Helen's husband died when she was fifty years old. After his death, she developed a weird obsession with art. She began creating sculptures and putting them in her garden. The art gave her fulfillment and filled the void that was left after her husband died. She decorated her house with a lot of light and color. The internal walls were painted different colors while the living room was filled with candles of all shapes and sizes. She had created her fantasy world and was not going to give it up. Despite concerns from her peers and worried neighbors, Helen refused to leave her house and go to a nursing home. After she had finished creating the sculptures and statues, Helen felt empty again. She was depressed. As a result, she decided to take her life.
https://www.overdrive.com/media/980839/the-road-to-mecca
Helen undergoes a spiritual transformation, abandons the Christian religion as practised by her community, and pursues self-fulfilment through art. In fact, on the first Sunday she skips a church service, Helen starts working on her first sculpture, an owl. She detaches from acceptable societal traditions and achieves happiness by creating her own heaven filled with light.
Helen’s thought process is also transformed, and she can now think and act independently. She admits that after all those years she never loved her husband and simply pretended—due to society’s expectations of a woman in a marriage. However, after his death, she does not feel the need to conform, as demonstrated by her resistance to the idea of moving into an elderly home. Despite the pressure from Marius to sign the documents authorizing her relocation and her isolation from the rest of the community, she stands her ground and chooses to continue living in her Mecca.
http://medhum.med.nyu.edu/view/842
No comments:
Post a Comment