Paulo Coelho

Stories & Reflections

Today’s Question by Aart Hilal

Author: Paulo Coelho

In this story, we could feel many themes such as, what is love, the diversity of people’s interpretation, and the conflicts between conventional people and people who are willing to challenge to drive the changes. What was the message you wanted to convey most through this work?

I wanted to particularly explore the prejudices that we have when we embrace our compassionate side.

People that accept that God is more than rules and commandments and try to dwell into the adoration of beauty and passion, this feminine energy, are called “witches”. But in fact, Athena is someone who intuitively understands the soul of the world and tries to abide to its freedom.

Recently I was reading Karen Armstrong’s book on the Prophet ( Muhammad, Harper Collins), and there is a part that she mentions: ” each recitation began with the invocation: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate (al-Rahman), and the Merciful (al-Rahim)…the divine names Al-Rahman and al-Rahim are not only grammatically feminine, but related etymologically to the word for womb.”

I am not an expert in Arabic etymology, but I believe that Mrs. Armstrong is. My new book explores this Compassion and this Mercy, as I see from my perspective. I felt the need to question why society had tried to lock away the feminine side. The character of Athena, with her freedom and courage, was my way to tackle this subject and to unveil the shackles of dogma.

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