On Dolls

I've always had an uneasy relationship with dolls, which is not rare. Dolls conjure The Uncanny, (more on this later) that allows for a kind of anxiety few of us want to discuss.

According to Kenneth Gross: “The puppet creates delight and fear. It may evoke the innocent play of childhood, or become a tool of ritual magic, able to negotiate with ghosts and gods. Puppets can be creepy things, secretive, inanimate while also full of spirit, alive with gesture and voice.”  I've always felt the same way about many dolls. Once, when a child, I tore the arms off a doll because I was afraid of it. I felt safe.  Without hands, the doll could not touch me.