Again, Emptiness in Pale Horse Pale Rider in the Bookends

After finishing PHPR, I still noticed an overlying theme of emptiness. This theme seems to overwhelm the story. Not only do we see the emptiness that war brings, physically, through death and loss of loved ones, but we also see emptiness in the overall tone of the story. The theme of emptiness is most explicit in the beginning and ending of PHPR. Some examples of emptiness occur in the following examples:

"Her heart was a stone lying upon her breast outside of her..." (269).

Here, Miranda notes a disconnect between herself and her heart (which she describes as stone, thus void of feeling).

"And the stranger? Where is that lank greenish stranger I remember hanging about the place..."

There is a recurring motif of Miranda's "stranger" within the beginning of PHPR, which seems to embody the Miranda's inexplicable feelings of panic and emptiness. (269-70).

"Do I even walk about in my own skin or is it something I have borrowed to spare my modesty?" (270).

This quote seems to demonstrate Miranda's feelings of emptiness in that she does not seem to recognize herself. She feels that she is borrowing someone else's body and does not understand the feelings of loss and void that this skin possesses.

In the end of PHPR, emptiness is very prevalent after Miranda's loss of Adam.

"The room was silent, empty, the shade was gone from it..." (317).

Here, emptiness is explicitly stated. More importantly, Miranda seems to feel that it is her own existence that causes this emptiness. Prior to the aforementioned quote Miranda states, "The room was silent, empty, the shade was gone from it, struck away by the sudden violence of her rising and speaking aloud." This statement is interesting because rather than emptiness forcing itself upon Miranda, she seems to be forcing emptiness upon herself by merely existing.

As a whole, the theme of emptiness within this story is pervasive. However, what is more interesting is observing the ways in which the characters create their own feelings of emptiness and void.