This week's theme is Night, and Carmi asks why some night-time scenes seem so sad.
"There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery." ~ Joseph Conrad
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| Van Gogh - Starry Night over the Rhone |
There are so many connotations around darkness, blackness, death... Many of us have been fearful of the night as children, and night often suggests danger and evil - just think of all the links to bad deeds, ghosts, vampires. It all goes along with the sense of night's all-encompassing darkness, and its taking-away of our sense of sight.
"Fooey! The porchlight is burnt out, and I can't see whether it's dark outside or not." ~ Dave Beard
Humans were daylight animals from their beginning, until fire then electricity came along, and night is innately associated with our feelings of vulnerability when we cannot see. Scary stuff is concealed by darkness.
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| Image: NASA |
In nearly all societies and cultures, there are stories and myths warning of the dangers of the night.
"The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve.
Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time." ~ Shakespeare
And the sadness?
If you are feeling down, lonely, frightened, then all of those feelings are magnified when night comes down.
I hate having to go to sleep. Life is so short, there are so many things I want to do: it really irks me that I have to waste a third of each day in bed asleep!
"It is one of life's bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting." ~ Lemony Snicket
Last night I went outside and thought once again that it is a shame suburban skies are so encumbered and made ugly by wires and aerials :
Good night!
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