Emily St. John Mendel: An Analysis

As a child, every other time I went to the store, a new pack of colored pencils or a beautiful sketchbook caught my attention, and I promptly begged my parents to buy it for me. Now and again they gave in to my pleas, but for the most part, my parents just asked me whether or not I really needed these things. Of course, I would tell them that the art supplies were absolutely essential, but really, I wouldn’t die without a new pack of crayons. Now, years later, I wonder if my younger self was right. Maybe I really did need those crayons and colored pencils. People say that the only thing you need is food, clothing and shelter, but maybe Kirsten was right and “survival is insufficient”. In the end, the question remains; is art really necessary?

John Mendel, for one, seems to be quite set on the idea that art is essential. In Station Eleven, Kirsten forgets all of her memories from the first year on the road. For her, her life doesn’t really begin until she meets the Travelling Symphony. In that first year, she certainly survives, but that’s all she does. She barely hangs on, scrapping together just enough courage and energy to keep moving, keep breathing. But as the third cello’s actions prove, as he leaves the safety of his Michigan home in search of something more, a full stomach isn’t enough. There’s more to life than eating and breathing. When Kirsten meets the symphony and opens her eyes to living for something beyond survival, spending everyday doing what she loves, she realizes that the year that had passed was a blurred nightmare and it soon fades from her memory, like the actions of a

She can settle down in a town and stay safe and survive, but she chooses to remain with the symphony and thrive. Clark’s art is his museum, for he finds the act of educating others important and fulfilling. The time he spends cleaning his collection is rewarding and relaxing. Miranda’s art is her comic book, which is the satisfying constant in her life. She says, “It makes me happy. It’s peaceful, spending hours working on it. It doesn’t really matter to me if anyone else sees it”. Jeevan’s art is his work as a doctor, despite the stress it surely brings, because he’s proud of his work at the end of the day and it’s something he truly loves. Diallo’s art is his newspaper, which he finds meaningful and rewarding. And in a truly extreme sense, Tyler’s art is his preaching. It provides him something to be wholly invested in, something to live for. Using this loose definition, one’s art is almost like one’s purpose. Life is by no means sunshine and roses, but art gives it vibrance and elegance, something that those living in the post apocalypse dearly need. Art, in this loose sense, is a reason to