I first read Pet Semetary when it came out, many years ago and it was a pretty darn scary book at the time. I re-read when I was recovering from surgery in 2001 and it was still scary. Like most movies made from Stephen King’s books, it was pretty silly and not even remotely as terror inducing as the book was. It did, however, have a great theme done by the Ramones-the aptly titled, Pet Semetary (I Don’t Want to be Buried in a).
I came across my old journals the other day. In there was a review of Pet Semetary, and a scant outline of a potential essay on its main themes of love, loss and grief.
I don’t think I fully understood the magnitude of Louis and Rachel’s grief over the loss of their son Gage when I read the book so many years ago. It was prior to myself embarking on parenthood myself, and becoming a parent is a game changer. I can’t imagine life without the little man, as Gage’s parents must now comprehend and navigate the new normal. And then there were three.
What would you do for love? Meat Loaf asked that rhetorical question during his early 90’s comeback. Would you go to the ends of the earth? Would you lay down your life for someone else? Would you resurrect them from the dead?
Louis was so beyond grieving for his dead son that he did just that-despite the dire warnings of his neighbor, Jud. Louis could not see beyond his own sadness, and was so far removed from the grief of his own wife. While it was poignant and well intentioned, the outcome was pretty gruesome.
So it goes with real life love and relationships. Sometimes they are just dead. There is nothing more to them, from ashes they came and to ashes they shall return, as if one was holding a funeral for the love that died. No matter how much one might want to will that relationship back to life, there is an element of danger. If it did get a second chance, more than likely it wouldn’t be the same. It may look the same, but it has changed and there’s no going back to how it once was.
Grief is a funny mistress. There are things that she does that make an otherwise rational, down to earth person go around the proverbial bend.
Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. Margaret D. Nadauld
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