happily ever now
It has recently come to my attention that, at least among English majors at Trent, happy endings have grown and are growing increasingly out of fashion. They are...trite
predictable
cliche
Today our technologically advanced, postmodernly inclined, highly-evolved brains want
something a little more raw, a little more "real".
We are too civilized for hope.
But what if...
I like happy endings?
What if I want them to kill the dragon
and save the kingdom
and the good guys to win
and the prince and the princess to get married
and throw a big party for everyone
with balloons?
I think that there is something inside all of us that craves the happily-ever-after world which we have long left behind with the out-grown shoes and animal crackers of childhood. I think that we
long for hope
but we are afraid because
hope hurts.
Hope hurts more deeply and shines more brilliantly than anything else in this life, and maybe we are afraid that if we tell these stories (these brilliantly, painfully, hopeful stories), then we will become captive to the ruthless, violent beauty of our desires.
The best way to avoid a broken heart is not to have one in the first place. Poor investment, hearts, fragile and difficult to repair, not to mention impossible to replace.
I think that when we tell stories, what we are really doing is expressing the state of our hearts. Expressing our desires. I think that
once upon a time, in a land far, far away there was someone who was not afraid to hope for a happy ending
and then
the fairy tale was born.
posted by Erin @ 7:16 AM
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