by Kimberly Richardson

Created on: November 17, 2009

There have been many claims that there is a connection between creativity and madness; famous artists, writers, and others with their gift for beyond the mundane appear to the outsider to be touched with a spark of insanity; where else could some of our creative accomplishments come from? For those of us on the inside, however, it is a complexly different experience; a world in which only the few many enter and even less could ever possibly leave not voluntarily. Speaking as a creative person myself, I find this to be true; my stories for my novel and future books come from something deep within me, something that people on the outside could never understand and if they did, would run away in fright. There is also the theory that creative people use Muses as guides for their work, for they remove all blocks from the mind, leading to a full immersion of the world only they know of. Throughout history, the Muse has been viewed from a source of creativity to madness itself to a destructive force tamed by the artist and so on.

Muses have been worshipped, feared, reviled, and loved during the history of humankind and their presence will never go away, even if it means death to the artist. Such is the case with Elizabeth Hand's mesmerizing novel Mortal Love. The novel tells of three very different yet similar stories of artistic men influenced by a woman who is clearly not of this world. While one story takes place in the 1800s and the other two take place in present time, the woman in all three is the same. She is of legend and myths told long ago, a woman who cannot remember her true name or her lives from before. Normal people are drawn to her because she represents what artists spend most of their lives looking for; true creative freedom with the willingness to let everything go. She is unhindered and wild but is a grave danger to those who are not like her. When she loves someone, she literally steals a piece of their life and their sanity away from them, leaving them wanting only more while knowing that more of her would certainly kill them. Such is the price and yet those within the three stories would gladly pay it.

Hand's writing quickly drew me in from the beginning and refused to let me go until the very end; once I reached the end of the novel, I was saddened to see it end and even re-read the last page just to make sure I did not miss anything important in her words. Hand writes as a writer who has experienced her tales on a personal level. Did Hand experience the seductive and life threatening touch of the Muse of whom she wrote of? Was there someone in her life that influenced her greatly in her life as a writer that was beyond all human comprehension? Did the strange green colour mentioned in her work tempt her as well? Whatever the case may be, Mortal Love gives insight as to the world of the creatives and the Muses that support and, in some cases, destroy those whom they love. In order to create, one must be willing to sacrifice a piece of themselves, knowing that they cannot ever get it back. The Muse shows us the way; all we can do is follow.

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