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December 6, 2004
Thoughts on Carrington
Recently we screened, in conjunction with the New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute, the film "Carrington." The reaction from the group seemed very positive as most folks were deply moved by the film. I certainly was. I was struck by our inquiry into the emotional health of Dora Carrington, who loved a number of men but was not able to feel comfortable committing to any of them in a marriage. Some of our group thought this was a deficit in her development - that she could only completely love the unattainable gay man, Lytton Strachey. Others saw her freedom to love whom ever and as long as she wished as a sign of personal strength, especially in Britian in 1916- 1931, when women's autonomy was just beginning to impact social life. I tend toward identifying more with this second position and believe this was the intention of the film makers. I believe she had a fully mature relationship with Lytton despite the implication that they did not share in the sexual aspects. Perhaps this is even up for debate. But her suicide, which was her testimony that a life without Lytton was not worth living, arouses questions as to whether she was not unduly and tragically tied to Lytton to the extent that she was unable to see any possiblities in her life after his death. I raise this question for the blog readers: does loving someone so much that to live without them is intolerable signify some kind of unheathy pathology, or is this the very archetype of the passionate life?
Posted by lyceum at December 6, 2004 5:33 PM
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