Autumn Desolation

As Emily sat in the flaming red autumn forest, her thoughts fluttered in her mind like dead leaves in the wind. Memories flowed in her being like the frigid water of the creek beside her. “Why do dreams have to wither and die after their brief blooming? Why does warmth have to give way to coldness? Why does love keep fleeing me like a mirage?” The crisp evening wind battered her cheeks as a chill ran down her spine. She tightened her coat around her and scanned the meandering path for a glimmering sign of hope. From far away, she saw two dark dots moving in her direction. Her heart beat faster. “Could it be him?” Memories of a near past tormented her heart. She saw herself sitting on that same bench in the midst of a once green forest. Everything around her beamed with life as the warm sunlight broke through the trees and spilled like golden syrup on her lap. All of a sudden, she saw him, walking with his friend, engaged in a merry chat. She remembered the way their eyes met and held for a moment. She recalled how the flow of words paused on his lips as they saw each other for the same time. Emily knew right away that with that encounter her life would change forever. Her dreams bloomed in the spring, ripened in the summer, and withered in the autumn. He came into her life, filled it with warmth and laughter, and then left her all alone to face the sneering desolation.
The two dots came closer, but she didn’t dare to hope anymore. “He’s not coming back." The forest that had witnessed the birth of their story was witnessing the crumbling of Emily’s world. She stood up, and hastily wiped the tears off her face. She then trod towards the sunset in the distance.

Tranquil Grief
Let’s look at the painting above: " Wooded Path in Autumn” by Hans Anderson Brendekilde from the perspective of Edmund Burke, a significant figure in Enlightenment Theory and Criticism whose approach to aesthetics is highly remarkable. The impression that we get when we look at this painting for the first time is that of "Novelty" or "Curiosity" as Burke mentions. Yet, this feeling is the most momentary of all. Burke notes that “curiosity is the most superficial of all the affections; it changes its object perpetually; it has an appetite which is very sharp, but easily satisfied.” Thus, with the subsiding of curiosity, it is time to perceive the object from a deeper perspective.

Burke explains the misconception of both pleasure and pain. Some people tend to believe that pain is caused by the removal of pleasure and that pleasure is caused by the removal of pain. According to Burke,the mind is most of the time in a state of indifference that is neither pleasure nor pain. If we look at the painting closely, one notices an aura of tranquility transmitted. We discern a peaceful autumn forest, a calm creek, and a serene pensive lady on a bench. This is the state of “tranquility” or “indifference” that Burke discussed. Based on the painting, the lady and nature are in neither a state of pleasure nor pain. We have no evidence whether a state of pleasure or pain has preceded the moment portrayed in the painting. Burke says, “Pleasure of every kind quickly satisfies; and when it is over, we relapse into indifference, or rather we fall into a soft tranquility, which is tinged with agreeable colour of the former sensation.” On the other hand, Burke stresses that “when we have suffered from any violent emotion, the mind naturally continues in something like the same condition, after the cause which first produced it has ceased to operate. The tossing of the sea remains after the storm, and when this remain of horror has entirely subside, all the passion, which the accident raised , subsides along with it ; and the mind returns to its usual state of indifference".
Now, if one approaches the painting from the perspective of the narrative provided above, one can tackle the concepts of positive pain and pleasure discussed by Burke. If as in the story, the pensive lady is lamenting the loss of her love and the withering of her dreams, we can here apply the concept of "Grief". Burke defines grief as the feeling that is produced by the loss of the object of pleasure. “If the object be so totally lost that there is no chance of enjoying it again, a passion arises in the mind, which is called grief.” As depicted in the story, Emily’s grief is “willingly endured”. That is, as Burke explicates, she dwells on the lost pleasurable moments, repeating every minute detail in her mind, and even reliving her sweet first encounter with her beloved in the same setting.

Therefore, the painting expresses Burke’s theory on indifference and tranquility which contradicts the states of pleasure or pain. On the other hand, Emily’s state of mind is that of grief which Burke emphasizes to have no resemblance to absolute pain “which is always odious, and which we endeavor to shake off as soon as possible.”

Hans Anderson Brendekilde.Wooded Path in Autumn, 1902
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.New York: W.W. Norton&Company, Inc.,2010