World Without End is a good read. I was completely grasped by the story in the first few pages, and holds my heart till I turned to last page, after a thousand pages of surfing on the waves of its story.

What has striken me most in the story is:
1. Fufill the purpose of life 
The strong willpower, the determination to excel, to success. Merlin comes from a low family, and becoming a carpenter was not his wish. But he turned it around with his iron will and dogged hard work. He is determined to make a difference in his life with the skills and talents he discovered by chance. He seeeks out every opportunity to learning new techiniques, concepts about his fields of practice. He was, and have always been completely dedicated, focused on his work. Even the upsets of his love affairs could  not turn him away from his love of work. He worked long, and he worked hard. He dares to be different, he was outcasted by the builder's guilt, which would have been a devastating strike, did not pull him down. He dare to dream, to build something grand, something that will last and be recognized by everyone. He built the highest church in England finally.

And on Caris's side, the same explanation but varies a bit. As a woman of middle centry, she won't have a career at all. It was not encouraged, it was not easy. Education was denied, and marriage was arranged. However, with her indepent thinking mind, she made herself the most successful woman, she discovered and achieved the highest purpose of her life. The journey was a bumpy one, she lost her love once, twice, three times, and she was nearly put to death by an false but strong accusation. She lost the hospital she built, and there have always been obstacles in everysteps she pushed herself forward. But nontheless, she never give up. She never give up hope, nor hard work and service spirit.

Independent thinking was a rare value in woman, still is in today's society. It means doesn't take any thoughts, belief or phylosophy second handed. Alway test it in real life, and then decide what to believe, or do. She questioned religion, she questioned the monk's medical method in curing people, she questioned everything, her purpose of life. Even Merlin's love can not make her feel fullfilled, or contented enough. To many woman to marry a man she loves, and who adores her, is the happiest life one could dream of, but for her, it is not enough. 

When she could have easily married the man she loves so dearly, she hesitated in marrying him. She was afraid to lose her independence, to be submissive to someone scares her more off than being left alone as an old maid. She refused to marry, because her life purpose was not clear to her yet. How right is that deed indeed! If she had married Merlin young, she could never become the influencial woman Mother Caris, and she won't be helping so many people in the plague later on, and saving so many people's life because of her high rised position. She would be good wife, but uncontented in her heart, had she married when she first got pragnant.

She have been involved with power struggle, always, but she never played dirty. She fights for power, but her motivation is honored. She challange custom and crowns, with sense and reason. She never hold money as her dear friend, but like a dear friend money always follows her. She is square, with a strong sense and execellent ability in management. Because of her high success achieved through years of hard work, contribution and sacrifice, she was able to help the man she loves to achieve his life project. She helped to get the fund to build the greatest church in English. Had  she been merely his wife over these years, she won't be able to help him as much as she did later.

Determination, strong will to achievement, hard work, and dedication and persistant leads Caris and Merlin to a flowered life, even though there has been non lesser of storms. But they endured.

2. True Love Always Prevails
She and Merlin's love affair went on and off for years, in sometimes there seems all hope died out, she became a nun, he married. But in the end, after many years, they still love each other, and they get married after many seemingly impossible obtacles been removed one by one from that path. Being married sometimes seems to be out of the question to them, and it seemed they may live a life time apart, but patience was rewarded eventually, when situations changed in life, she was pushed out of her own career she built with many year's of hard work, and he resovled her problem with clever solution and generous contribution. Love doesn't require money, but success certainly make things easier, and it bring you satisfaction when you have made a fortune and you could use it to help those you love.

3. Evil people on high postions
It seemed that good people shall be frantied by God to higher positions, but in reality bad people often wins. They get what they want, and they climb up the ladder easily. This is because they are not afraid to follow their evil thoughts, and play dirty and ruthlessly. What good people hesitate to do, they do eagerly. In power struggle, they are the oftened winners. They are shamelss, bruetal, and this add fuel to the accelerated vehicle of success. Do we have to sell our soul to gain the world? Apparently true. In many cases, if not most.

In a novel, bad people were not allowed to live forever and remain high in the social ladder, but in reality, these people do so. This is reality of life.  Novels need to give us hope, and show us what is right from wrong, but real life good people were wronged, died, sad as it was.

4. Belive in yourself
The poor girl Gewanda was sold by her father, she was captured to be prostituted, but she fought back, and she fought hard. She fight for the man she loved imppossibly, and she fought for the right to live a normal life. She learned to kill, in order to live. She killed 3 men in her life, all deserved it. She worked hard all her life, and she has a prosperous life in spite of her hard lot. She was determined to twist the ill-fated life she was put into at birth, and slowly, she did succeed.

I admire these women, and man, those who made their fate with their determinded mind  and back breaking hardwork. Both would reward you, if you belive in yourself, and set out to achieve your dreams. In desperate situations in life, the world seems to be coming to an end, but it is only the end if you believe it is, the world really has no end.