As I write this, 170 vulnerable Australians are on flight from the UK to Darwin as part of a 'mercy flight' by the Australian government. These people are elderly, have health problems or are new mothers who were forced to have their babies overseas. They have been waiting for more than eight months to come home and many of them have bumped off other flights and forced to wait. I cannot imagine how they must be feeling, knowing that they are finally on their way home. To the safety and security of knowing that once there, everything will be alright. We feel so much safer on our 'own turf' so to speak, even if the sense of security is false. Being home gives us a feeling of security that cannot be shaken. I'm not saying that we must be in our own country of origin to feel 'at home'; that feeling can come from anywhere, no matter how many times we may have moved. I'm referring to that place that we consider in our hearts, to be home.
As I finished reading Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca last week, I was struck by the way in which she portrayed the de Winter's family estate, Manderley; to my mind it was like another character in the story. There is a beautiful quote towards the end of the novel that says,
The peace of Manderley. The quietude and the grace. Whoever lived within its walls, whatever trouble there was and strife, however much uneasiness and pain, no matter what tears were shed, what sorrows borne, the peace of Manderley could not be broken or the loveliness destroyed.
Isn't this what we all want for our homes? A loveliness that cannot be destroyed. A refuge and a place of comfort and warmth. The book's protagonist, Mrs de Winter makes this claim about Manderley, after only four months of living there. During this time, she goes through all of those emotions she talks about: sorrow, strife, trouble, uneasiness and so on, yet she still believes it is her home. She still draws strength from the place.
It doesn't matter how long we are in a place, either we feel at home, or we don't. In Anne of Green Gables the main character, the orphan Anne, felt a sense of 'home' before she even arrived at Green Gables. Anne says to Matthew on the carriage ride home, "But I'm glad to think of getting home. You see, I've never had a real home since I can remember. It gives me that pleasant ache again just to think of coming to a really truly home." She feels that connection to the place before she even gets there, because she is so desperate to have that sense of security and comfort that she has longed for, for so many years. The orphanage wasn't her home, but Green Gables will be.
Rebecca and Anne of Green Gables aren't the only books that build a theme around the notion of a place or 'home'. I believe that's because it is a theme that is eternally appealing. We all have a home - whether it's a small, dark apartment in a big city, a cottage in the country, a suburban house on a quiet cul-de-sac, or anything in between. In the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, home is constantly changing, yet the family works hard to make each place feel safe and comfortable. Pa takes care of the physical needs of the family (building the home, making it weather-safe, establishing harvests etc), whilst Ma works inside to establish a cosy and welcoming home for all of them. They do this each time they move, usually within the first few days, because it is so important to have home needs taken care of first.
The story that first comes to mind when I think about 'home' as a theme is, of course, The Odyssey. This epic poem by Homer is my favourite of all the classics because of its beautiful relevance and the inspiration it still holds for me today. The poem deals with many issues still pertinent to life today, but it is the notion of home that I want to focus on today.
In Book 5 of the poem, when we are first introduced to Odysseus as a captive of the goddess Calypso on her island, Zeus and Athena talk about his return home.
"The long-enduring Odysseus must now set out for home," claims Zeus and orders Calypso to let him go. When talking with Calypso about this, Odysseus admits that "Nevertheless I long to reach my home and see the day of my return. It is my never-failing wish."
Despite the future that Calypso is offering Odysseus and all of its immortal benefits, Odysseus simply wants to go home. He wants to see his wife and his son. He wants to sleep in his own bed. Isn't this something we can all relate to? The notion of home is a powerful one for all of us, and whether we are conscious of it or not we are rooting for him to make it home, where we are sure he will be happy again. Home can hold that appeal to us. For Odysseus, the years spent with Calypso and Circe and wandering after the Trojan War was like an unreality, a world outside the true world, a supernatural world inhabited by the gods. By finding his way home again, Odysseus had to find his way back to the relative safety and comfort of reality.
Now, I know not everyone has happy home lives, nor do they think so fondly about home when they are gone (some never want to return), but perhaps as these people think about what they would like home to be like in the future, they know exactly what they want - and exactly what they don't want!
Funnily enough, another book that comes to mind when I think about determination to return to the safety and normal reality of 'home' is The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. I'm sure we are all familiar with the story of Dorothy and her quest to get back home after a tornado blows her to the unreal land of Oz. She longs to see her family, Aunty Em and Uncle Henry and goes to extraordinary lengths to be able to return. "All I want is to find my way back to my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Kansas," claims Dorothy, an echo of Odysseus' own claim. Home for Dorothy isn't a flash country estate, or expensive ranch; it's a small wooden house attached to fields, where her aunt and uncle spend their days working. Again, it's not the physical structure that matters to Dorothy, but the feeling she gets being at home.
I could go on and on about favourite classics that talk about the strong bond we have with home, but I'll leave it there for today. It doesn't matter if we are returning home after a long, arduous time away or if we are reaching home for the first time, or if we are simply going about our daily lives in that wonderful place we call 'home', it will always be an appealing issue in novels and poetry, because it speaks to the heart of so many of us. These days when we are forced to spend more time at home than ever, I hope people are seeing the beauty they have there and feeling the gratitude for such a place. Small changes can help make a place feel like a home, and they don't require money. A sense of belonging is free and comes from security, being respected, a home-cooked meal or a hot cup of tea on a rainy day. It comes from being listened to, laughing together and crying together. As du Maurier says, the peace of home cannot be broken nor the loveliness destroyed. This is the essence of a true home.
Note: I published this post a week after I wrote it, so those travellers are already in Darwin now, quarantining.
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