זיכרונות של אימהות ובית: שוטטות ספרותית בבתים ריקים כדרך להתמודדות עם פרידה ואובדן

In this article I will explore the connections between the physical space of the house—the domicile in which we are born, live and die—embodied childhood memories, and the maternal representation. I will discuss the emotional potential of this special piece of physical environment to facilitate experiences of holding and containment and assist in the internalization of benevolent objects. Based on two literary works dealing with wanderings in empty houses—To the Lighthouse (1927) by Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) and Moominvalley in November (1970) by Tove Jansson (1914-2001)—I will demonstrate how the act of writing about childhood spaces serves as a way for the artist-writer to process painfully complex relationships with their mothers and face the pain and loss of their demise. I base my discussion on Thomas Ogden’s (2000) concept of “the art of mourning” in order to suggest that a creative interaction with the domestic space may provide a distinct way to deal with grief. In addition, I use Andre Green’s (1997, 1998) concept of “negative hallucination” in order to illustrate how the house, and images of the house, might become a space to process relationships with internal objects as well as serve as an emotional container in times of grief. Naturally, the notions of motherhood and home are closely related (as Claire Winnicott entitled the posthumous collection of her husband’s works Home is Where We Start From [1986 ]), and many of the primary holding experiences which are linked to the maternal function are echoed in the relations we have with the houses in which we grew up. Early memories from the primary environment, as are well-depicted in the House-Tree-Person drawing task, are of course based largely on the contact with the mother and the primary caregivers, but alongside these there is always a house, in the sense of a concrete physical environment that surrounds,and ought to shelter the baby, but may not. Remembered childhood spaces will therefore hold not only the memories of primary relationships, but also aesthetic impressions and sensual memories which are attached to the non-human objects which that space contains. Focusing on the material aspects of the primary environment, I argue that the physical house can become a holding environment and that engaging with the memories of space might provide an opportunity for dealing with the feelings embodied in it. Moreover, in the process of mourning memories from childhood, such spaces have a special value. According to psychoanalyst Thomas Ogden, successful mourning often involves a demand we make on ourselves to perform an act of creation that can meet or be equal to that which has been lost. Ogden calls this “the art of mourning,” emphasizing that the creativity involved does not need to be an extraordinary work of art, and can be expressed in thought, memory, dream, or story. I believe that this act of creativity can also be performed in relation to the actual domestic environment that encompasses an individual or to the memories of such environments, thereby allowing a space where one can perform the creative act, confront the loss, and come to terms with it. Two examples of this process are presented. The first is that of Finnish author and painter Tove Jansson, who during the year following her mother’s death, retired to a small island and began to edit the final book in her “Moomin” series. In this book, Jansson meticulously portrays the house of the Moomins and its surroundings. The characters in her book experience loneliness and pain, their longing echoing those of Jansson herself. The second illustration of dealing with grief through an encounter with memories of space and home can be seen in Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse. Contrary to Jansson,Woolf’s imaginary wanderings through her childhood surroundings take place many years after her mother’s actual demise. However, in her autobiography Woolf states that writing this book assisted her emotionally in dealing with her complex relationship with her mother. In their own idiosyncratic ways,both Jansson and Woolf describe a house interwoven with the image of their mothers. In the dual space that is simultaneously physical and metaphorical,the mourning process thus becomes possible.