Back in book 18, we see how Achilles reacts to the death of his best friend, Patroclus. The grief grips Achilles so strongly that he eventually goes on a rampage, killing hundreds upon hundreds of Trojans. The great mystery of grief and it's power reminded me of a quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "It's the great mystery of human life that old grief passes gradually into quiet tender joy." Grief is a complicated and peculiar feeling that, if felt so deeply, has the ability to encapsulate and preside over all other emotions. It is not a feeling to be ignored, but one that ought to be dealt with head-on. Grief is not passive, it does not submit easily to other emotions. Grief is manipulative, coercing its victim into believing that they are okay as they begin to slip into darkness. Once grief has a hold on its victim, it slowly overtakes them until naught is left of the person they once were. Grief is a powerful enemy if not properly addressed and handled. However, if the chosen victim realizes the power that grief holds, grief, in and of itself, begins to lose a great sum of its power. Once the victim is aware of the grief and begins to overpower it, the feeling of grief will eventually pass into a quiet peace. The initial feeling of grief will pass and the previous victim, now the conqueror, can rest. All this to say, grief has no power on its own. Every ounce of power that grief has is fueled by the people who ignore it, who choose to believe that grief does not affect the,. Grief only has as much power as one allows it.
I commented on Caroline and Rachael's posts.
I completely agree with your analysis of grief's hold on us as humans. I would like to add that in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (5:4, CSB). This is one instance of many where the Bible encourages us to go to others when there is sorrow in our lives in order to deal with it and lighten the load for ourselves. In this work, Achilles does nothing of the sort, instead taking it out on everyone. Interesting blog post.
ReplyDeleteI agree. When one is aware of the influence grief has, it loses its effectiveness. However, when we let grief consume us (like Achilles does) it becomes much more powerful than anything. In the case of Achilles, it overwhelmed him to the point that he went back into the fray and went on a murderous rampage.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely power in grief. Reading your post, I was reminded of the Star Wars quote that states, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." I feel that this suffering can also be labeled as grief since the two emotions go hand-in-hand.
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