Wheel! of! Fortune!!! - Eliza Colbert
No, my post is not about a game show that I have never even seen. It’s unfortunate that this imagery of the wheel of fortune has lost much of its original meaning. Originally, it referred to a literal wheel that Lady Fortune used to influence a person’s life. I looked up a few images of this and they're all really interesting. The wheel isn’t like a wagon wheel, but more like a ferris wheel. The pictures portray people actually sitting on top of the wheel as kings. Those on the bottom are either being crushed underneath the wheel or clinging to it for survival. Each side of the wheel depicts people climbing or falling on either side. The king looks very precarious in his position, and that’s the point.
Lady Philosophy tells Boethius that the only thing Fortune can be relied on to be is unreliable. In fact, Philosophy says, “If Fortune began to be permanent, she would cease to be Fortune” (33). It is Fortune’s nature to be changeable and fickle. If it wasn’t, then she wouldn’t be Fortune. This is why the king’s position is depicted as so precarious; at any moment Fortune could turn her wheel and send him crashing down from his perch. If you look at the picture, the king is literally sitting on top of the wheel without anything to assure that he remains there. I don’t know about you, but I would not sit on top of a wheel that could turn on me and make me fall to the ground.
But Fortune’s changeability goes both ways. As she turns her wheel, the king falls and the unfortunate man rises. And so, Fortune’s nature of change is comforting for those who are suffering. As Philosophy says, “this very fickleness is for you a source of hope for better things” (37). If the wheel turns and brings you down, then the wheel can turn again and bring you back up. This is why you should never put your trust in Fortune. Everything she does is guaranteed to change. Nothing she brings, good or ill, will last. Thus we are called to look for higher things, something that transcends the changeability of Fortune and the rest of the world. What exactly that is is a topic for another time.
P.S. I commented on Zelda's and Moriah's posts
Never seen Wheel of Fortune? We’ve got to fix that… The clue this time is “Spencer’s Favorite Phrases”: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ReplyDeleteBe the first to guess and you could win a fabulous trip to some Caribbean escape you’ve never heard of!
I’m not terribly fond of the analogy comparing fortune to a wheel, to be honest… The fall of the people at the top doesn’t ensure the rise of the people at the bottom, and vice versa. Granted, I really can’t think of a better analogy, but that might testify to how sketchy the supposition of fortune is to begin with. Is chance even possible in such a structured reality? That sounds Calvinistic, but even some notable atheists today are doubting this, positing instead that all atoms are moving in an unalterable path and that human free will is an illusion... I’m not voicing support of that theory, but I think you can already guess that I don’t believe chance is the driving force of reality.
Yes, Will, but Lady Philosophy also hinted that Fortune is an agent of God. Boethius was upset with Fortune because he forgot that God is ultimately in control. Fortune "spun the wheel" to knock him down a peg and reorient his thoughts. He had been so secure in worldly positions that he forgot where to look for security. The kings on top of the wheel are less secure than the people at the bottom because the people at the bottom have nothing left to lose.
ReplyDeleteNice picture, Eliza!