Just a week ago, a new musical called Tuck Everlasting closed on Broadway. It was based on the classic children's novel by Natalie Babbitt about a little girl who runs away from home and meets a family who became immortal years ago after drinking water from a mysterious spring, and when the little girl, Winnie, is given the chance to become immortal, the underlying theme about the pros and cons of immortality begin to come to the forefront. Unfortunately, the musical adaptation did not prove to be everlasting or immortal as it only lasted for about one month. However, the beautiful story and novel will live on for years to come for new readers and audiences.
I was a big fan of the novel when I was a little girl, and as both a book and Broadway nerd, I picked up my beloved childhood novel for another read when I heard about the announcement of the musical. I read it, and I was really astounded by how deep the questions the books presents are. I do not want to reveal what Winnie chooses at the end of the book, but I will say that the book really presents many of the downsides to immortality. To never have to die and to be young forever seem so appealing at first glance. You could do whatever you wanted, go anywhere, and avoid the inevitable fate of mortality, death. It seems pretty awesome. However, Babbitt really presents a very alternate view that not only shows the negatives of immortality but champions the upsides of this short life.
A well-known quote from the book that covers much of Babbitt's messages says, “Do not fear death, but rather the unlived life. You don't have to live forever. You just have to live.” I do not think many people sit around thinking about death or constantly fearing it, but it is something that takes away our loved ones. It often takes people away from this life far too quickly. I would argue the idea of death is something we all fear subconsciously. It is something we almost deny. I think it goes with the notion that we always think we have more time or will accomplish a goal tomorrow or in a year. We often forget to seize life in the moment. I know this is something I am not a great example of as I am always planning for the next step in my life and have everything I want to do planned out. However, every moment in life is so precious and valuable. We need to make every second count. Having an endless amount of time would really devalue what a precious gift time is. It would be too much of a good thing.
In Tuck Everlasting, immortality is portrayed as never aging and always remaining the same. I realize this kind of sounds like Twilight, but it is an important point. If you became immortal right now and were destined to look exactly as you do now for eternity, that would be pretty terrible in the long run. You could never change or move forward to different stages in life. People are meant to grow up and change and mature. You have beautiful memories from different stages in life. A life is not complete without every stage. Tuck Everlasting describes life as being like a wheel that continues to turn and change starting with life and ending with death. Every piece of life fits together to make the cycle complete. Getting stuck in one spot would mean you would never have that full, complete life. For me at least, living with the same appearance for hundreds of years without ever getting older or having new opportunities would not be a full life.
This is why I find Twilight to be ridiculous and very unromantic. Stupid Bella gives away her entire life for a boy when she is a teenager and has not had the opportunity to see what all life would have had in store for her. Frankly, I think Bella and Edward likely will get sick of each other after one hundred years. It is a beautiful thing to share your life with someone, but life is not living for hundreds of years. Sharing life is cherishing every moment you have together in a fairly short time. That limited time only makes every moment more valuable.
Our modern culture so often acts as one that does not recognize the innate value of life. Life is something so beautiful, so precious. I recently saw the movie Me Before You. I do not want to spoil it, but the message and central idea of the movie was very perturbing to me because of some ideas it presents of what living really means. Life has its struggles and hardships, but there is just so little time. We are so blessed to even exist. Just think of all the things that must come together for one life to occur. It truly is the chance in a billion. Of all the people that could have existed, YOU exist. That is so AWESOME. Never forget that.
Life should never be devalued, but it must be accepted no person is going to live forever. There is a reason for that because immortality is not truly living. There is a great quote by Oscar Wilde that says “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” Immortality would inevitably lead to purely existing. However, it is very easy to just exist in the limited time that you have on earth. Make the most of it, the most of every second, and remember how blessed and lucky we are to have the beautiful gift of life.
