Hmm. There seems to be a lot of debate about whether the protagonist of this concept album actually commits suicide. This track is the album's namesake, and it seems the obvious climax. I feel that:
-Mr. Self Destruct establishes the character, and his demons, and establishes the concept of the album.
-The meat-and-potatoes of the album represents a building of pressure as the character comes closer and closer to the act of suicide (while confronting religion, sex, drugs, etc).
The Downward Spiral IS the climax- wherein the protagonist, having sunk further and further into his own personal hell, is finally confronting his own destruction. Lots of people think ABOUT suicide, even CONSIDER suicide. But it's a much smaller group that actually experiences a moment when they are really going to do it- noose around the neck, gun in the mouth, ready. I think The Downward Spiral is the agony of staring the devil directly in the face.
-Hurt has a sense, for me, of understanding and (of all things!) humility. It says to me that the character practiced a little "cutting", using physical pain as a way to bring themselves back to reality, but couldn't go through the act of suicide. The realization that he had no control over the cessation of his suffering, not even control through escape via suicide, effectively broke him of any anger or rage- by the final track, he is utterly and completely without hope.'
This has just always been my interpretation. Surely the protagonist of the album doesn't HAVE to be Trent (the speaker is not always the author, as it is in literature). But obviously he's treading on familiar ground, or he wouldn't get these feelings so perfectly right. It makes more sense to me, aside from the context of the album, that Trent could relate more to almost-suicide than actual suicide. After all, he obviously didn't commit the latter.
Hmm. There seems to be a lot of debate about whether the protagonist of this concept album actually commits suicide. This track is the album's namesake, and it seems the obvious climax. I feel that:
-Mr. Self Destruct establishes the character, and his demons, and establishes the concept of the album. -The meat-and-potatoes of the album represents a building of pressure as the character comes closer and closer to the act of suicide (while confronting religion, sex, drugs, etc).
-Hurt has a sense, for me, of understanding and (of all things!) humility. It says to me that the character practiced a little "cutting", using physical pain as a way to bring themselves back to reality, but couldn't go through the act of suicide. The realization that he had no control over the cessation of his suffering, not even control through escape via suicide, effectively broke him of any anger or rage- by the final track, he is utterly and completely without hope.'
This has just always been my interpretation. Surely the protagonist of the album doesn't HAVE to be Trent (the speaker is not always the author, as it is in literature). But obviously he's treading on familiar ground, or he wouldn't get these feelings so perfectly right. It makes more sense to me, aside from the context of the album, that Trent could relate more to almost-suicide than actual suicide. After all, he obviously didn't commit the latter.
All of this imHo, of course.