The Wheel is
Come Full Circle
Circle of Life
김 강산 / Visual Art
-
Kim Na Eon
Non-Fiction
Life is a circle. It is a cycle. It is an incessant repetition of life and
death, of joy and sorrow, of love and hurt, of fullness and hunger.
It is a cycle that comes from the red flesh beneath every scar
that returns to the blue of cure and refreshment. A human being,
existing in its pure form - nothing but ashen bones - tries to put
an end to this cycle, to escape from it, to pull the rope that will
free him from it, but he cannot. Circle, it is said, does not have a
end...
In the world of Hollywood, life seems to be so simple: the good have their happy endings
and the evil burn in the depths of hell. Many of us criticize this overly simplified notion of
life and sometimes even mock the countless clichés that appear so blatantly in the many
films. However, this repeated theme of retribution, in which the results of one’s actions
come back “full circle,” is not one that is only found in the realm of Hollywood. Rather, it is
one that can be continuously found within the depths of literature. Many interpretations of
this theme can be found in literature, and some of them include those found in “The Count
of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas, “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte and “Romeo and
Juliet” by William Shakespeare. In “The Count of Monte Cristo,” we witness an incident
in which a person takes upon the role of the avenging angel, and in “Jane Eyre,” we see an
episode in which no matter how hard we try to disguise the truth, it is inevitably revealed. In
Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” it is shown how the hatred and sins of the past generation
return as a scene of tragedy to the next generation.
In “The Count of Monte Cristo,” we are privy to a story of a man who takes retribution into
his own hands—after experiencing great pain and betrayal, the protagonist Edmond Dantes
decides to take revenge upon all who afflicted pain upon him. At first, Dantes seems to feel
that his quest for revenge is clearly justified and even holy, as if he is taking upon God’s
work. We also see that he compares himself to the angel of providence, further highlighting
that Dantes views his quest for revenge as sacred and valid. However, as time passes, Dantes
comes to doubt his role in taking revenge. After his task for retribution leads to the death of
an innocent, he comes to realise that he is only human and is not capable of accomplishing
the acts of retribution. This is supported by the words “he could no longer say ‘God is for
and with me,’” which seems to show Dantes’ rejection of an elevated status as compared to
before when he compared himself to an angel. After his quest for retribution, Dantes comes
to acknowledge the limitations of human justice, and realizes that only God has the power of
providence.
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Whereas in “The Count of Monte Cristo,” a man himself took upon the role of an avenging
angel, in “Jane Eyre,” we see how the truth is inevitably revealed, and retribution is done. In
the novel, Edward Rochester hides his marriage to Bertha Mason while attempting to marry
Jane Eyre. He attempts to run away from his past, even hiring a maid, Grace Poole to keep
her under control. However, the truth is revealed when Bertha Mason’s brother interrupts the
marriage of Rochester and Eyre. In the end, Rochester says that “divine justice pursued its
course,” realizing tha