| Come and take a journey through the realm of the 'undead.' Matilda's Wedding is a myth about a young bride to be. As fate would have it, Matilda did not get a chance to marry her fair-haired mortal groom; rather, on the eve of her espousal, she was accidentally betrothed to 'death itself'...the groom of all grooms; and the bride of all brides. To learn more about the theme of Death and Marriage, read the commentary to the painting entitled 'Having Tea With Death.'
In this painting, Matilda and her groom are being married by a grim reaper figure in the underworld. Note the black sun and moon in the sky. Three hungry crows are represented near the bottom of the picture. The grim reaper is an interesting entity. We already explained the symbolism of the grim reaper in the commentary to the painting 'Dismemberment and Sacrifice.' But in this painting, the grim reaper is not in his traditional dismemberment role; rather, he is the presider over a wedding. The grim reaper is depicted in this new role because those who perform dismemberment and sacrifice, must also be responsible for performing the reunion of body with soul also. There is a moral message for us here. We should never destroy things for no purpose, we must also be responsible for re-creating whatever we destroy.
VanJohnstone
|