I am an enormous fan of the novel Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden as well as of the film.  I would recommend both novel and film to anyone.  Of course, I would suggest reading the novel first, because it is truly amazing.  The film, however, presents such lovely visual imagery that it may serve a purpose for those who read the novel after.

In particular, I enjoyed the following scene.  More importantly, however, is the quote below.  In my opinion, it reflects the process of emotionally shutting down, i.e. of isolating oneself from the world around. That is that we can sometimes create distance between ourselves and others, an emotional and psychological wall, in an effort to self-protect.  We expose only the parts of ourselves that we feel are acceptable to the world around us and hide away who we truly are.

“The heart dies, a slow death,

shedding each hope like leaves…

… until one day there are

none. No hopes. Nothing remains.

She paints her face to hide her

face. Her eyes like deep water.

It is not for Geisha to

want. It is not for Geisha to feel.

Geisha is an artist

of the floating world.

She dances. She sings. She entertains you,whatever

you want. The rest is shadows. The rest is secret.”

(from Memoirs of a Geisha)

 

 

Until next time!

Best,

D.