Mortal or Immortal? That, is the question.

For centuries, immortality has been seen as being something only achieved in death.  In some ways immortality is a blessing, but in others it is a curse.  In the stories told of those who are immortal, there is a common theme.  This theme is pain.  Someone who is immortal feels all the pains that mortals feel, both emotional and physical.  If a mortal person is stabbed through the heart, they die; if an immortal person is stabbed through the heart, they would endure great pain and agony.  If  two mortals fall in love, they only have to endure the pain of losing that one person once; if an immortal person falls in love with a mortal, they have to endure the pain much much longer after their mortal love dies.  In the story "The Mortal Immortal" by Mary Shelley, the theme is pain.  The main character recalls how they fell in love with a mortal.  They describe the intense pain that they felt for the three hundred plus years that they have been alive.  The reasoning for the title "The Mortal Immortal," which in itself is a contradiction in terms, is that at the beginning of the story, the character describes how they recently found a grey hair but thinks nothing of it; however, as we near the end of the story, we find that the character is experiencing more and more traits of an aging mortal.

Tschüß!