The Year of Magical ThinkingThe Year of Magical Thinking

And Working Through Family DeathsAnd Working Through Family Deaths

The Year of Magical Thinking The Year of Magical Thinking

2003/7/26 ： 蒂蒂安 (Didion) 女兒琪恩達娜 (Quintana) 的婚禮 2003/12/25 ： 琪恩達娜感冒轉肺炎再轉敗血性休克，因而住院 2003/12/30 ：丈夫約翰在飯桌前死於冠狀動脈疾病 (Mass Coronary

Event) 1~3 天之內：蒂蒂安寫下「 Life changes fast/Life changes in the

instant…The question of self-pity 」幾行 2004/1/22 ：琪恩達娜出院，由蒂蒂安照顧 2004/3/23 ：俟琪恩達娜可以行動，約翰的告別式方始舉行 2004/3/25 ：琪恩達娜因腦出血又住院 2004/4/30 ：琪恩達娜與蒂蒂安由加州返回紐約，琪恩達娜在魯斯克中心

接受治療，開始逐漸恢復，蒂蒂安則開始整理房子 2004/5/12 晚 11:11 ： 蒂蒂安把檔案打開再儲存，未加任何字 2004/10/4 ：蒂蒂安開始寫作

The Year of Magical Thinking The Year of Magical Thinking

2004/10/4 ：蒂蒂安開始寫作 2004/12/31 ：《奇想之年》寫作完畢 2005/8/26 ： 琪恩達娜過世 2005/10 ：《奇想之年》出版； 2007 春：蒂蒂安改編的《奇想之年》戲劇在百老匯上演；

《奇想之年》中文版在台灣出版．

QuestionsQuestions

The Year of Magical Thinking Focus chaps 1-7; 12-22

Initial responses (coolness) and repetitions Grief and mourning (any traces of

melancholia?) magical thinking as a process of sense-

making Is the work of mourning completed?

Repetitions? Repetitions?

not remember pp. 4, 7 remember 6, 8 mistakes about the date pp. 11, 12 [later] clues to reveal the inevitability of

John’s death (Sir Gawain’s quote, etc.)

Chaps 1-2 Chaps 1-2

Chap 1 1) Telling stories; delay in writing (Some notes on the computer taken in Jan, 2004. Husband died 12/30/2003 Started to write on 10/4/2004 ) 2) Views of writing and its function

Chap 2 -- The Death-- Initial Responses (Denial, Maintaining self-composure, congee [27])-- different kinds of death (12) -- Autopsy -- A call for organ donation. Starting the year of magical thinking.“I needed to be alone so that he could come back.This was the beginning of my year of magical thinking.”

Grief and MourningGrief and Mourning

Grief rationalization

a. unwilling to let go

b. trying to find clues

c. Reading (literature and psychological theories)

Reminiscing the past

a. The past with John 11-12; what John remembered the year before his death

Chaps 3-4: rationalization Chaps 3-4: rationalization

Chap 3 Disturbed by obituaries 16Autopsy—another reason Organ donation 18 Shoes – kept for him to come back 19 

Chap 4 “bringing him back” Rationalization – literature, psychological theories John’s novel Experiences of and passages about death ‘going on the smile’Keep on the “correct track” 24 “a night of memories and sighs” end of chap 5

Chaps 5-6Chaps 5-6

Chap 5 [mirror and photos]

2003/12/30 re-lived Quintana’s illness (from 12/8) Weddings of both John/Didion, and of Quintana. “I wanted more than a night of memories and sighs.I wanted to scream.I wanted him back.”

Chap 6 Didion’s apprehension of death. Clues of John’s death He was depressed

Chap 7 Chap 7

Chap 7 Why did I keep stressing what was and was not normal, when nothing about it was?Let me try a chronology here.Quintana was admitted to the ICU at Beth Israel North on December 25, 2003.John died on December 30, 2003.I told Quintana that he was dead late on the morning of January 15, 2004,  

The chronology –of Quintana’s recovery.3/24 – job finished 3/25 – Quintana hospitalized again .

Chaps 8-11 Chaps 8-11

Chap 8 Quintana

Chap 9 Quintana

Chap 10 The vortex effect

Chap 11 Quintana out of the hospital in June

Chaps 12-15 Chaps 12-15

Endings and no endingsEndings and no endings

Chap 17

Meaninglessness 80 Self-pity 81

Chap 18

Result of autopsy –sent to a wrong address [cognitive deficiency]

Chap 19

 no longer a wife; their life of improvising, “flying blind”

Chap 20

 feels her littleness, lack of resilience and sociabilty

Chap 21

 John about Gregg about Quintana’s being beautiful The prevalence of “broken man”

Chap 22

 a year and a day; does not want to end writing, but has to let go. Ending with John’s words—about adapting to changes.