Identity and Self-Exploration in August Blue by Deborah Levy
August Blue, written by Deborah Levy, is a captivating and emotionally powerful novel that delves deep into the complexities of personal identity and self-exploration. The protagonist, Elsa, a talented concert pianist, embarks on a journey throughout Europe while being shadowed by her doppelgänger. The novel raises questions about the nature of identity and the various factors that influence and shape how we view ourselves and our place in the world.
Music holds a significant place in August Blue, serving as an integral part of Elsa’s life and journey of self-discovery. Levy examines the relationship between art and life, and how art can help us make sense of our experiences and emotions. Reflecting on her own experiences, Elsa’s connection to music also undergoes a transformation. She has a better understanding of herself and, by the end of the novel, she emerges as a different person.
“It is so abject to express this loneliness within me. I am not sure I can take the freedom to find a language in music to reveal it. I have, after all, learned to conseal it.”
As the narrative unfolds, it becomes evident that the pandemic is a significant part of the story. Levy explores how Elsa is coping with the pandemic, highlighting the ways in which it affects not only her life but also the lives of those around her. Isolation, uncertainty, economic adversity, anxiety, and depression are constant themes throughout the story.
Even from the first pages of the novel, the symbolism and spiritual significance of horses in the story becomes quite apparent and although there are many ways to understand the meaning of the colour blue, as I was reading, one picture was constantly running through my head. The blue horses in Franz Marc’s painting.
This captivating and imaginative artwork possesses a special quality. The blue horses’ curved and elongated bodies emanate a sense of grace and fluidity. Marc believed that animals had a deeper, more primal connection to nature. The colour blue also held significant meaning for Marc; it represented spirituality, peace, and a connection to the metaphysical realm. I think Levy uses these creatures and the blue colour as a metaphor, to represent Elsa’s journey of self-exploration, her search for freedom and peace with herself.
“It seemed the horses were not the instrument, it was the longing for magic and flight that were the instrument.”
I loved Levy’s insightful storytelling, intensity, and vivid imagery, as well as her ability to delve into the depths of the human experience. It is because of this quest for self-discovery and the exploration of the many facets of identity that August Blue is such a compelling reading.
“She told me that silver represents the person she became internally before she cut her hair. This is my truth, she continued. Do we become someone and then set about visually making that person?”