The Question of Life

The Question of Life

1992 3-4 March-April 4-5 The Question of Life (474)

Greta Garbo, the great screen actress, was born in Sweden on September 18, 1905, and died in the USA on April 15, 1990. In her youth bent upon acquiring money and fame, she entered the world of films. Her career was a resounding success, and she became known as a goddess of the screen.

Her career in films no doubt turned her into a celebrity, but she had become a puppet in the hands of the film-makers. She was expected to walk, talk, dress and style her hair exactly as they dictated and this was something which robbed her of her personality. Massage and make-up might make her outwardly look well, but these things could not ward off the damage which, ‘was being done to her disposition. She had become so tired of the unremitting demands of producers, directors and the public that, when she was alone, she would feel overwhelmed by her feelings of helplessness and would often become hysterical.

Finally, in 1941, she gave up films in order to live the life of a recluse, until she died at the age of 84. Thus, in the oblivion of death her life of fame came to an end.

Greta Garbo wanted to live and die without fanfare. It was, therefore, with great difficulty that a would-be biographer, Antoni Gronowiez, persuaded her to grant him permission to write her biography. She agreed on the one strict condition that the book be published after her death. The book was completed but the author died in 1985 at the age of 71, survived by Greta Garbo. It was only after her death in 1990 that this biography, entitled Garbo; Her Story, was published in the US.

The Times of India of September 9, 1990, published an excerpt from the book. The passage on what Garbo had to say about the later part of her life is reproduced below:

I have lost a belief in people, in a God who put me in a situation without replying clearly to my questions. I am floating on the waters of life without direction, without a goal, without the knowledge of why and how long. (p. 15).

The story of Greta Garbo may seem extreme, but it is more or less the story of all human beings. Everyone has forgotten God. Everyone is running after a ‘God’ of his own creation. When he finds it, he continues to feel unsatisfied. In mistaken belief, he had set a goal for himself which, in fact, was not what he wanted.

Everyone starts the journey of life with the conviction that he is fast approaching his destination. But when he arrives at his ‘destination’ it dawns on him that it is not the destination he imagined, but an abyss into which he will now be plunged along with all his wishes and desires.