Sunday, June 28, 2009

Hub 10 in the Hub Challenge: The Jigsaw Puzzle

A creepy little story called The Jigsaw Puzzle is what I selected to place on hub number 10 for the Hub Challenge.

The Jigsaw Puzzle falls into a theme with a 'lingering stalker' in the tale, but some will classify the urban legend as another 'axe-murderer' tale or 'murdering madman' legend.

Actually, this urban legend fits into a number of categories, including 'cautionary tale,' but this time, teens aren't being warned not to have sex. In this instance, for some reason, the elderly are being warned about something.

Here's how it works:

Basically, the elderly woman in the story SHOULD NOT be exercising her independence. She SHOULD BE living somewhere that is not so isolated, and she should be living with other people. Due to her independence and insistence on living alone after her husband dies, her insistence on retaining her home, the woman ends up in a "killer" situation...or - she is going to die at the hands of a killer.

Some of this legend is likely an attempt from the society who made this urban legend - to say, "Hey...a happy MATURE couple has two people...a man and a woman who grow old together. If one of these personas is NOT in place, the picture is not right." Basically, if one of a pair - if a mate dies - the remaining individual has to give up autonomy. And YES...this legend may have been told to aging people in order to get them to give up isolation and move into certain kinds of care facilities...more likely, the urban legend is told to people of all ages, to instill the idea that the 'societal norm' should be that old members of society need to turn toward living in extended care facilities (nursing homes) rather than living alone once a mate dies.

Read: The Jigsaw Puzzle on my hub

* Tip - close the blinds/curtains of your windows before you read this, particularly if you're reading after dark!

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