In 1988, a great scientist, Richard Feynman, left this world. Among his belongings, his adopted daughter found a letter that was never sent.
The letter was very old, and it seemed that Feynman often took it out and read it. The adopted daughter couldn't suppress her curiosity and opened the letter, and when she read it, she couldn't help but cry.
The love story of Richard Feynman and Arlene Greenbaum began in high school. Arlene died of tuberculosis at a young age of 25, much to Feynman's dispain.
Two years later, Feynman sent an affectionate love letter to his deceased lover, Arlene, with the last sentence "Forgive me for not sending this letter, I don't know your new address." ”
But it's moving. Even though Arlene has left, Feynman's love and longing for her has never diminished. This is the deeply touching love story of Richard Feynman and Arlene Greenbaum.
01 At a party, 15-year-old Feynman met 13-year-old Arlene. At the time, Feynman was sitting on the couch, practicing kissing with a girl. Suddenly, everyone was excited: "Arlene is here!" Arlene is here! ”
Arlene is the most popular girl in the area, she is not only beautiful, but also good at piano, dancing and painting, which is loved by everyone. Everyone stopped what they were doing and eagerly went to watch the goddess.
When Feynman saw Arlene for the first time, he was fascinated by her. However, he pretended to be indifferent and sat on the couch, seemingly uninterested in everything around him.
This deliberately cool strategy actually succeeded in attracting Arlene's attention. However, Feynman had too many rivals in love, and Arlene showed no signs of choosing him.
One day, Feynman taught Arlene to make a one-of-a-kind Möbius strip that allowed her to refute the teacher's theories in class. Arlene was in the spotlight and had an admiration for Feynman.
At the high school graduation ceremony, Feynman won first place in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and took the stage several times to accept the award.
In the end, Feynman, with his talent and hard work, managed to defeat all his rivals and finally win Arlene's heart.
Feynman and Arlene's love story transcends the limitations of time and distance. Although the two began a long-distance relationship at the age of 17, their relationship was not affected by this.
Feynman majored in physics at MIT, while Arlene stayed in her hometown to work, but their hearts were always connected. The whole family witnessed their deep love and knew that one day they would enter the palace of marriage.
In 1939, Feynman transferred to Princeton University for graduate school, and they agreed to get married as soon as they graduated, and the power of love made them unswervingly move towards the future.
Arlene unfortunately contracted tuberculosis, much to the surprise of Feynman and her family. Feynman's father reminded him that the disease was not possible at the time and could be contagious to Feynman, affecting his own health and future.
In addition, Arlene's medical expenses may also become a burden for their family. Feynman's mother even advised him to break off his engagement to Arlene on the grounds that tuberculosis patients could not get pregnant.
Feynman, however, adamantly disagreed, saying it was not a wise choice for a husband to abandon his wife if he knew she had TB.
He firmly believes that true love should be that no matter what disease the other party suffers from, they will never leave and face difficulties together.
After graduating in June 1942, Dr. Feynman had only two weeks to get his wedding on the agenda. In a letter to his parents, he wrote: "I am about to marry Arlene because I love her and am willing to take care of her.
That's the whole truth. ”
Arlene has been recuperating in the hospital since the day of the wedding, while Feynman has been working hard every day to raise ** expenses. He first joined Bell Labs and later became a member of the Manhattan Project team.
No matter where he is, he will find a nursing home near his place of work so that he can visit Arlene every weekend. Once, the bus was late, he missed the visitation time, and there was no hotel nearby, so he had to sleep in the open space for the night.
However, he was worried that Arlene would be sad because of this, so he found a place to rest far away from the residential area. When he woke up the next morning, he found himself sleeping on a garbage heap.
Despite this, he still laughed and laughed at himself: "Ha, what a fool." ”
Every time Arlene saw Feynman, she felt extremely relieved. He always told her not to worry about anything, especially money. "Whatever worries you have, don't worry about money.
You know, we have enough savings to cover an emergency. Feynman, however, was secretly cutting back on his living expenses. I should go to eat a big pot of rice, so that I can save 15 yuan a month, which is 150 yuan in 10 months.
During the week, they communicate mainly through letters. Their correspondence was filled with genuine affection and deep love for each other. Feynman often worked until 11 p.m., but he still insisted on writing to his wife every day, and he encouraged her to stay happy and positive.
If happiness can last, then the time of unhappiness becomes shorter. Until I come to see you and accompany you, you will also have the opportunity to live happily ever after. ”
I love you forever, you're a good wife, I love to see you, I just wish it was Saturday. "My dear, you are like a stream, and I am a reservoir, without you, I would feel as empty and powerless as I did before I met you. I am willing to use the power you have given me to give you comfort in times of difficulty. ”
On his way back to base one Sunday night, Feynman saw a mobile playground with a Ferris wheel in it. His childlike innocence suddenly awakened, and he got out of the car halfway and ran straight to the playground!
Feynman rode the Ferris wheel, followed by a spinning chair. However, in the process of playing, his mind is full of Arlene: "Every moment in the playground, I think about you.
We used to have a good time playing here, I really hope you get better soon and we can come here again. ”
You can't do this lock, you need to improve it. When I can't open it one day, your files will be truly safe! ”
On May 11, Feynman had a special birthday. As soon as he entered the office that day, he found each colleague holding a newspaper in their hands, and the front page headline read: The whole country celebrates Dr. Feynman's birthday!
It turned out that it was Feynman's wife, Arlene, who had prepared a birthday surprise for him - she made some fake newspapers and had them delivered to the office.
Feynman was stunned by the unexpected gift, but he soon smiled happily.
On that day, many people received the newspaper, and Feynman suddenly became the center of attention in the office. His boss smiled and patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have a very good wife!"
After work, Feynman couldn't wait to write a thank you note to his wife: "Dear Arlene, I love you. I am amazed by your ingenuity.
At first, everyone thought they were real newspapers, so they put them on the wall of my office, and many of my colleagues even took someone else's newspaper home to ......show it to their wives
Finally, Feynman sweetly wrote, "I think I should also spend a few hours thinking of a way to let you experience a little bit of the fun of being teased a little bit."
Feynman and Arlene are typical art and science students with very different interests, but one of the gifts they share is wit and humor. They use this gift to bring endless joy and surprise to each other.
Arlene sent Feynman a special box of pencils, each with the inscription "Dear Richard, I love you!" Little stupid melon. Although his colleagues couldn't help but laugh when they saw it, Feynman planned to scrape the words out and rewrite them.
When Arlene learned about it, she wrote to ask Feynman why she did this, and she hoped that Feynman would be proud of herself and not care about other people's eyes.
Arlene bought a charcoal grill and happily proposed, "We can grill our own steaks in the hospital room!" But Feynman took it with a grain of salt, saying: "Grilling steak in a hospital room?
That's nonsense! This will make it smoky and difficult to clean up. Arlene smiled and said confidently, "No problem, then let's go roast on the lawn outside."
However, Feynman, who lives at a nursing home on Route 66, is a little embarrassed: "There's a lot of traffic there, and there's a lot of people walking on the sidewalks. If I grilled a steak directly on the lawn, people would think I was crazy!
Arlene encouraged: "Why should you care about other people's eyes? ”
When Arlene uttered these words, Feynman was always amazed by his wife's wisdom: "That's right, why should I care about the eyes of others? The only thing I care about is Arlene, and her comfort and happiness are the most important thing!
Since then, every weekend, they have a barbecue on Route 66. Don't care what other people think, this sentence has influenced Feynman's life. Years later, Feynman published an autobiography entitled "Why Care About Other People's Eyes."
Feynman and Arlene's last photograph taken together in June 1945. Arlene not only likes to play tricks, but also learns Chinese and calligraphy, and even mail-ordered a book called "The Sound and Form of Chinese Characters", which Feynman kept until his later years.
It was with Arlene that Feynman, who only focused on science, began to become interested in art. Since then, Feynman has not only made significant achievements in the field of science, but has also held art exhibitions and even performed as a samba drummer for the band.
Arlene's admiration for Feynman stems from his scientific talents, and she always writes letters to encourage him to pursue his dreams and achieve his career. Her words were full of support and encouragement for him, both to the world and to the scientific community, and she hoped that he would give his all.
Arlene's understanding and support gave Feynman more persistence and courage on the road of science. Although Arlene's condition is getting worse, her love and support for Feynman has never changed, which is why she has become the love of Feynman's life.
If a wife is like this, what more can a husband ask for?
Despite Arlene's critical condition, Feynman comforted her with love and care. He expressed his love with letter after letter, hoping that she would get through it. In the letter, he promised to support her unconditionally, whenever and wherever she wanted.
He loved her deeply and was sorry for his negligence and sluggishness, but he still loved her dearly. The letter became the last one Arlene received before her death, and she died 10 days later at the age of 25.
Feynman stayed with his wife, Arlene, until she passed away peacefully. **Walk into the ward and record Arlene's time of death: 9:21 p.m. Feynman whispered to **, "Please let me be alone with Arlene for a while."
* Left the room. Feynman sat there quietly and kissed Arlene for the last time. That's when he noticed that Arlene's bedside clock stopped at 9:21 p.m.!
Although a sensible person might interpret this as some kind of oracle, Feynman's rational thinking was not shaken by this.
He pondered, "This clock has been broken several times before, and it must have been ** touching it when confirming Arlene's time of death, causing it to stop.
The next day, he came to the funeral home, and the staff asked, "Would you like to see your wife one last time?" Someone made her makeup just now. He shook his head and thought to himself, "Why do you want to put makeup on a body that has lost its soul?"
Arlene has left us. Feynman then returned to the base to continue his work, and his colleagues asked cautiously, "How's it going?" He replied succinctly: "She is dead."
How is the project progressing? One night, Feynman dreamed of Arlene, and he immediately shouted to her, "No, no, you can't enter my dream, you've left us!"
Arlene in the dream said softly, "No, no, I lied to you. I'm tired of you, so I designed it all to escape. But now I like you again, so I'm back.
Even in the dream, Feynman's brain struggled to find a plausible explanation for why Arlene appeared.
Feynman's excitement is indescribable, but deep down, he still misses his lover Arlene.
Just as he passed by the window of a store, a beautiful dress caught his eye, and Arlene's favorite look suddenly appeared in his heart, his defense line instantly collapsed, and tears instantly welled up.
"I must have taken some kind of psychological intervention on myself, and I didn't shed a single tear during that time, until about a month later, I passed by the window of a store in Oak Ridge and saw a beautiful dress, and I thought, 'Arlene is going to love it,' and all of a sudden, tears flowed down my face."
Two years have passed, and Feynman has picked up the pen again to pour out his heart to Arlene, whom he loves dearly. "Dear Arlene, I love you, sweetheart. I know how much you like it when I say that.
As I write these words to you, I feel a warm feeling in my heart. It's been a long time since we've corresponded, but I'm sure you'll forgive me, because you understand that I'm a stubborn realist, and I don't think there's any point in writing such a letter, so I haven't put pen to paper.
But now, I finally realize that I need to tell you how much I love you, I want to love you, and I will always love you deeply. He found it difficult to explain why he loved Arlene so much after her death.
He wanted to take care of her and make her comfortable, and he also wanted her to love him and take care of him. He hopes to discuss problems with her and plan beautiful things together. He knew they couldn't do these things together anymore, but now, he figured it out, they could learn to make clothes together, learn Chinese together, and install movie projectors together.
He admits that he felt alone without Arlene. Arlene is his master and the driving force behind all the crazy adventures. Although Arlene could not give him something substantial, he still loved her deeply, loved her performance and deeds, and loved her all.
He couldn't help himself, he couldn't love anyone anymore. He knew that Arlene would laugh at him for being stupid, that he would not be so lonely, that he would pursue happiness. But he believed that Arlene would understand him and accept his choice.
He is deeply in love with his wife, whose departure has left his world hollow. This letter was made public by his adopted daughter after his death in 1988.
Feynman was a highly respected scientist who not only gained a reputation in the 20th century, but also enjoyed his books as the most popular university professor and Nobel laureate in physics.
In the past, he always left the impression of being happy, spontaneous and motivated. However, when everyone learned the story of him and Arlene, they were all surprised: "It turns out that this humorous Feynman has such an unknown side - it makes people laugh when it is funny, and it also makes people cry when it is affectionate!"
Hayao Miyazaki skillfully incorporated Feynman and Arlene's love story into his animated work "The Wind Rises" to make this touching story even more deeply rooted in the heart.
Feynman's marriage was full of twists and turns. His second wife failed to bring him happiness and parted ways after only six years together; However, his third wife, the former housekeeper, was his companion for the rest of his life.