Living with Fiction

I finished the novel The Signature of All Things a couple of weeks ago, and ever since, Elizabeth Gilbert’s story has been floating in and out of my mind and inspiring once again, the question, what is the relationship between fiction and reality?  Beyond entertainment, what are the possibilities with a novel like Signature? 

The novel’s main character, Alma Whittaker, is a 19^th century naturalist whose specialty is studying and writing about moss.  She develops both a great curiosity and appreciation for mosses and the ways they grow and adapt.  You might say she develops a tenderness for moss; you might say, her tenderness takes her into a mysticism that leads her to feel connected to all of nature.

I suppose this novel allows me to feel this tenderness as well, not necessarily toward moss, but toward the beauty and mystery of nature.  I too can feel the love exper- ienced by this fictional woman for the natural world.  That’s all I can make of it.  I think it’s enough.