"Every journey into the past is complicated by delusions, false memories, false namings of real events."
-Adrienne Rich
At the beginning of Teddy Daniels' journey on Shutter Island, he believes he's a hero; a chaste champion who stays true to his deceased wife. In his dreams, she's maternal and loving. She pleads with her husband to let go of her. She believes she was the innocent victim of a mad arsonist, but this is not true. This false memory only holds partial truths, fragments of events Teddy cannot bring himself to face. The truth is he has complicated his past with his delusional beliefs. His wife was manic depressive. His response was to stay away from home and become a alcoholic. She burned down their apartment building, his response was more denial; he moved the family out to a lake house. This was the last straw: she took their three children out to the lake and drowned them. Teddy's denial and delusions cost his children their lives.
Teddy is not alone; it's the nature of our memories. I don't believe many people have this level of trauma in their past but we all have been guilty of creating false memories and delusions. After a bad breakup, for months and sometimes even years afterwards, we hate the same person we once loved. Every moment of shared bliss is scrutinized for clues, warnings signs that could have spared us pain. Every argument becomes intensified, every quirk once thought of as cute and adorable becomes annoying and disgusting. Even the good times are marginalized; colored as cruel and wasted time. Our former love becomes demonized. At the same time, we hold ourselves up as blameless, innocent victims of heartache. It becomes so hard to understand how this person managed to make us care. We were doped into feeling like we couldn't live without them and are now left to deal with this bitter earth alone. At least, that's what our journey into the past tells us.
The mind can be unyielding when it comes to letting go of the person once loved. Examining our role in their transformation from loved one to loathed one can be a Herculean task. Teddy couldn't let go of the idea of what his wife was, otherwise he would have never married her. Teddy also could not see his on guilt and culpability; like looking through a glass darkly. In This Bitter Earth, Dinah Washington sings "And if my life is like the dust/That hides the glow of a rose/What good am I/Heaven only knows." Shutter Island is a tale of caution: how if we're not careful, the delusions we create will become our bitter earth.
Teddy is not alone; it's the nature of our memories. I don't believe many people have this level of trauma in their past but we all have been guilty of creating false memories and delusions. After a bad breakup, for months and sometimes even years afterwards, we hate the same person we once loved. Every moment of shared bliss is scrutinized for clues, warnings signs that could have spared us pain. Every argument becomes intensified, every quirk once thought of as cute and adorable becomes annoying and disgusting. Even the good times are marginalized; colored as cruel and wasted time. Our former love becomes demonized. At the same time, we hold ourselves up as blameless, innocent victims of heartache. It becomes so hard to understand how this person managed to make us care. We were doped into feeling like we couldn't live without them and are now left to deal with this bitter earth alone. At least, that's what our journey into the past tells us.
The mind can be unyielding when it comes to letting go of the person once loved. Examining our role in their transformation from loved one to loathed one can be a Herculean task. Teddy couldn't let go of the idea of what his wife was, otherwise he would have never married her. Teddy also could not see his on guilt and culpability; like looking through a glass darkly. In This Bitter Earth, Dinah Washington sings "And if my life is like the dust/That hides the glow of a rose/What good am I/Heaven only knows." Shutter Island is a tale of caution: how if we're not careful, the delusions we create will become our bitter earth.
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