The old series of sittings with Mrs. Piper convinced me of survival for reasons which I should find it hard to formulate in any strict fashion, but that was their distinct effect.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I have survived by representing these sufferings of mine in the form of the novel.
While books provided me with some escape from the mental and physical horrors of my early life, they were unreliable. Many times the protagonists suffered terribly and then died at the end.
Another thing I learned is that novels, even those from apparently distant times and places, remain current and enlightening, and also comforting.
In those early days, the important thing was the happy ending. I did not tolerate unhappy endings - for my heroines, anyway. And later on, I began to read things like 'Wuthering Heights,' and very, very unhappy endings would take place, so I changed my ideas completely and went in for the tragic, which I enjoyed.
When I was young I read 'L'Etranger' by Camus, and it made me aware of the strangeness of life.
John Currin's exaggerated realism and his twisted women kept me off balance, never knowing if they were sincere or ironic or some new emotion.
When I was a teenager, I used to love the Bronte books, 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre.' In those books, the women do usually manage to heal the men, but in life, I've found it's often the woman gets wounded. Instead of healing a man, she gets affected by his cruelty.
I am a huge fan of Adrian Piper: how she works, how she reveals her process in the work, how she writes about it.
Characters stretching their legs in some calm haven generally don't make for interesting protagonists.
One thing is certain. The old Piper Laurie is no more.