Veronika is
an ordinary girl in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. She lives a quiet
life at her rented room in a convent, has a job in a library, has a mother who
loves her, has friends to hang out on weekends. Is she happy? No. Is she
unhappy? No. Well, how is she, then? She isn’t feeling anything, and that is
why she decides to die, by swallowing dozens of sleeping pills one night before
going to bed. The problem is, the pills didn’t work as she’d expected. Instead
of going either to heaven or hell, she ends up at Villete, an asylum which was
just opened in Slovenia.
According to
thefreediroctorydotcom, asylum is “an
institution for the care of people, especially
those with physical or mental impairments, who require organized supervision or
assistance”. We used to call it a place for mad or insane people. But in
the case of Veronika, do you think she’s insane? Before the suicide attempt, I
bet her friends would have said that Veronika looked like a normal person; she
wasn’t depressed or sad about anything. But all the same, she ends up in
Villete, marked as an insane.
As soon as
she awakes (the book doesn’t tell us how or who has helped Veronika from the
suicide attempt), the doctor tells her that she has a heart disease and can
only survive for a week. During that time she learns a lot about what we used
to call insanity. She meets Zedka—a woman who is on treatment for depression;
Mari—a female lawyer who suffers from panic attack; Eduard—a young man with
schizophrenia who loves to listen on Veronika’s piano playing at the hall; and
many others with similar condition. Why did they all end up in Villete? It’s
not because they have something lose in the head, but because they are
different from others, from the world.
People like
Veronika used to be normal like us, but they lack the power of being themselves.
People or institutions often expect us to be like what others are. The problem
occurs when we have ideas that are different with the world BUT don’t have the
power or ability to fight others’ expectation. In the end we become someone
else. This second ‘me’ is created upon others’ expectation just like a robot.
She/he doesn’t feel happy or unhappy. They just do what they are expected to
do. In the end there is numbness in their souls, and this condition leads to
mental disorder we often call insanity.
Dr. Igor,
the Head of Villete is having a research to find the cure for the bitterness
which infects most of the asylum, the bitterness which he called Vitriol.
Vitriol is the culprit of these insanities. When Veronika arrived in Villete,
Dr. Igor knew he must grab the chance to make his final experiment. And indeed,
Veronika, along with her own battle has helped Zedka, Mari, and Eduard to rethink
about leaving Villete—where they are confined in the safety from having to
adapt to the world who ignore them—and finding their own selves, which have
been confined under their ‘second’ me’.
It is very
interesting to read about psychology thing like this, and Paulo Coelho is
indeed a good story teller. But I see the matter a bit differently from Coelho’s
perspective (as I gather from this book). I agree that one must be brave to be
oneself; as men are created uniquely by God. But that doesn’t give one rights
to do or to get what one wants. Life always has a limit. A limit from God—that is
consciousness; a limit from government; a limit from others who have authority
towards us: parents, boss, etc. One can’t just kick that barriers and do what
one wants only under pretext of delivering one’s freedom to be oneself.
Sometimes we just have to compromise. We don’t always know what is best for us,
nor our parents either.
Let’s take
Veronika case: she wanted to be a pianist, but her mother forbade her and asked
her to finish school. If she obeys she couldn’t make her dream, but if she
disobeys she feels guilty to disappoint the mother who loved her. If I can
advise Veronika, I’d tell her to compromise; to change her way of thinking. If
it possible, Veronika can still work in the Library (hey…I would love that
opportunity very much!), and join a music group or something, so that she can
still play piano, while financing her family. Sometimes, we do not know what God
planned for us. Maybe, selfish it was, our parents’ wish was what God had wanted
us for. Maybe it’s the best way for us to lead a better life.
So, in the
end, not getting what we want is not always a defeat; we still have the power—the
power to decide what we will do. I wanted to be a dancer when I was in junior high
school, but my parents disagreed because it’s not a promising career for me. I
then worked as a secretary (until now), and I believe it’s the best decision
for my own good. It’s just the way of thinking, to know that I have chosen to
let go of my dream because I trusted my parents and loved them. And now I
always try to love my job as a secretary, although I can’t say 100% that I love
it! :)
Three and a half stars for Veronika and Coelho.
~~~~~~~~
I read Indonesian translation from KPG (Gramedia Group)
*This book is counted
as:*
