This is one of the posts made in honor of Wink, in celebration of crochet mandalas and to raise depression awareness. See all Mandalas for Marinke posts here. I love the variegated yarn that was used for this anonymous contribution; it really reflects the powerful colorwork of a good variegated yarn. This crochet mandala was made using the standard 12 round free mandala pattern by Wink.
Since today is Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d take us to the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet, the story of two star-struck lovers who died by suicide because they couldn’t bear to be apart. It’s often hailed as a great love story, but it could be seen as a story of depression instead.
In an article on the topic for Psychology Today, Stanton Peele writes:
“Generally regarded as the greatest romance in the English language, Romeo and Juliet is actually Shakespeare’s case study of what results when two unformed-maladjusted youths meet at vulnerable points in their lives and are then forcibly separated — addiction, withdrawal, suicide.”
Mental Health America warns that the romanticized view of the Romeo and Juliet story can be dangerous:
“The problem is the way the story is presented to the audience. Often, the two young leads are shown as being deeply in love, and their suicide is a romantic act. That kind of presentation is dangerous, and can lead to a more positive view of suicide. We need to change the way the play is taught, filmed and staged to lead away from that reading to something more realistic, and in line with what the play actually says. That way, suicide is seen the way it really is, a fatal symptom of an illness.”
This is one of the posts made in honor of Wink, in celebration of crochet mandalas and to raise depression awareness. See all Mandalas for Marinke posts here.