The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
..Just pretend for a minute that there is something called a curse and it exists and it is a thing. Where does it come from? That’s what we need to ask.’
‘Do we?’
‘Yes. Is it something magical, or is it a prophecy that comes true because you make it come true? Or is it even just nothing at all, just a way of explaining bad things that happen to us that are actually random. I may ask: my do I have an infestation of mice? Did someone curse me? Or did I just leave too much food out one day to tempt them? Or is life just as simple as there are mice?‘
……’What if it isn’t people who make curses?’ I say.
….’Ha,’ says Wolf. ‘ You think curses are made by gods.’
….’No, of course not. It’s just a hypothetical question. Can something be created in language independently of the people who use the language? Can language become a self-replicating system or….’
_______
Never have I thought to ‘blame’ the language – curses to me are always related to beliefs, culture or even environment. Perhaps the fact that humans need to create an illusion to blanket their unfortunate situations or mishaps. When are we cursed? or is it fate? These are the usual arguments .. not the mere existence of language — the accidental creation of a word
