This is a subject I'm drawn to again and again. (Hmmmm... a subject for a future series, perhaps?)
So, come with me on a little tour of Richmond, Virginia's doors and windows...
Doors and windows have had, throughout history, much symbolic meaning attached to them, and I don't think it's hard to see why. Think of a classic book or movie (Wuthering Heights, The Lord of the Rings, Peter Pan, Jane Eyre, Rear Window, The Secret Garden... ) - and there's probably a door or window playing an important role. Their part in horror movies is obvious. (Why do the characters always open the door, after you've pleaded so emphatically with them not to?)
Of course, the symbolism of doors and windows lies in their function: Opening. Closing. Who /what is allowed to enter, and who's kept out. Who's forced to leave (or pushed out!), and who is set free;
who's protected and safe within, and who is imprisoned.
A window may reveal, or conceal. Symbolically, someone looking out a window is an observer, but not a part of what they see. Is that a face behind the window, or just a shadow?
A door may be a passageway, or a barrier. Is that a spirit moving through a portal, or just a trick of the light?
A window may reveal what's inside,
or only reflect its surroundings.
A window into the past...
...a moment in time, frozen and framed.
In dreams, two doors side by side often symbolize a choice to be made. Would you like door number 1, door number 2, or what's behind the curtain? (What was that show called, anyway?)
A window may function as a stage, where a bizarre story plays out in our imaginations- a view into another world.
A door within a door carefully protects the secrets that lie within...
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. ~ Flora Whittemore
There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception. ~ Aldous Huxley
Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls. ~ Joseph Campbell
I love this post because I love windows and doors, doorways, gateways and all related portals! These are wonderful choices.
ReplyDeleteI use windows and doors in my work and sometimes question if it really is important to the piece or if it's just my usual solution.
Again, love your choices!
Let's Make A Deal - "or you can have what Carol Merrill has in the big box".
ReplyDeleteNice post. My particular fascination is roads/paths - places where you can see where the road used to go before they re-routed the highway, where the interstate highway went through the middle of a country road creating 2 dead-ends, where two parallel sets of fence posts or hedgerows go off into the distance with the road between reclaimed long ago by nature, etc.
Where did the roads lead to, and why does no one go that way anymore? What might I find (there, or in me) if I follow that path long enough, "because it was grassy and wanted wear"?
Thanks for the new perspective and the old memories.
Amazing post! Love the photos and the sentiments... Doors and windows are so very special and symbolic... You've captured that.
ReplyDeletegreat post Sharmon! a window is your view upon the world... love your photos and words! you really captured it all here!
ReplyDeleteI'm also drawn to windows and doors. Great post Sharmon!
ReplyDeletewonderful post Sharmon! So thoughtful...and great pix too!
ReplyDeleteooh, I love that one with the shadow on it. And the Huxley quote!
ReplyDeleteLove your windows and doors series here...have you seen mine from a quaint German city...I just am fascinated by windows and doors...maybe cause it takes so much work to build windows and doors and as entrance ways for people to pass through,,,light, air....your fotos are wonderful!!!
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