“MISS HAVISHAM - A FRACTURED FAIRY TALE”
PHOTO STORY
- May 15, 2019
Bonnie Errin
Special thanks to artist and photographer Michael Goltz who brought my story to life.
The 35th anniversary of my wedding day (20th of my divorce) was April 14th and I wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion. Miss Havisham, an eccentric wealthy spinster in “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, has always been a character that intrigued me. Having been abandoned on her wedding day by her fiancée, Miss Havisham allows this one traumatic event to define her life. Time stopped that day for Miss Havisham and she consciously decides to never move past her heartbreak. For decades she wears her wedding dress every day and the decaying wedding regalia remains throughout her home as a constant remnder of the betrayal. Revenge and rage consume Miss Havisham robbing her of a normal life. Satris House where she lives becomes a personal prison where she is the only prisoner. She is physically and emotionally frozen in tme. Alone, surrounded by what was once hope for the future, now a past that haunts her. And do, for my 35th anniversity of my wedding day, I decided to open my bridal chest and become Miss Havisham for a photo story.
A FRACTURED FAIRY TALE
As a little girl I remember many fairy tales of the beautiful princess who married the handsome prince and they lived happily ever after. Barbie had Ken, Minnie had Mickey, and too knew that someday I would marry and liver happily ever after. A wedding day represents hope for the future and a belief that dreams ca come true. I can imagine Miss Havisham’s shock, humiliation, and heartbreak when she found out the fairy tale wasn’t true.
Many of us, like Miss Havisham, have come to realize this fairy tale doesn’t always have a happy ending. Bad things happen in life. Sometimes so bad you can’t imagine how you will go on. But unlike Miss Havisham, you can’t let such events rob you of your life. Time won’t stand still. Even if we shut the world out, life goes on. Challenges lurk in the shadows – divorce, illness, loneliness, financial loss, and so many more. But you can’t hide in the darkness. You must rmember that some of the fairy tale is true. There is hope for the future and you can change your stars. But it takes determination and maybe a few steps backwards before moving forward.
NEVER GIVE UP
There are countless examples of people who faced great challenges in life and were able to overcome them. Steve Jobs was put up for adoption when born and fired from the very company he stared. J.K. Rowling was divorced, suffering from depression, had an infant daughter, and on welfare when she began writing the “Harry Potter” series. Charlize Theron was 15 when she witnessed her mother shoot her alcoholic father in an act of self-defense. We all know friends and family member who have overcome a personal struggle. And the one thing all of these people have in common? They never gave up.
When looking at my wedding dress after so many years, I think of how much I have experienced and grown. Like Miss Havisham, I too was unlucky in love. I had a choice to be bitter orgo on with my life after my divorce. I chose to live my life and let the past bury itself. I would have missed out on so much had I done otherwise.
Let Miss Havisham to a lesson to us all. We get one life to live. Don’t cheat yourself and waste a minute of your precious time on this earth cultivating hate and resentent. Learn from the fractured fair tale as it will make you strong and bring you close to living life – happily ever after.
THE SCENE
The scene development for the photo story was set with symbolism from both Miss Havisham and myself. The “jewels”, crystal, and silver on the table symbolizing Miss Havisham’s wealth were mainly acquired during my marriage. The engagement ring I wore was my own and had originally belonged to my ex-mother-in-law. The hunt scene print on the wall was my first anniversary present.
SYMBOLISM
I love the symbolism Dickens used in portraying Miss Havisham and this was included or improvised as best as possible in the scene. The clock was stopped at twenty minutes to nine, the moment Miss Havisham learned that her fiancée was gone. Her life as she knew it stopped then. She wears only one shoe because she had not yet put on the other shoe when she received the news that the wedding ceremony was canceled. A symbol of being undressed or unfinished – the wedding ceremony wasn’t completed. The curtains were drawn shutting out the light. Only a few candles were lit indicating the darkness that Miss Havisham chose for her life. The magnifying-glass symbolizes Miss Havisham’s inability to see a path moving forward. The bible represents her eventual redemption in recognizing her sins and expressing remorse. And of course, last but not least, the wedding dress. Upon opening the bridal chest, my dress was still in perfect condition. No sign of the 30 plus years of highs and lows, successes and failures, happiness and utter despair. It appeared like the day I wore it, full of hope and promise.