The Fisher King and Handless Maiden are ancient myths about finding "wholeness". The king has been wounded in the groin area or upper thigh. He is unable to heal and yet he doesn't die. Fishing is all he can do now, after being a strong, virile warrior before being wounded.
The maiden has had her hands cut off in a deal her father struck with the devil. A loving husband tries to help her by having silver hands made for her but they are inefficient and cumbersome and she cannot feel with them. She lives in the woods and without hands she is only able to eat pears off a tree.
"What is wounded in each is the ability to feel.....to find joy, worth, and meaning in life" to quote from a
website on Robert A. Johnson's book on these two myths.
As I recently wrote on my other blog, urgencyofdoing.blogspot.com, this painting is an homage to getting back my own hands.
No comments:
Post a Comment