Homesickness

Homesickness, an early term for PTSD, was the diagnosis for soldiers who couldn't function on the battlefield and pined for their homes. For Florence(Lesley's grandmother) it was a sickness suffered within her home as she battled with the traumas of wars she had never seen. Handkerchiefs were used when one was physically ill as well as when one was emotionally traumatized by grief. They persist as a signal of public mourning. These curtains of grief are a public message of Florence's status as a war widow while they also hide the lifelong mental trauma she suffered alone inside her home. Curtains function to block light and to hide what is within but these stained handkerchiefs can do neither. However, they are containers of memory. With their comforting and intimate smells and feel, Florence's memories of her husband and son were strengthened. She doesn't want to forget them.