In Stranger Than Fiction, Karen Eiffel is an author who unknowingly is writing something that is actually happening in the real world. The protagonist from her book, Harold Crick, is a living, breathing human being. The question, however, is whether Miss Eiffel is the author of Harold's life, or a commentator. This question is only an implied question, and is never explicitly answered. It seems that she has the power to control his fate, as seen in this clip.
Even this, however, does not necessarily imply that she authors his life. Even though everybody in the story believes that she does.
It reminds me of a series of books that I read called Myst. You may be familiar with the computer game of the same name. These books were written by the creators of the game and take place in the same world. If you are unfamiliar, the only thing that you really need to know for this purpose is that there are books that link you to other worlds, like this:
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| Myst Linking Book
In the series, there are two characters that you need to know about: Atrus, the protagonist, and his father, Ghen. They are the people who write the Linking books. Ghen believes that he is a type of god that creates worlds by writing words on paper. Atrus, however, believes that the books that they write are simply linked to preexisting worlds. I can't remember if there is a definitive answer, but if not, then it is strongly implied that Atrus's belief is correct.
Before I tell you what I think, let me first lay it out on the table that I am a firm believer that God gives us free will. I do not believe that God is a micromanager. It just does not make sense to me that God would create the cosmos, and then decide every little happening that goes on. God wants us to love him because we want to, not because he makes us.
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| Not God.
Having said that, I personally believe, like Atrus probably would, that Karen Eiffel is writing a book that narrates the life of a preexisting person. The words she writes are determined by Harold's actions and circumstances, not the other way around.
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I think I agree with what you're saying, but I also have a question that will affect how I see what you're saying. How do you see the film we watched? As the novel Eiffel intended on writing, the one she ended with, or as something separate? I want to know your thoughts before I give you mine.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Harold took over his life in the book when he decided to live his life and not care about fate. Harold chose wisely.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great deal that you bring up in this post, all circling around the question of whether authors are creating new worlds or simply linking to preexisting worlds. The question is related to how we view art and reality: is art a mirror of reality, or is art creating new realities for us to engage with and imagine? I would suggest both. This film, in my view, tends to recognize both possibilities in the very moment of an artist's creation. She thinks she is creating a new world -- a separate world where Harold exists only in the ways she orders, or "micromanages," as you say. However, that world talks back, and as a writer, she realizes that she is not an all-powerful being. She sees the already-existing reality of what she is creating. Art mirrors life and is also in dialogue with it. Much to consider in your post!
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some very interesting points, and I especially liked your example of the book series, Myst. Though I haven't read it, the two characters mentioned seem like very similar and relevant comparisons to Karen Eiffel and the thought process she goes through. It is also a thought process many of us viewing the film have to go through in order to figure out how we see Harold and Karen's relationship. I'm wondering what you think of the idea that everything in the movie, such as Harold, his job, and basically his whole world, is actually just in Karen Eiffel's mind? We see a few of her other plot ideas that don't work, and they seem real to us for a few seconds, so how do we know that Harold isn't also in her mind, playing out what her book and characters look like? I was just thinking that if this were possible, because the movie never says if it is or isn't, than the ending could be explained by Harold manifesting himself as a more fully developed character to Karen. As he develops, he presents himself to Karen and shows her what direction his story should go, she realizes how her book needs to change. I know its a little bit of a stretch, but its an idea. Thoughts?
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