Common links between Frida Kahlo and William Faulkner

¶ … Frida Kahlo William Faulkner

Frida Kahlo and William Faulkner were both recognized for the contribution that they brought to their field of work, especially considering that their works are presently appreciated for their quality. Both of them were artists and both of them lived to see some of the most important events of the twentieth century. Their artistic abilities influenced them in adopting unique styles in their line of work as they were both considered to be very different from other individuals who worked with abstract art, and, respectively, with literature. One cannot simply go through a Frida Kahlo painting or through a William Faulkner writing without employing a lot of concentration in the process, as their works are complex and require a lot of expertise in order to be properly understood.

When thinking about Kahlo or Faulkner most people are likely to relate to the unstable condition that these two individuals have been in for the largest part of their lives. They both had issues and both tried to camouflage their feelings through producing artwork. However, while it is relatively simple to understand Kahlo's problems, given her life experiences, it is more problematic to thoroughly understand what motivated Faulkner in adopting a generally pessimistic outlook in regard to life. To this day it is difficult and almost impossible to identify the factors that shaped the nature of the writer's thinking.

Kahlo and Faulkner both lived their childhood in the early twentieth century, a time when the world was filled with confusion and a time when people were not really sure concerning the attitudes that they needed to take on in order to make life more beautiful for themselves and for the world as a whole. The Mexican Revolution dominated the environment in Mexico at the time when Kahlo was growing up, similar to how Faulkner witnessed individuals around him lobbying concerning the importance of Southern thinking. Both artists were thus born in environments filled with dominant ideologies and with feelings related to tradition.

Faulkner experienced trouble growing up because of his height, especially considering that he could not enlist in the U.S. army because he was too short. However, his experiences pale in comparison to the events that Kahlo lived through. Even though she had a happy childhood, she was struck by polio when she was six and was left with a thinner right leg. There are a lot of speculations about her health condition during her childhood, but it is certain that her physical appearance was severely affected at this time. When considering Faulkner, it is very likely that he also experienced traumatizing events during his early life, but refrained from relating to them or to allow himself to be influenced by them. According to Singal, "in Faulkner, the past never ceases to exist but continues to live in the present." All things considered, his passion for drinking alcohol is probable to originate in an earlier trauma, as he apparently consumed the substance as a means to liberate himself. Kahlo and Faulkner alike went through great pains during the last years of their lives, the former because of the injuries that she suffered through time and the latter because of the large amounts of alcohol that he used to drink.

The world normal is one of the last words that someone could think of when considering Kahlo and Faulkner. Both of these artists focused on having their works reflect how they felt and their thinking in general. Their artwork touches a series of concepts, with complex philosophic thought dominating most of their work. While Kahlo's somber character was owed to the events that she experienced, it is probable that Faulkner came to take on a gloomy attitude as a consequence of a series of issues that he had regarding the way that society perceived him. Faulkner and Kahlo were both determined to contribute to making a global change, but they both had trouble understanding their purpose in society and the actions that they needed to take. As a result, they focused on being as good as possible in their field of work (this did not stop them from introducing their personal beliefs into their works, however).

Faulkner was an intriguing character, especially because of his tendency to provide his readers with ideas that they could later reflect on for hours. He did not necessarily provide the world with solutions but he wanted to assist people in developing innovation. "By universal consent of critics and common readers, Faulkner now is recognized as the strongest American novelist of the twentieth century, clearly surpassing Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and standing as an equal in the sequence that includes Hawthorne, Melville, Mark Twain, and Henry James" (Bloom, 1).

Similar to Faulkner, Kahlo is also renowned for her contributions to the world of surreal painting. To a certain degree, Kahlo was very similar to artists like Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. However, the fact that her painting contained hidden messages that were much elaborate in comparison to the works of the other two painters makes it possible for one to understand that he is in a class of her own. She makes the rules for her painting style and one most probably needs to be familiarized with great pain in order to create art that can be compared with her paintings. According to Vaughan and Lewis (64), to associate Kahlo with Dali and Magritte simply because she uses surreal concepts in her work would be equivalent to ignoring "the complexity of her sources and motives." One needs to understand what this woman has been through and to attribute the convoluted nature of her painting to the fact that she wanted to send a message. Moreover, it is very probable that she felt that she needed to raise the public's awareness concerning her experiences.

Past experiences were essential both for Kahlo and for Faulkner, particularly taking into account that they incorporated their past into their works. While it is generally accepted that Kahlo started to paint as a form of therapy, it is very likely that Faulkner also cleansed his mind through writing. Suffering brings the deepest parts of people's personalities and the two artists under discussion make no exception from the rule. In addition to addressing their personal perceptions in their works, these two also focused on relating to the intense feelings that they felt in regard to their homes and to people living in Mexico, and, respectively, in Mississippi.

To a certain degree, the world was not ready to understand Kahlo and Faulkner during their years of glory. Kahlo was primarily ignored because of her husband, Diego Riviera, who was famous around the world as a result of his contribution to the world of surreal art. Similarly, Faulkner was largely unappreciated during his life and focused on writing as a means of generating an income. In spite of the fact that his writings were different from anything else produced at the time, society simply exploited Faulkner and his creativity. It was not until the last years of his life that he came to be loved for his work and actually received a Nobel prize as a consequence of his involvement in the world of literature.