and dance and drive a car. We sat in the grass for a bit, and then Louisa asked me if I wanted to try something cool. I said yes. While many a story that starts this way ends with the first time someone smoked or drank or something like that, this isn’t that kind of story.

Louisa told me to get on my hands and knees. I did. I could see my breath as it froze in the space between my lips and the ground. She told me to close my eyes. I did. She told me to feel the earth in my hands below me. I could. It was cold and hard and wet and prickly. It was getting ready for winter, for the first snow that would come only a few days later, erasing any evidence we had been there.

Then Louisa told me to imagine, instead of just kneeling there on the grass, ***a bystander on the earth***, that I was holding it. That as I felt the cold ground beneath me, it was actually in the palm of my hand. She told me to recognize that, at this moment, on this piece of earth, I was holding the world up with my own two hands. I opened my eyes with my hands firmly entangled in the grass, holding on for dear life. The world had never looked so new.

Louisa spoke softly then, as if to herself, as if she knew the pain of being eleven, being in sixth grade, of not wanting to wear a training bra, and of the cruelty of other children. As if she knew that the world can be tough beyond sixth grade. On all fours herself, she whispered that when the world was getting the best of you, all you had to do was take a moment to hold it in the palm of your hands. That’s how you know you still have a place. That even if it’s just this one piece of land where your hands are planted, there is a place for you and the possibilities for you are infinite.

https://www.lexico.com/definition/bystander

bystander
A person who is present at an event or incident but does not take part.

Then Louisa told me to imagine, instead of just kneeling there on the grass, a bystander on the earth, that I was holding it.

If "bystander" refers to Louisa, it makes perfect sense to me.

But I have a feeling (although I might well be wrong) that "bystander" in that sentence refers to the author and, if it is the case, I don't understand what it means and why the author chose this word.

Thank you.
Mikhail Korolev
Local time: 13:18
Selected answer:someone who simply endures the Earth...
Explanation:
...but does not take part.

No, it's not referring to Louisa, but rather, to the writer being a mere helpless person watching all the immensity of the Earth — not participating, as you said in your definition. This suggested action seems to involve "owning" the Earth, making it feel less scary, by thinking of yourself as a key element, holding the Earth up. It's a lovely image!

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Note added at 1 day 10 hrs (2021-02-20 16:31:39 GMT)
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A mere spectator instead of an active participant
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 12:18
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Tony.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4someone who simply endures the Earth...
Tony M
5watching something without really participating
Mirvat Blilo
4"bystander" is the author
Kiet Bach


  

Answers


22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
"bystander" is the author


Explanation:
If you add "as" to the sentence, the meaning is pretty clear.

Then Louisa told me to imagine, instead of just kneeling there on the grass, as a bystander on the earth, that I was holding it.

Louisa means that you are not just a bystander. You actually hold the earth in your hands. You are important. You are a participant.

Kiet Bach
United States
Local time: 03:18
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
watching something without really participating


Explanation:
The term refers to the author and the sentence means that Louisa asked him to imagine holding the grass instead of just being an onlooker or a spectator.

Mirvat Blilo
Syria
Local time: 13:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
someone who simply endures the Earth...


Explanation:
...but does not take part.

No, it's not referring to Louisa, but rather, to the writer being a mere helpless person watching all the immensity of the Earth — not participating, as you said in your definition. This suggested action seems to involve "owning" the Earth, making it feel less scary, by thinking of yourself as a key element, holding the Earth up. It's a lovely image!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 10 hrs (2021-02-20 16:31:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A mere spectator instead of an active participant

Tony M
France
Local time: 12:18
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 309
Grading comment
Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Tony.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Brent Sørensen: I was thinking on the same lines. I just couldn’t figure out how to explain it succinctly.
39 mins
  -> Thanks, Brent!
agree  Shelley Upton: I think you're absolutely right, it's the author, but how about 'inhabits' rather than endures? 'Endures' suggests an element of suffering whereas here I think it's more about being passive, a passenger. Edit: OK, good point!
1 hr
  -> That's exactly why I was looking for a more passive verb than 'inhabit' — but after all, this is just an explanation, not a literary suggestion. Cf. "Suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..."
agree  BdiL: There's hardly an instance when you don't show how connected you are to communicating and, in the end, to..."the Earth"! Amazement shines in my eyes. Buona giornata, Tony. MAurizio.
2 hrs
  -> Mille grazie Maurizio!
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: I agree with a lot of your explanation but not with "endures the Earth"
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Yvonne! As I said, it was merely for the purpose of illustration, there are plenty of synonyms you might prefer.
agree  AllegroTrans: Really more like an "observer"; endures suggests an element of pain
10 hrs
  -> Yes, that's a good one! I was thinking of quotes like "Life is what happens to you..." etc.
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