The body is a curious monster …

“The body is a curious monster, no place to live in, how could anyone feel at home there? Is it possible I can ever accustom myself to this place? She asked herself.” (“Pale Horse, Pale Rider”, by Katherine Anne Porter)

The body in pain is a kind of monster writhing away from herself. And I think of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley‘s monstrous creation, and how haunted he was by himself and how homeless: a monstrous body on the run. Pain turns you into a fugitive. You dream of making the monster numb and still, a more homely creature.