Marie Clements’ Burning Vision explores the idea of fear and its power to uphold the normality of grief and its surprising influence to bring together those who feel it. The Widow’s fear of forgetting her husband leads her to a naive young woman in need of guidance, the Radium Painter’s fear of the unknown leads her to romantic love, and the Fat Man’s fear of loneliness grants him an adopted family. In contrast, the Labine Brothers’ fear of competition is never cured. From this, the reader can conclude that the purpose of fear is to unite those under its influence. Therefore, the uniting powers of fear drives the psychological growth of each character, inviting the creation of personal connections and unveiling the idea that the antidote to fear is love.
The Widow’s journey of grief does not progress because of the presence of fear. Initially, The Widow seems to be stuck in a stage of denial, in fear of forgetting and losing her husband. She reaches out to him in the spirit world, taunting him “to say one word to [her]” (Clements 9). This act of trying to communicate with her husband after his death implies a fear of forgetting his voice. Additionally, her detailed remembrances of him getting undressed and her wish to “smell him” (31) prove that her fear of losing her husband entirely is upholding her grief and forbidding her from moving on. …show more content…
The Widow and Rose, The Radium Painter and The Miner and Fat Man and his family accurately reflect psychological growth leading to the formation of relationships. On the other hand, Gilbert Labine proves that for love to properly eliminate fear, one must be open to a change in one’s personal goals. When Labine continues on his journey of greed, his fear of competition is never terminated. Lastly, the grief that accompanies fear becomes insignificant once the hope that accompanies love embodies a
The Widow’s journey of grief does not progress because of the presence of fear. Initially, The Widow seems to be stuck in a stage of denial, in fear of forgetting and losing her husband. She reaches out to him in the spirit world, taunting him “to say one word to [her]” (Clements 9). This act of trying to communicate with her husband after his death implies a fear of forgetting his voice. Additionally, her detailed remembrances of him getting undressed and her wish to “smell him” (31) prove that her fear of losing her husband entirely is upholding her grief and forbidding her from moving on. …show more content…
The Widow and Rose, The Radium Painter and The Miner and Fat Man and his family accurately reflect psychological growth leading to the formation of relationships. On the other hand, Gilbert Labine proves that for love to properly eliminate fear, one must be open to a change in one’s personal goals. When Labine continues on his journey of greed, his fear of competition is never terminated. Lastly, the grief that accompanies fear becomes insignificant once the hope that accompanies love embodies a