Character Analysis in Veronika Decides to Die - Essay Example

And finally, there is one Eduard, whose interest in painting and lack of interest in a high-income career, leads his rich parents to believe that his mental state is unstable. He is put in an asylum. The place- Villete, an asylum in the city of Ljubljana. And the author- an expert storyteller, Paulo Coelho.

Though the plot of the story may sound gloomy the story keeps the reader engaged as it unwinds. Because you can relate to at least one of the characters, you are eager to find out what happens next. You want to know the path taken up by the characters. Perhaps, you could follow the same. And the path that you should follow in life is revealed by Paulo Coelho most amazingly. You will find it difficult, if not difficult, impossible to disagree with him.

The battle of every character is painted by Paulo Coelho with great detail. On one fine day (11 November 1997), Veronika simply decides to die. She swallows sleeping pills and peacefully waits for her death. She could have used some other method of committing suicide but the book explains why she uses sleeping pills- “Obviously she could have thrown herself off one of the few tall buildings in Ljubljana, but what about the further suffering caused to her parents by a fall from such a height?” Veronika fails to realize that her death will, anyway, bring misery to her parents. Veronika is saved and admitted to an asylum.

In the asylum, she is told by Dr.Igor that her suicide attempt has succeeded but she will live for another five days before she dies. Veronika had planned to die quickly. But waiting for your death is different. And so, begins the five-day ordeal for Veronika. Many of us commit suicide and die a cowardly death. This happens in a matter of a few minutes. How quickly the scenario changes when you have to wait for your death! You know that every minute is taking you toward death. And so you want to make the most of it. That is what happens to Veronika.

At the asylum, Veronika meets other ‘mad’ people. She meets Zedka, whose troubles, I have explained above. Her suffering is visible in the following paragraph from the book- “Did I fight hard enough? Should I have accepted my role as mistress, rather than wanting things to go as I expected them to? Did I fight for my first love with the same energy with which I fought for my people?”.

Veronika, Eduard, and Zedka- all have one thing in common. They have lost the zeal to live. But in Veronika’s case, in her last five days, she realizes how much she wants to live! She falls in love with Eduard and runs away from the asylum with him. She has only one more day to live and she wants to spend it with the guy she is in love with. Hence, both, Veronika and Eduard are surprised when she lives the next day. When she wakes up the next day, Veronika asks Eduard “What’s going on?” Nothing”, says Eduard, “Or rather, a miracle happened: another day of life”. And here, the reader realizes that every day is a miracle.

Dr.Igor’s intentions are revealed in the end when he is relishing the success of his experiment. He had always known that Veronika would not die.  In the end, he finds the medication for Veronika’s and other patients’ troubles: “an awareness of death” that leads to “an awareness of life”.

Thus, Paulo Coelho, in his book Veronika Decides to Die, offers the reader, a simple solution to the reader’s problems: “Every second of existence is a choice that we all make between living and dying”.