(By Sal Godoij.)
Dear friend, while you may or may not have been following the case affecting Nvidia boss, Mr. Jensen Huang and his “sexionage” affair with the allegedly undercover Chinese spy, Ms. Alice Huang, it came to my mind an excerpt from a book I wrote some years ago titled “Tutankhamen Returns!”
In a particular chapter of this book, I explore the weakness a great, powerful man exposes when he falls for the appeals of a young, beautiful woman, which is a particular weakness that seems common among men in power since the beginning of civilization. “I give my kingdom for a young woman,” they all seem to say.
Interestingly, the background of this contemporary love story, that of the Nvidia boss, is no different from the thousands and thousands that preceded it: that is, a powerful man’s willingness to walk on a tightrope held high between prudence and passion.
The excerpt I present to you here refers to Ay, that was his name, Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s Adviser, a man already in his eighties, and the motives he might have had to plot against the Pharaoh, infatuated as he was with Ankhesenamen, that ancient Lolita, the 13-year-old wife of Pharaoh Tutankhamen.
Of course, in the excerpt I’m naming just a few of the thousands of women who played a role in a powerful man’s life. You may want to add Cleopatra VII Philopator, Yoko Ono, Monica Lewinsky, and so on, but then the list would be too long.
Enjoy!
“For it was all because of a woman. So, it has been throughout the history of humankind. Indeed, at the cornerstone of man’s history, there is always a woman, for if it were not because of an Eve, humanity would not exist, and we would still be living in Paradise. If there were not a Pandora, the evils of society would be under control. There would not be a Trojan horse if not for Helen, and Troy would have continued flourishing. If there were not a Penelope, then Odysseus would not have a reason to return home. And, if it were not because of Mary, humanity would not have learned of the Sacrifice of the Lamb. Thus, a woman is present in all affairs of man, be they right or wrong, even in fairy tales.”
