Is it possible
that there could be another ending for Humpty Dumpty, one where he doesn’t end
up broken and yolky? We’ve heard a lot
about his demise, and the fumbling efforts of the King’s horses and men fooling
around with Elmer’s Glue. It never ends
well for anyone.
Inevitably, we fail to back the story up to its crucial beginning. Why did Humpty D have a great fall? Was he just plain clumsy? Given his shape it seems plausible. But maybe there was a darker element, one we’re afraid to talk about. Was he pushed? Engaging his fool hardy gene for risk taking? Bullied beyond despair? Too slippery for the wall? He’s a deeper character than we’ve been led to believe.
In my iteration of the Humpty Dumpty mythology, there is no fall, great or otherwise. H.D. is simply enjoying the forest, the flowers, and his animal friends. A rainbow has come out to lend its approval. He is happy with himself and the world around him. He’s admirable, not broken.
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| Original Humpty Dumpty doodle |
“Another Ending” began as a doodle that was made with no particular intent in mind, and was then tossed into a folder. The brick fabric wall was created by using a tiny rectangle of sponge to stamp paint onto cloth. It predated H.D. by at least ten years. (My strategy of keeping every little bit of nonsense I create occasionally pays off.) The redwood trees were cut from an older rather unsuccessful quilt I’d made of a redwood forest. I willingly chopped up its trunks and branches, reimagining them for H.D.’s world. I endlessly patted myself on the back - I’d kept the unused “redwood” fabric pieces from that quilt for fifteen years. You just never know what you’re going to stir together into a finished project…
In the end, all the bits and pieces that had been lazing around in limbo for years – the doodle, the brick fabric, the redwood quilt – came together. I like to think that they justify the clutter of boxes and drawers that house my collection of fabrics and past efforts. And this newly imagined Humpty Dumpty agrees with me.
