Must one suffer in order to achieve literary excellence in narrating a remarkable story about life and its tragedies?
Oh ye, all ye, who suffer here below,
Schooled in the baffling mystery of pain,
Who on life's anvil bear the fateful strain,
Wrong as forged iron, hammered blow on blow.
Take counsel with your grief, in that you know,
That he who suffers suffers not in vain,
Nay, that it shall be for the whole world's gain,
And wisdom prove the priceless price of woe.
[Mathilde Blind]
I was a Harry Potter fan - and I can say that without getting strange looks from my peers no matter how old we get. At one time, and I can say for most of the people my age, we all were. I had a friend who was as engrossed in Harry Potter books as me that we could easily discuss the minor details. It further fueled my love for the books. Amongst many other things we, as well as the whole world, talked about the author, J. K. Rowling and how her life took a fairytale U-turn. J. K. Rowling is truly a luminary for the young readers and her success story has inspired many people to fill in her Wizarding World with their own, and many a time very well-written, fan fiction. Many youngsters have started giving authorship and the profession of writing its due consideration. Many must have been inspired greatly enough to adopt a similar profession. As for me, after learning of how magical a world created by mere pen and paper could be, I had started dreaming to be a writer.
Though I was never much of a reader, I did know about the classic English novels, but less so about the author’s lives. Slowly after J.K. Rowling’s wonderful success story, author’s biographies became my favourite reading. If it wasn’t in the book, I would read about them somewhere else as in a magazine or on the internet. Stories of these famous and critically-acclaimed authors inspired me tremendously and the more I read about them the more I wanted to become a writer.
In these biographies, there was pattern of life too distinct to be overlooked and common to almost all accomplished authors. They all had to bear a great deal of suffering in their life: death of a loved one, an unsuccessful relationship, a desire to be accepted and respected by the society or to be loved as all a human soul desires so greatly is love and respect, and other such troubles that inflict all of us affected them too, only very acutely. In case of many great authors, accompanied by this desire for love, regard and acceptance was an almost inevitable recklessness. They, more often than not, lead a lifestyle not accepted by the societies of their time and were thus somewhat cut off from the world. Mary Anne Evans (better known as George Elliot), for example, lived a scandalous life. Falling for every other older, married man she met became something of a habit with her, something beyond her control. But her looks failed her and so she could not get officially married till the age of 61. She had lived a life of marriage though, but a marriage which was true only in her heart and not in the society’s eyes. She had to pay the price of her living in sin - complete social isolation. Even her siblings refused to keep in contact with her as the western society of the time with its sound morality and rectitude condemned such a lifestyle. This entire quandary greatly influenced her writing.
J. K. Rowling lost her mother earlier than she should have, her only connection with the affection and care only a family could give lost with her as she was never too close with her father. Multiple sclerosis took her mother's life slowly and painfully and that thin string which bound Joanne Rowling with her family snapped the day she lost her battle for life. All this heartbreak clearly shows through her books as it darkened her writing. All these testing times and tragedies in our lives do affect us in one way or the other, and in an author it shows through his/her writing; the style, the language, the tone, everything speaks of that trauma that impacted his/her soul.
Enid Blyton – the mere mention of the name can bring smiles to old and young alike. The avid readers in our parents can remember the joyful times they spent solving crimes and mysteries being one of the famous fives or going off to have an adventure on a flying chair. Even today, children enjoy the books from one of, if not the most prolific children’s author of all time, having written hundreds of stories to delight children all over the world. I was exposed to her fandom very early on. My mother would always try to persuade me to read her by telling me how she and Khala and Mamu adored reading her ‘Famous five’s and ‘Secret seven’s and ‘Fatty’; probably half the books she had produced had gone through their eyes. Her influence was very evident in their lives- one of my first experiences of how an author could reach out to and affect his readers, rather unintentionally.
Though many Enid Blyton books were read to the little me by my Khala, my own introduction to her work happened when a library-issued Famous Five was thrust in my hand by mum almost ordering me to start reading something suitable for my age. On a pleasant sunny afternoon during our summer vacations when we used to live in Murree, I was told to walk to a class fellow’s house nearby by mum, who always wanted me to socialize more. Knowing I’d never have the confidence to actually go up to her house and meet her (we weren’t very close), I took the book with me to read on the way. Though many details elude me, except that it was a dull afternoon when I had to wander around and force myself to read, I still remember a little revelation that dawned upon me. There was a dog in the series by the name of Timmy- same name as a white, adorable dog my uncle had had for as long as I could remember. So this was how Timmy had got its name. I always wondered where such a foreign name came from. I told mum about my discovery and she had a faint smile on her face though she said nothing. I understood I was peering into her inner child. Enid Blyton was her childhood and I, later on, discovered J.K. Rowling to be mine. That long dull afternoon, I realized the significance of art of telling stories.
But how magical was her own life that equipped her with the skill to bring such beautiful stories to the children around the world? What kept her producing thousands of words per day? From where did all those notions of adventure and crime-solving entwined with a juvenile sense of integrity in her young protagonists and the fun in everyday boarding school life originate? It is a fact that most of the authors draw inspiration from their own lives, converting their own insecurities and fears into words and forming attributes of their characters. When Enid Blyton left her home, she was determined not to forget being a child like most of the grown-ups do; to remember their fears, their aspirations, their thoughts and reactions to their environment. She was mentally arrested in childhood.
The abandonment of her father left her young mind scarred. She later left home and her mother and two younger brothers to train as a teacher and also in hopes of becoming a writer - a much needed escape from the pain of separation from her father with whom she was much attached. Although her early life was sad, her stories weren't dark except for a couple. Her books don’t speak much of her plight. Her stories were more of an escape for her than for her young readers. The fantasy and adventure world she had created was for shutting out her own doleful thoughts and indulge in a world of happiness, fun, suspense and danger too but never sad endings- much of what children’s books are all about. No young reader could ever guess what this seemingly joyful woman had been through during her youth. So is the case with many successful authors.
And then there are quite a lot of writers who brought to light the real problems with the society, the predicament of the destitute, corruption of the institutions that ultimately lead to misery of the less privileged, something which they could relate to as they themselves were, at some point in their lives, victims of such cruel fates. These are the stories that touch our hearts and make us weep and, therefore, stay with us for a long while. These are the stories that are read over and over again by peoples in different languages for ages and ages till those yellowish pages are dog-eared and then newer editions are stacked on the bookshelves. These are the authors who, in spite of their trials and tribulations, bring us the best of stories from their curious world of imagination and dreams. These are the most loved, the most read authors of all time, who might not have been very rich or well-known in their days (many of them went by pseudonyms), but got the sort of appreciation that stands above material things.
As I read on about the most influential and well-known writers and dream away, I find these sad and shocking revelations about their private lives too unnerving. Jane Austen - author of some of the most romantic stories in English literature ever, who gave us such inspiring female protagonists and such memorable male characters that became symbols of male chivalry and desirability - herself could never enjoy a happy ending that she so delightfully gave her heroines. The young Brontes lost their mother at an early age leaving their raw minds to ripen on their own. Charles Dickens was a victim of the scourge of child labour as his family was burdened by debts on his father, who became imprisoned in the Marshalsea , the notorious debtor’s prison in England – the place around which his story ‘Little Dorrit’ revolves, in which he openly states the absurdity in imprisoning a man in debt and disabling him from earning and attempting to pay them off . The cruelty and contempt shown to orphaned or abandoned children, that was quite prevalent at the time young Dickens was trying to earn a living, was experienced by him first hand and is the main theme for his novels ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘David Copperfield’ and others.
So here I am left in a little dilemma myself. Is a tumultuous past or doleful fate what keeps a writer typing? Is the universal tragedy of life and death all that brings true inspiration that causes a stir in the river of thoughts, later translated into words that are typed for hours and hours, compiled to make sense out of and revised and revised again till a masterpiece is created? After all, what is a story without a tragedy? How will a writer picture so accurately those feelings he himself has never felt? To write a tragedy, to write of friendship, loyalty, love, betrayal and loss one must experience the concoction of these emotions and situations that evoke them. But it is undeniable that the job of writing, to a great extent, depends on the writer’s ability to imagine. Many writers write of places they’ve never been to, like Bram Stoker, the creator of the world’s most famous vampire- Dracula, never travelled to Transylvania, or make up characters, the likes of which they've never met, or of situations they’ve never found themselves in as being a writer is not the same as being a historian. Imagination is a writer’s biggest asset. Where would they be without it? But to touch people’s hearts the formula is simple: identify with them. Strangely enough, we tend to be entertained by accurately written interpretations of our own simple emotions, a little surprised that other people also feel the same way and a little cautious as if something was stolen from us, something we thought only we emotionally experienced and had concealed it. Nevertheless, one likes to see a part of oneself in the characters one reads about and it’s the imagination that gets the writer a special place in the people’s hearts. But for all that, the correct portrayal of life and emotions is imperative.
So, as I muse on, I fear I’ll never even get to the point of notability as an author. Although I believe one experiences enough troubles in one’s life to write a book about and with a good imagination and grip on language one can become a writer, I’m not sure if I had ever really been through something that would fill me through and through and inspire me to the extent of keeping the ink flowing through the pen. So, the question remains- Must one suffer in order to achieve literary excellence in narrating a remarkable story about life and its tragedies? Must the genius prepare himself for rejection from the society for openly voicing his views on the shortcomings of our society, the intricacies of human nature, politics and spirituality? If this hypothesis that a personal tragedy may lead to a literary success is true, then I must go through something terrible or feel some loss deeply to be able to depict those feelings precisely, something I am glad I have never known or maybe were too young to fully comprehend. But if I were to be a writer and a good one too, I admit that I wouldn’t feel confident writing about death or a feeling of perpetual despair if I had to. Of course, depression or unhappiness is not unknown to me, but from what I've read about an immeasurable grief, it is something I can gladly say I’ve never been through. Tragedy is not something to ask for but I can’t deny that sometimes I find myself desiring it just for the sake of enrichment by the experience. Not a good thing to put your mind to, though. I don’t recommend it. Maybe I’m a little mad or maybe it’s how everything around us worships a tragedy; the literature, the theatre, the films and all other sorts of media. Like I said before: what is a story without a tragedy?
But how magical was her own life that equipped her with the skill to bring such beautiful stories to the children around the world? What kept her producing thousands of words per day? From where did all those notions of adventure and crime-solving entwined with a juvenile sense of integrity in her young protagonists and the fun in everyday boarding school life originate? It is a fact that most of the authors draw inspiration from their own lives, converting their own insecurities and fears into words and forming attributes of their characters. When Enid Blyton left her home, she was determined not to forget being a child like most of the grown-ups do; to remember their fears, their aspirations, their thoughts and reactions to their environment. She was mentally arrested in childhood.
The abandonment of her father left her young mind scarred. She later left home and her mother and two younger brothers to train as a teacher and also in hopes of becoming a writer - a much needed escape from the pain of separation from her father with whom she was much attached. Although her early life was sad, her stories weren't dark except for a couple. Her books don’t speak much of her plight. Her stories were more of an escape for her than for her young readers. The fantasy and adventure world she had created was for shutting out her own doleful thoughts and indulge in a world of happiness, fun, suspense and danger too but never sad endings- much of what children’s books are all about. No young reader could ever guess what this seemingly joyful woman had been through during her youth. So is the case with many successful authors.
And then there are quite a lot of writers who brought to light the real problems with the society, the predicament of the destitute, corruption of the institutions that ultimately lead to misery of the less privileged, something which they could relate to as they themselves were, at some point in their lives, victims of such cruel fates. These are the stories that touch our hearts and make us weep and, therefore, stay with us for a long while. These are the stories that are read over and over again by peoples in different languages for ages and ages till those yellowish pages are dog-eared and then newer editions are stacked on the bookshelves. These are the authors who, in spite of their trials and tribulations, bring us the best of stories from their curious world of imagination and dreams. These are the most loved, the most read authors of all time, who might not have been very rich or well-known in their days (many of them went by pseudonyms), but got the sort of appreciation that stands above material things.
As I read on about the most influential and well-known writers and dream away, I find these sad and shocking revelations about their private lives too unnerving. Jane Austen - author of some of the most romantic stories in English literature ever, who gave us such inspiring female protagonists and such memorable male characters that became symbols of male chivalry and desirability - herself could never enjoy a happy ending that she so delightfully gave her heroines. The young Brontes lost their mother at an early age leaving their raw minds to ripen on their own. Charles Dickens was a victim of the scourge of child labour as his family was burdened by debts on his father, who became imprisoned in the Marshalsea , the notorious debtor’s prison in England – the place around which his story ‘Little Dorrit’ revolves, in which he openly states the absurdity in imprisoning a man in debt and disabling him from earning and attempting to pay them off . The cruelty and contempt shown to orphaned or abandoned children, that was quite prevalent at the time young Dickens was trying to earn a living, was experienced by him first hand and is the main theme for his novels ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘David Copperfield’ and others.
So here I am left in a little dilemma myself. Is a tumultuous past or doleful fate what keeps a writer typing? Is the universal tragedy of life and death all that brings true inspiration that causes a stir in the river of thoughts, later translated into words that are typed for hours and hours, compiled to make sense out of and revised and revised again till a masterpiece is created? After all, what is a story without a tragedy? How will a writer picture so accurately those feelings he himself has never felt? To write a tragedy, to write of friendship, loyalty, love, betrayal and loss one must experience the concoction of these emotions and situations that evoke them. But it is undeniable that the job of writing, to a great extent, depends on the writer’s ability to imagine. Many writers write of places they’ve never been to, like Bram Stoker, the creator of the world’s most famous vampire- Dracula, never travelled to Transylvania, or make up characters, the likes of which they've never met, or of situations they’ve never found themselves in as being a writer is not the same as being a historian. Imagination is a writer’s biggest asset. Where would they be without it? But to touch people’s hearts the formula is simple: identify with them. Strangely enough, we tend to be entertained by accurately written interpretations of our own simple emotions, a little surprised that other people also feel the same way and a little cautious as if something was stolen from us, something we thought only we emotionally experienced and had concealed it. Nevertheless, one likes to see a part of oneself in the characters one reads about and it’s the imagination that gets the writer a special place in the people’s hearts. But for all that, the correct portrayal of life and emotions is imperative.
So, as I muse on, I fear I’ll never even get to the point of notability as an author. Although I believe one experiences enough troubles in one’s life to write a book about and with a good imagination and grip on language one can become a writer, I’m not sure if I had ever really been through something that would fill me through and through and inspire me to the extent of keeping the ink flowing through the pen. So, the question remains- Must one suffer in order to achieve literary excellence in narrating a remarkable story about life and its tragedies? Must the genius prepare himself for rejection from the society for openly voicing his views on the shortcomings of our society, the intricacies of human nature, politics and spirituality? If this hypothesis that a personal tragedy may lead to a literary success is true, then I must go through something terrible or feel some loss deeply to be able to depict those feelings precisely, something I am glad I have never known or maybe were too young to fully comprehend. But if I were to be a writer and a good one too, I admit that I wouldn’t feel confident writing about death or a feeling of perpetual despair if I had to. Of course, depression or unhappiness is not unknown to me, but from what I've read about an immeasurable grief, it is something I can gladly say I’ve never been through. Tragedy is not something to ask for but I can’t deny that sometimes I find myself desiring it just for the sake of enrichment by the experience. Not a good thing to put your mind to, though. I don’t recommend it. Maybe I’m a little mad or maybe it’s how everything around us worships a tragedy; the literature, the theatre, the films and all other sorts of media. Like I said before: what is a story without a tragedy?
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You should keep writing, and not be discouraged if you don't get well-received sometimes. It is like baseball, you keep appearing and sooner or later you will get hits, perhaps even a home run!
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