What's in a name?

Joan Perdita Greenwood.

This is my alterego, my inner poet and maniac. I tried to name this other side of me for a long time until it started dawning on me.

Joan

There are two reasons why I like the name Joan and why it's took over my real name.

Joan of Arc was my idol in Primary Seven, always lurking at the back of my memory, chained to that stake: a martyr and a saint. I read about her for my France topic and fell in love with the story of the young girl who defied England.



Also, Joan Gilling is a character in "The Bell Jar". She is - what Plath calls - "a shadow of my old self at best." She was also a lesbian which helps confront any questions about my own sexuality - as they should arise. Also, Joan suffered from depression, as I do.

Perdita

My middle name has a doggy connection. 101 Dalmations, actually. In the original book, there were four adult dalmations, not just two. Pongo and Missis, their 'wet nurse' Perdita and her long lost love Prince. Perdita, in Latin, means 'lost' and was the name of the herione in "The Winter's Tale" by William Shakespeare. It's a damn good play and reminds me - a bit - of The Princess Diaries (just the bit about her being royalty and all but not knowing it).

Greenwood

There's quite a few reasons for the last name.

Mainly, though, I chose this from Esther Greenwood, the main character in "The Bell Jar". Again, for the poetic prowess and depth of depression that Esther shows in the book, it reflects my own personality. Also, (funny fact) that in 1880, there was two politicians named Arthur Greenwood born. And of course, Chester Greenwood, the inventor of ear-muffs. There was an actress called Joan Greenwood, she was very pretty and she was voted 63rd in the top hundred Sexiest Stars in film history - as held by Empire magazine.

So, these are the reasonings to my new title - as it were - and it seems far more thought out than anything I was originally called.