BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Modern psychology calls it “resilience“; William Shakespeare names it “Adversity” in

As You Like It, Duke Senior is expelled from his dukedom and he lives his exile in the forest where he has to expose himself to the cold wind which prompts him to utter these memorable words:

‘Sweet are the uses of adversity: Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;’ The jewel is the antidote that comes together with the malady. William Henry Hudson was also aware that happiness can often be the outcome of the blows of life. In Idle Days in Patagonia he tells us how, on examining his revolver, it goes off and the bullet injures his left knee. He is bed-ridden for a long time but he is eventually able to be up and about thanks to those willing to lend a helping hand.

If it hadn’t been for adversity, he wouldn’t have witnessed “man’s love for man, and the law of helpful kindness written in the heart.” Resilience is, to my mind, the underlying theme of this highly celebrated autobiographical novel and I choose it to revive the memory of Hudson as last August 18 marked the 100th anniversary of his death.

Adrian Insaubralde,

Santa Fe