“Good morning, Pooh Bear,” said Eeyore gloomily. “If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he.
“Why, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it.”
“Can’t all what?” said Pooh, rubbing his nose.
“Gaiety. Song-and-dance. Here we go round the mulberry bush.”
“Oh!” said Pooh. He thought for a long time, and then asked, “What mulberry bush is that?”
– Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne
Poor Eeyore. His conversation with Pooh just illustrates the weird conversations a depressed person can have with those who don’t get us. (Of course, Eeyore is being somewhat cryptic, but still.) Tons of people love Eeyore, though, despite his habit of seeing the absolute worst in everything, from thistles to aggressively sanguine tigers. He’s moody, grumpy, and generally a melancholy downer — yet the pink ribbon on his tail reminds us that he doesn’t see himself as depressed. Sometimes there are within him flashes of joy.
Today, the character of Eeyore is 140 years old – probably feeling creaky-old and somewhat down, but he’s still my favorite character in the Hundred Acre Wood, after the timid and tongued-tied Roo. But the question of why we actually like what is essentially a depressive donkey is explored today on the Guardian Books Blog. Says the author, “But the key thing that makes Eeyore a great character is that essential literary ingredient: conflict. Eeyore is profoundly conflicted. He craves love – indeed, he’s always lamenting his outsider status – but he struggles to give and receive it. When it’s offered to him, he puts out his hoof and waves it away.” Eeyore is all of us — every one of us, trying to keep our balance and our tails, in a wood populated by hyperactive tigers, bears of very little brain, annoyingly smart owls, and hideously callous and impatient rabbits.
My friend Shawn and I used to have amusing conversations about depression. I think it’s almost harder for guys to be depressed – girls are kind of expected to have at least monthly visits into bad moods, but when a guy is suffering from depression, it seems harder for people to understand. But, what is there to understand? A chemical imbalance in the brain throws a switch and says, “There. You’re sad now.” And that’s that. Some types of depression don’t have to be about anything. And those are the most frustrating kinds, when everything that’s actually wrong is magnified by five thousand percent. And at those times, the Eeyore among us really need our compassion and patience – and sometimes just our presence.
Today, in honor of Eeyore’s birthday, eat your thistles, hang onto your tails, and remember there’s room for all of us in the Hundred Acre Woods, even the loners who are depressive and grumpy. Love us anyway.
This should make you feel happier- Mare’s War was chosen as one of our 8th grade Battle of the Books titles! It’s just a short step from there to core novel!
WOW. I don’t know of any school where MARE’S WAR is a core novel – that is really awesome! Thanks for sharing!
My godson has recently discovered the various personality issues of the Milne characters and was going on about them this morning. I like the way literature can plant a seed like this, especially in children’s books, so that kids begin to know something intuitively and then later become able to articulate what it is they know and connect it to the world around them. In this case, one of the great lessons is that what one might call a personality flaw is basically just personality, not something that makes a person less lovable or likable or worthy. Thank goodness!
That is awesome. It’s funny how we maybe don’t “get” any of what’s going on until we’re little, but it’s very clear to me that Milne was putting it out there that Some People Are Naturally Depressive. I’m very glad that it’s clearly just personality.
Being a faculty brat, I’ve always been on school campuses–one of my best childhood memories is being in Alaska and most of the staff were nicknamed after the Milne characters. I was Roo–being all of 4 at the time–we had such fun. But oh yes, Eeyore makes so much sense now. Here’s to thistles among the honey pots.
One of the things I loved best about Austin (Texas) was that every year, a HUGE party in the park was thrown in honor of Eeyore’s birthday.
I always loved the visual of him putting the balloon carcass in and out of the honey pot –happily. Just because someone noticed him.
I want to move to Austin.
In our family, it’s when the grizzling and groaning stops that everyone gets worried, i.e. “What’s wrong? Things must be really bad if you’re not kvetching.”
When we were at Disneyland last week, there was a college-style sweatshirt I saw in a shop that said, “Grumpy.” Don’t think I wasn’t tempted… until I saw the price-tag.
*Grizzle.*
Happy birthday, Eeyore. It’s about time you had a proper balloon and jar of honey that was full.
Hooray for Eeyore! Depressive and grumpy are my middle names. Going to eat my thistles now.