helena as the key and the creator of the door
(I'm sure this has been talked about) but I think it's so beautiful, even in the midst of so much unthinkable pain, how Helena was able to built up these elaborate walls within her mind and then also hold the key to unlocking them. Like, it was not someone else who built up these elaborate walls to barricade her memories. It was her. And ultimately, it was her body, battered and broken, that overpowered the resistance in her mind while she rested.
Her body knew the way back, even when her mind didn't.
So much powerful symbolism in this story!!!
It reminds me of how whatever barriers are in my mind causing low self esteem, or hopelessness are self created. And if I created them, then surely I can bring those walls down. Maybe not through just thinking my way back to better mental health, but through my body - making the most of rest when I can get it. I don't have to know how it all works or what the timeframe is or how to optimize each and every moment. I just have to take it step by step and trust that it will happen.