Maybe it's just an excuse to show this amazing Gustav Dore illustration of Dante in the "dark wood" mentioned below, but I think not.
Listening to veteran's stories lately about their lives, I can't help but think of the opening lines of the Inferno, the first book in Dante's Divine Comedy (hey, what's an ex-literature major to do? That degree has to count for something :-):
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
Midway in the journey of our life
I found myself in a dark wood...
Can he relate? Let's take a look at some of the rest of the story, using none other than the reliably haphazard Wikipedia -- sometimes sketchy, sometimes very good -- as our source:
"...the mention of suicide is made in Canto I of Purgatorio with "This man has not yet seen his last evening; But, through his madness, was so close to it, That there was hardly time to turn about" implying that when Virgil came to him he was on the verge of suicide or morally passing the point of no return), assailed by beasts (a lion, a leopard and a she-wolf) allegorical depictions of temptations towards sin) he cannot evade, and unable to find the "straight way" (diritta via) to salvation (symbolized by the sun behind the mountain). Conscious that he is ruining himself, that he is falling into a "deep place" (basso loco) where the sun is silent ('l sol tace), Dante is at last rescued by Virgil, and the two of them begin their journey to the underworld. ... Dante passes through the gate of hell, on which is inscribed the famous phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", or "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
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Ehhh. Well, we'll skip further analyzing the book, because for one thing it's large -- one of the original "three part series": hell, purgatory and heaven each get their own book -- and for another thing, we last read it quite a few years ago, and then probably only under duress (had to satisfy those honors requirements).
But even a brief look at just that passage above introduces quite a lot of themes -- and feelings -- common to veterans who are still struggling with what they experienced and took part in, even decades ago. If nothing else -- and you don't have to skip ahead to see how the book turns out -- I think it's a nice reminder that across the centuries, across various languages, across literature -- other people can and have related to the pain that veterans feel in their isolation, alienation, need for solitude, feelings of being assailed by visions real and imaginary, and struggling to even hold on, against the madness, and against losing their way.
The Gustav Dore illustration, from the mid-1800s, is a "wonderful" depiction of Dante lost and alone in the dark wood, on the run from the horrible nightmares or the demons that pursued him, whether from without or within. For some reason, I think that's something veterans can relate to -- particularly the ones who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It may not be as satisfying as a cure, but sometimes it's nice just to be acknowledged, have your reality externally validated, or realize that others can relate. Strangely, across the centuries, it seems like Dante actually can, to a degree. We hope that's on some level comforting.
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And just because I can't resist throwing in an encouraging quote in at the end of all the bleakness, how about this one, allegedly from Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, for anyone who's ever felt himself chased through the dark wood: "Grant me the courage not to give up, even when I think it is hopeless."
