Why Véronique? Why Weronika?
You have probably wondered about the name of the blog. If Kieślowski’s The Double Life of Véronique
crossed your mind, then you are not far off. If you’re a fan of the film, then we
are probably soulmates (I know it’s not everyone’s favourite)! For me it’s one
of the most inspiring works of art and one that has felt so close to my heart
most of my adult life. It’s a film you feel and experience, not necessarily
completely understand. Just like life, I guess.
So why does it feel so relevant to me? There are many
layers to it and here are some:
- The mystery
The film is a beautiful metaphor for the mystery of life. The
mystery of God, the mystery of soul, of music, human experience, emotions, art,
love and loss.
It reminds us that logic means very little in this world
but we still need to take the time to contemplate the meaning of it. Trying to
explain events and people’s choices is futile. It’s more often better to just
observe what happens and try to understand how the events shape us and how we
change in the process. Also, do you sometimes wonder where your life would have
taken you if you had made different choices? I like to visualise alternative
scripts and various paths I could have taken. Of course, no one knows ‘what
if..?’; that’s the beauty of the mystery.
- The double
I often feel as if there’s more of myself than just one
entity. If you’ve ever found yourself having a conversation in your head or
speaking to yourself, you will understand what I mean. I believe this duality
is part of human nature. On one level, there is duality within us. Many find
the divisions to introverts and extroverts both false and artificial, as many
of us will see ourselves as being both at different times. On another level,
there’s this idea that we are only one part of a whole, one soul of a twin
flame. When we’re single often the feeling of loss and longing for that someone
that must exist and must be the answer to all our needs is extremely strong. And
when we meet someone we fall in love with, we usually do so because that person
mirrors us in some ways. The myth of the two halves of an apple comes from that
feeling, I assume.
Before I met my partner that certainty of someone ‘out
there’ was overwhelming. When we met, we both felt that we found each other and
that it was a miracle, an epiphany. We’d had a completely different upbringing,
lived in different countries, different decades (significant age gap) and yet,
we kept looking at each other and thinking: ‘you are identical to me, and yet,
you are not me!’ One of us was the young soul, the other was the old soul and
we managed to meet somehow. We both felt like we were no longer alone. The
feeling of loss turned into worry that we may yet lose one another. Tragically, this is almost inevitable, unless
we die together.
He is my Véronique to my Weronika. And, yes, you’ve guessed it – we both bonded over Kieślowski and Preisner 😉
He is my Véronique to my Weronika. And, yes, you’ve guessed it – we both bonded over Kieślowski and Preisner 😉
- The immigrant
I am an immigrant. At this stage the country of my origin
and the country of my residence are both my homes. Yet, the both feel strange
and alien at times. I speak two languages – I operate in two worlds. It’s
almost as if I am two different people in both of these countries and
languages. If you speak more than one language, you have probably experienced
the eerie feeling of becoming someone else when speaking the one that is not
your mother tongue. It can be frustrating or it can give you an opportunity to
free yourself from your old self.
- The doppelgänger
Have you ever been told by a
stranger that they think you had met before? I get that quite often. If I am
sure that we never had met, then my usual response is that I just have that
kind of face. When people persist trying to remember when they know me from,
the usually come up with names of some actresses. I guess all the ones that
they have come up with have similar features in common – brown hair, blue eyes,
classic facial lines, a warm smile. I think it’s understandable that there are
A LOT of similar people in this world. And even though this is my logical explanation
for these coincidences, I can’t shake off the feeling of having a doppelganger
somewhere out there. I have this romantic idea that maybe one day I’ll get to
meet her, at least once, just like Weronika met Véronique.
So here it is. No great mystery.
Just inspiration. There is only one person writing here. But the me that comes
here will have different faces, dozens of shades, various emotions, and oh so
many thoughts. Don’t we all?
Photo by Mitchell Gaiser on Unsplash
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