But, to say that all these fantasies have no connection with the real world would be wrong. If you look deep into your dreamland, you will find that most of your dreams relate to what you do in your everyday life. To be exact, your dreams are the neat sketches of your life that have been designed by you, not by your destiny. This is the essence of "Alfred and Emily".
The book is a simple love story but you have to find the uniqueness of it yourself. It does talk about two individuals who keep bumping into each other throughout their lives but never really understand the bond they share. While I was reading the book, I got frustrated while I was midway down the book. I kept wondering where is the love story when there was no love around. The twist comes when you reach the "reality".
Doris Lessing has carved this story from her personal life. Rather, the personal life of her parents. Her father (Alfred) had lost his legs after the First World War post which he was taken over by solitude. Her mother (Emily) was also distressed with their destiny. But there was a time when the two could not think of anything else other than each other. Then what made their lives take such a turn? A war? Yes it did. A war could and will forever take each and every good charm away from your lives. It just sucks the happiness from you.
She could not take this fate that was bestowed on them. But there was nothing she could do other than putting her thoughts on paper. She created a separate world for her parents where they were not lovers anymore. They did meet but their lives were on different tracks. There was no war either. She tried to give them the world they had always desired but without being together.
Lessing's dreams were different in their approach. She hated the effect of the war on her parents. So, she preferred separating them in her own special world. But, is that what could have kept Alfred and Emily happy? No one knows!
"You cannot find peace by avoiding life"
~Virginia Woolf
No comments:
Post a Comment