Paint the Town

Many hidden messages are found in color. Purple, for example, symbolizes riches and wealth. In all of its soothing tones, blue is a shade which floats through the peace of the aqua sky and turquoise ocean. Green conjures thoughts of slime, bile, envy, and greed. With its golden hues, yellow implies optimism and creativity, while the citrus shades of orange stimulate the appetite. One color, however, evokes more personal symbolism than any other. Red, alone, unleashes unfettered emotion, floods man’s senses, and overwhelms his psyche with deep, subliminal significance. A flash of the color crimson is a telegram from the human heart.

So often, the color red elicits romantic associations. On Valentine’s Day, a doting boy showers his blushing sweetheart with ribbons, cards, flowers, and heart-shaped boxes wrapped in shining crimson. Sitting across from her lover in a dimly-lit restaurant, a woman wearing a deep red dress embodies the romance and desire that only red possesses. When the intended message is one of love, no subtle hue will suffice. Only the color red captures the vibrant passion which is the essence of romantic love.

In addition to all of its romantic associations, red also signals promiscuity. A flash of bold crimson epitomizes the provocative lure of a Red-light District, where prostitutes sell themselves under the suggestive glow of red lamps. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath, a woman “with five churched husbands,” dons scarlet stockings. Apart from the gripping shades of red, no other color illustrates the fiery desire and internal yearning of lust.

After a glimpse of red, the heart is struck with emotions of war and aggression. The brilliant scarlet of a British soldier’s coat symbolizes the pride he feels in his country and the blind anger of war. The appalling vividness of red flashes a horrific war scene to the human heart; crimson alone captures the hostility of battle, the rage of plunging one’s bayonet into his enemy, and the sanguine shade which flows from a wounded fighter’s veins. Scarlet illustrates the violence of aggression and the fury unleashed in the moments of combat.

As the wounded soldier falls on the battlefield, his crimson blood represents the fragility of life. The birth of a baby releases a brilliant outpouring of color, but only the scarlet liquid rushing from a man’s veins captures the delicacy of human existence. His blood reminds him of his precious, limited time on Earth; he is a red-blooded animal, a mammal, a mortal destined for death from the moment he is born.

Just as the sight of blood heightens awareness of mortality, a red rose is also a living testament to life’s impermanence. From first blossom to death, this flower’s vibrant petals last only a few short weeks. Even while tucked safely in a porcelain vase, the rose’s death is inevitable. Quickly the color fades and the petals fall from the stem. The beauty of the rose truly lies in its fragility; because of its brief lifespan, each day the scarlet flower remains in bloom is another attestation to the fragile tenacity of life. Just like the rose, human life should be valued for its delicate beauty.

Every time a human being witnesses red, an unconscious message of love, lust, war, or life’s fast-approaching end is delivered to the mind’s door from the human heart. Amidst all of the chaos of his colorful world, man often neglects the powerful messages of red which subliminally overtake his psyche. The emotions inspired by crimson shades, however, should not be an accidental experience; human beings should purposely infuse their lives with the bold symbolism of red’s subliminal meanings. Just like the vibrant messages of scarlet, life must be deliberate. Every morning must be soaked in crimson meaning; each afternoon, with enriching, sanguine emotion, and every night, one must paint the town.