At midnight a few days ago, millions of people across the globe celebrated the New Year, filled with hope for better tomorrows in 2022. And who can blame them, considering the dreadful past years?

Hope. A word we are all too familiar with in our everyday lives. An optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large, tells us dictionary.com. Or, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, desire for something to happen or be true and thought that it could happen or be true—notice the absence of any reference to optimism in this one.

We live in a world that grabs every opportunity to nourish hope. ‘I hope you are OK’, ‘hopefully, all will go well’, ‘keep your hopes up’, ‘let’s hope’, etc. It surrounds us, a constant reminder that we must ensure to believe our expectations. Just listen to your family, your friends, your boss, even your therapist. If they all say the same thing, it must be true, right? The overall message is clear: do not despair people, even when all seems lost, hope will come to the rescue! Honestly, who would ever lie about it?

Though, let us take a moment to delve into the concept. The most famous tale about hope is found in Greek mythology through the legend of the infamous Pandora’s box. Pandora, the first woman, endowed by the gods and married to the titan Epimetheus, god of afterthought and excuses (the story already begins badly). Taken out of curiosity (one of the gods’ gifts), she opens a box (entrusted to her by the same gods) sealed by Zeus (or a jar, depending on the sources). Unknown to her, the seemingly innocent object contains all the physical and emotional evils that instantly escape to the world, cursing mankind forever. Similarly, in a not-so-distant land, another first woman, Eve, achieves the same result with a single apple, influenced, this time, by a snake. Fortunately, we are told, Pandora closes the box just before Hope (Elpis in Greek) succeeds in escaping, keeping the reputedly good omen safe (contrary to Eve, who, according to another mythology, was not given the same opportunity). Phew, that was close!

Except two things do not add up. First, if Hope is still supposed to be concealed in a box, unable to roam freely, does it mean that our existence is, in fact, hopeless or that there is no hope in this world?  Secondly, if Hope was initially locked up by the gods in a box confining the most nefarious scourges now afflicting our lives, should we not conclude that, fundamentally, Hope is a curse more than a blessing? Then, consequently, should it not logically be released from its prison? Unless the story is totally biased, and Hope did escape. Philosophers are still debating the idea and I have no wish to join them. It should be noted, nonetheless, that, in both tales, humanity is conveniently doomed by a woman; perhaps the subject of a future post. However, the question remains about the legitimacy to hope. Norse mythology (which in some respects is quite influenced by the Greek one) goes even further: Hope (Vön) is none other than the drooling of the giant wolf, Fenrir. And knowing that the mythical animal, a major figure of Ragnarök (the Nordic equivalent of the Apocalypse), is fated to kill Odin, the king of the gods, during the process, leaves us with little prospect…

Despite its lousy origin, the concept of hope managed to trick the odds and ultimately emerge as a beacon of reassurance, a consolation that something good is bound to happen to us, a demonstration of faith. And faith is the proper word because it came out of religion, in particular monotheism. Billions of people live in the hope of the coming or the return of a messiah. A holy being who will lead its devotees into a better world blessed by the virtues of divine rule, freed from all the afflictions cursing their lives. It is also found in religions that teach reincarnation. Living decently or accepting your fate in this life, increases your hope for a better one in your next incarnation. And so life continued through the centuries. Until an interval in the 19th century, where romanticism almost literally killed all hope, followed by World War I (yes, I slightly shrink the facts). But, like the Phoenix, its positive avatar emerged gloriously from its ashes with the development of Seventh Art in Hollywood, reaching audiences well beyond what religion has achieved before. For decades, we have been immersed in the reassuring conviction that everything will ultimately be fine. In motion pictures, Technicolor, widescreen, high definition, Dolby Vision and even 3D. The choice is yours; the message remains the same. Its Grand Master? Walt Disney, of course! But not only. Others after him keep perpetuating the fable. What could be more emblematic than Princess Leia’s plea in Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope (here it comes): ‘This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.’ Note that she uses “only” rather than “last”.

Then, you will ask, do I personally hope? Of course. Like most people on this planet, I relish in this futile exercise, my mind carefully formatted from birth by my Christian upbringing and the magical wonders of the cinema fairy. Although, a few decades ago, rather than hoping, people used to pray, wish, or have faith. But with an increasingly less spiritual world, these words appear more and more suspicious, seemingly leaving our societies in the one embrace of Hope. Nonetheless, let us imagine a time in the future when Hope is deliberately kept locked in its little box — Preferably with some of its former inmates — finally forgotten by most in the dusty bookshelves of the past vocabularies. A heavenly age where the human psyche has been drawn to a more alluring locution designed to elevate our beliefs for a better future. I am not setting all my hopes on it.

Meanwhile, I wish everyone who has survived my prose, so far, the best for 2022. And hope (ouch!) that you will keep reading my posts. I let you meditate on Turandot’s riddle about Hope in Puccini’s opera of the same name:

In the gloomy night

 an iridescent phantom flies.

 It spreads its wings and rises

 over infinite, black humanity!

 Everyone invokes it,

 everyone implores it!

 But the phantom disappears at dawn

 to be reborn in the heart!

 And every night it’s born

 and every day it dies!