Zing Go The Strings!

In a nineteenth century painting entitled “Hope,”1 the artist portrays a woman with bandaged eyes. She is unable to see ahead of herself. In her hands is a harp with broken strings, representing her shattered dreams and expectations. Immediately beneath the woman is a globe, representing the world that is pitted against her. Still one string on the harp remains intact. It is the string of hope, which she plucks triumphantly, sending a beautiful melody floating out over that hostile world, and filling the dark night with bright-shining stars. Over the years, the artist received many letters from persons who saw the painting and identified with the woman whose future seemed as dark as the night. One woman said that at a time when her life had become unbearable and she was ready to end it all, quite by chance she saw that wonderful painting. In her own words, “It inspired me to strike the string of hope within my own soul — and I…