invisible
On Holiday
- MBTI
- none
"Deeper than melancholy lies heartbreak.", - from Villette by Charlotte Brontë.
heartbreak means something very different from what it used to mean in western culture. or perhaps there is a new sense in which heartbreak is represented in popular culture. for example, "S/he broke my heart!" is popularly represented as an emotional catchphrase that is appropriate in the context of an embittered breakup. however, dig beneath the surface of that popular culture representation, and you will find a meaning that relates to the kind of emotional pain that can kill someone. "she died of a broken heart" is something that people did not just used to say, but something that they really believed. if your heart was broken, it was on one hand a sentimental way of describing an emotional reaction, but on the other hand it was a reality of emotional life that could literally result in death. its an idea that might have things in common with contemporary ideas of depression, but not exactly - maybe more similar to the authentic death wish, for example, "pointing the bone".
what do you think? can someone die of heartbreak, the way they did in 18th century fiction? or perhaps "heartbreak" is itself dead, the way that hysteria is now dead? or maybe as some people think that hysteria is not dead but has just changed into another form, has heartbreak just changed into another form that is different from what it was or has been, but with an emotional power that is as strong as ever?
this is something that i have thought about often. what is heartbreak, and can it kill? i think this is a complex topic and will be interested to read any alternative ideas.
heartbreak means something very different from what it used to mean in western culture. or perhaps there is a new sense in which heartbreak is represented in popular culture. for example, "S/he broke my heart!" is popularly represented as an emotional catchphrase that is appropriate in the context of an embittered breakup. however, dig beneath the surface of that popular culture representation, and you will find a meaning that relates to the kind of emotional pain that can kill someone. "she died of a broken heart" is something that people did not just used to say, but something that they really believed. if your heart was broken, it was on one hand a sentimental way of describing an emotional reaction, but on the other hand it was a reality of emotional life that could literally result in death. its an idea that might have things in common with contemporary ideas of depression, but not exactly - maybe more similar to the authentic death wish, for example, "pointing the bone".
what do you think? can someone die of heartbreak, the way they did in 18th century fiction? or perhaps "heartbreak" is itself dead, the way that hysteria is now dead? or maybe as some people think that hysteria is not dead but has just changed into another form, has heartbreak just changed into another form that is different from what it was or has been, but with an emotional power that is as strong as ever?
this is something that i have thought about often. what is heartbreak, and can it kill? i think this is a complex topic and will be interested to read any alternative ideas.
