Adultery
By: Paulo Coelho
Paulo
Coelho’s latest novel is Adultery. That is what it is. A book about infidelity
/ unfaithfulness / extramarital sex / adultery … defined as voluntary sexual
intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse.
Then why would anyone expect this novel
to be mysterious, cryptic, intense, deep, spiritually inspiring, mystifying or
enigmatic? Because …. It’s written by THE PAULO COELHO.
As I
was reading reviews of the book, (and there were definitely a lot of negative
reviews) I came across one blogger who said that the book isn’t just about
adultery and sex, but about a woman’s struggle with her mind, probably a mental
illness. There was no mention of any mental disease in the book that the lead
character may have been suffering from.
She apparently never believed nor trusted any of the three psychiatrists
she consulted.
***
Here
are some quotes from the novel that may suggest or indicate that the lead
character is suffering from mental illness.
“Every morning, when I open my eyes to the so-called
‘new day’, I feel like closing them again, staying in bed and not getting up.”
“I
arouse desire in men and envy in other women.”
“And
yet, every morning, when I open my eyes to this ideal life that everyone dreams
of having but few achieve, I know the day will be a disaster.”
These
first three quotes were taken from just the first page of the novel. Clearly,
the woman is unhappy despite living an ideal life that most ordinary women can
only dream of. She continues to verbalize how she is adored by men and how other
women are envious of her. Such a narcissist! (If you know
someone afflicted with this syndrome, stay as far away from this person.
Narcissism has no cure.) Then at the bottom of
the first page it is written that the woman predicts and is quite sure that her
day will be tragic, awful and in her own words … a disaster.”
***
The following
quotes reveal or simply make obvious that the woman is extremely unhappy,
lonely, depressed, and definitely mentally ill.
She said so herself!
“What’s wrong with routine and boredom?”
“Would
I be capable of facing the world alone if my husband died?”
“When I
got home and entered the enchanted realm of my domestic world. Everything would
seem marvelous for a few hours, until everyone went to bed.”
“When
night comes and no one is watching, I feel afraid of everything: life, death,
love or the lack of it; the fact that all novelties quickly become habits; the
feeling that I’m wasting the best years of my life in a pattern that will be
repeated over and over until I die; and sheer panic at facing the unknown,
however exciting and adventurous that might be.”
“And
then suddenly, for no reason, I get into the shower and burst into tears. I can cry there because no one can hear my
sobs or ask me the question I hate most:
Are you all right?”
“Yes,
why shouldn’t I be? Is there anything wrong with my life? No, nothing.
Only the nights that fills me with dread. The days I can’t get excited
about. The happy images from the past and the things that could have been but
weren’t. The desire for adventure never fulfilled. The terror of not knowing
what will happen to my children…. Then my thoughts start to circle negative
things, always the same, as if there were a devil watching from one corner of
the room, ready to leap out and tell me what I call ‘happiness’ is merely a
passing phase, that nothing lasts. Surely I know that.”
“But I
know myself. I know that my only
reaction will be to repress my feelings until a cancer starts eating me up
inside. Because I do actually believe that many illnesses are the result of
repressed emotions?
“The fact is, I’m tired of having such a happy,
perfect life. And that can only be a sign of mental illness.
“Apathy. Pretending to be happy, pretending to
be sad, pretending to have an orgasm, pretending to be having fun, pretending
that you’ve slept well, pretending that you’re alive. Until there comes a point where you reach an
imaginary red line and realize that if you cross it, there will be no turning
back. Then you stop complaining, because complaining means that you are at
least still battling something. You
accept the vegetative state and try to conceal it from everyone. And that’s
hard work.” P. 19 of Adultery.
“My food has no taste. My smile, on the other
hand, grows even wider so that no one will suspect, and I swallow my desire to
cry. The light outside seems gray.”
Apathy …
means lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern. Indifferent, unconcerned,
uninterested, unexcited, unresponsive, uncaring, uninvolved, unimpressed,
detached. She is definitely suffering
from a mental illness. And Paulo Coelho
just had to include the phrase “pretending to have an orgasm”. There seems to
be no need for that phrase, but since this is a book on illicit sex and
extramarital affairs, that phrase clearly introduces, paves the way, and segues
the mood, the pervading tone of the novel. I
have read most of Paulo Coehlo’s novels.
I’m a fan. I admire his views, thoughts and insights on life, love,
happiness, spirituality. That is why he has 25 million fans in his Facebook
page, and about 10 million more in his other social networking sites. People love him. People love his books.
People buy his books. He doesn’t have to
write about sex or include graphic details of forbidden love and sex just to
sell more books. I don’t even think he
cares about the financial aspect or sale of his books.
Dear Mr. Paulo Coelho ..,. I hope this will be
the last time you will write about bad sex, forbidden love or pornography. Adultery started out looking like a Paulo
Coelho novel, but ended up being a poorly written book.
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