Reading Response 6

What I enjoyed most about this text is its raw awareness of emotional feelings. Winterson was able to perfectly capture not only two very complicated emotions: Love and Loss, but was also able to dissect their intertwined relation to one another. The narrator’s love for Louise reminds me of Robert’s love for Edna. In Written on the Body, love is presented as something that’s best expressed through the body. During the scene where Robert and Edna are alone at her apartment, they finally kiss and express their love for each other. Throughout the entire story, they withheld their physical affection, so their relationship did not go beyond anything but a complicated friendship. For Robert, especially, that kiss was the step he was trying so hard to avoid because he knew there was no going back from that. Kissing Edna was admitting that he loved her, something he even went to Mexico to avoid. This is because, as Winterson discusses in the text, love is written on the body. Both texts also explore how loss is a fundamental part of love. However, the narrator’s grief over Louise’s seemingly impending death, as well as literally leaving her, is a different loss than what Edna experiences. I feel as though Edna had only herself to grieve, even though she seemed to have grieved the presence of Robert. Edna’s awakening also meant the loss of another part of her, one that was content with her marriage. It also meant disconnection with her mental peace. There was also the realization of the loss of her identity.  In the end, it resulted in the loss of herself. Edna was able to love herself enough to lose some things to gain independence, while the narrator’s love was strong enough to lose her for the sake of her health. Written on the body also reminded me of a TikTok I saw that stated that “grief is like glitter.” The video explained that, at first, Grief is everywhere and messy, like glitter. Then you may think it’s gone, but soon you will see that every once in a while it will be in your pocket or your car, but this time when it shows up its less messy and more sparkly. It becomes a reminder of the subject of your grief. This video really goes to show how grief is simply love taking on a new form.