Posted by allison on December 14, 1999, at 13:04:43
In reply to Allison, posted by Morose on December 14, 1999, at 11:50:19
> Question: how in the hell do you expect to ever get well reading things like Oblivion and King Lear?
Permission granted. However, follow-up questions will ensue.
I'm rereading parts of Oblivion to refresh my memory and help me think more clearly about some current issues. My psychiatrist mentioned the book some months ago. I read it then and we discussed. To be more specific, we had been talking about the recent death of my mother and the fact that I am the last surviving leaf of that limb of the family tree, hence saddled with the burden of being the keeper of 160 years' worth of the personal effects of dead ancestors.
Have you read the book? The cogent point I took away from it has to do with the idea that memories of dead people fade over time as the people who remember them die. With the exception of a few famous folks, we all eventually fade into an oblivion.
Re: Lear. I studied it in-depth in college. It's my favorite play of Shakespeare's. I like to reread it from time to time anyway. The reason for this particular rereading: My shrink in the past has asked me whether I identify with particular well-known literary characters or others that spring to mind. To date, I haven't. However, recent discussions about my current and continuing tumultuous relationship with my father have made me curious and wanting to refresh my memory on Cordelia's relationship with good ol' daddy. If nothing else, it's comforting to know that Lear wises up in the end. I cannot predict the same for my dad.
My questions to you then: Is reading fiction that some might construe as depressing any worse than one naming onself with an adjective of the same nature? Does reading depressing fiction have any effect on a person's wellness if, according to the theory you've introduced, medication is the only thing that "cures" these sorts of maladies?
Cordially,
allison
poster:allison
thread:16382
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991212/msgs/16909.html