Problem
Prompt: In The Hour of the Star, we read that "There was something slightly idiotic about [Macabea], but she wasn't an idiot. She didn't know she was unhappy" and "That girl didn't know what she was, just as a dog doesn't know it's a dog. So she didn't feel unhappy. The only thing she wanted was to live". Gradually we understand that this novel, as exceptional as it is, is also like many other novels in that it is concerned with being, happiness and unhappiness, consciousness, and self awareness. Considering this, how important is It to be both happy and aware that we are happy? Can we even be said to be happy without being aware of our happiness? Does such self-consciousness (1.e., awareness) defeat an "authentic" happiness? If no, why not? If so, what is to be done?