I fell a little behind in my Writer's Almanac readings. So today when I was going through them, I found this gem, a quote by Henrik Ibsen. His play, A Doll's House, was startling and life-transforming for me when I read it as a freshman in college in the mid-seventies.
For those of you who haven't read or seen the play, its importance is in its feminist message that a woman's role (Nora) is not confined to the moral authority of her husband (Torvald), nor is her purpose confined to being a "good" mother to her children. It was written in the 1880s. There are several versions of the play on video and DVD; I think my favorite version is the one in which Anthony Hopkins plays Torvald.
Out of respect for Ibsen's work, I named the protagonist of several interconnected short stories Nora.
Henrik Ibsen wrote, "I almost think we're all of us Ghosts... It's not only what we have invited from our father and mother that walks in us. It's all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we can't get rid of them. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see Ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be Ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sand of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light."
The quote makes me painfully aware that I need to do a mental housecleaning, a cerebral ghostbusting of sorts. It makes me wonder how many memories or beliefs I am holding onto have no "vitality."
I think it's true what he says, that we are "afraid of the light."
But when we write, we can't be afraid of it. The light is the only way to drive the lifeless ghosts away.
12 comments:
A Doll's House is an extraordinary work - and especially when viewed in the context of its time.
I wonder about the ghosts to which you are referring, Theresa. I think for me they must be stories I have told over and over about me and my life, stories that have become meaningless and stale. Stories from the past when I should be looking forward. You are right, they clutter up the attic and get in the way of new beginnings.
Vicky
http://www.livejournal.com/users/vxv789/
I think we see this on so many levels, don't you Vicky? There's the personal, and there's also the national--the country in which we live continues to hold onto old "bedrock" values that have become meaningless, stale, and these values keep us from moving ahead. It is rather like how, in WWI, the old soldiers were holding onto their chilvaric swords, unable to see the terrible specter of a technological war. It can be dangerous, is what I'm saying, to hold onto these old ghosts, as comforting as they may be. I think on a personal level, holding on to the ghosts can be dangerous as well. I think of Medea, murdering her children. But aren't the manifestations of our art, of our creative life, our CHILDREN? Thanks, as always, for your insights, Vicky, my friend.
I agree...there are so many things clinging to us. At times I dream of trying to move all these boxes full of useless stuff....and I know what THAT means!
This is very powerful and personally relevant to me. It ties in very closely to my Lenten discipline. I think those old ideas might not be ghosts, but zombies. Ghosts clutter the landscape. They're disturbing, and they can scare us, but zombies devour us. Either all that remains are the old, dead ideas or, if we're lucky, we're stumbling around, the walking dead as well -- "lives of quiet desparation" perhaps? The Hopkins version of "The Doll House" is also my favorite.
I so enjoy reading you...in the shallow waters that one sometimes finds themselves where even discussing thoughts such as this brings to them that disapproving ghostly look and silence from someone who is uncomfortable with their thoughts....takes one instantly back to that "get out of your dream world and get back here in the real world where you belong....being creative won't pay the bills....face reality." Are you talking about those kinds of ghost, the one's that replay in our minds over and over when we reach for the light? I too have a backroom full of boxes to sort and throw most of the old stuff away. After reading you think I get cracking on it today....Thanks
Marlene-PurelyPoetry
that is the truth. judi
I think you are right. The ghosts of our past, the things that hold us back, that make us feel guilt and fear, these are the ones that must be let go of. I also believe that we have some ghosts that possibly need to be reborn, have new life given to them. Perhaps it is a dream that was killed by events that we had no control over, or thought we had no control over.
I am also an author-my book is Single in Saudi by Genia-a penname as I realize the Saudis don't have a sense of humor. Like Ms. Williams I have the angst of a first time author and can relate to her story.
GREAT ART AND PICS.
http://journals.aol.com/cste609371/writingsshortstoriesbyStewart
Hi Therese, Im back. Great entry as usual.....m
Ghosts and zombies, hauntings from the past and specters from the future. Sometimes I hear my future calling to me, egging me on, enticing me with wild promises. Can we ever fully exorcize those demon ghosts from the past or must they remain as reminders of paths untaken, possibilities left to turn to dust? Today is the birthday of Mary Louise Booth, born April 19, 1831 on Long Island, New York. When asked in 1875 about woman & journalism she replied... "Their [women] acute and subtle intuition, and habits of keen observation, readiness of thoughts, and refined taste, fit them to succeed both as contributors and editors. They know instinctively how to choose what is readable, and to eschew what is tedious to the comfort of their readers..." Her father pushed her to teach, he thought it the only "suitable occupation for a woman." Mary rebelled, went on to translate more than forty works from French to English, received personal thanks from President Lincoln, and was the first editor of HARPER'S BAZAAR from 1867 to her death in 1889. Was it keeping the ghost of her father's denial alive that ever spurred her on? Or ever setting sights on greater deeds?
http://journals.aol.com/madmanadhd/ConfessionsofaMadmanInsightsinto/entries/1086
Theresa, I always set aside some time when I visit here. I know that it`s time for thinking; reflection. To whom are we going to meet today? "The Doll House".....
It`s been forever, out of consciousness. Thanks.
V
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