Whether it's angst or jealousy, catfights always have to come

“Whether it’s angst or jealousy, catfights always have to come from the wellspring of the emotion of the character.” So spoke Sallie Patrick, a writer and storyteller who understood that every conflict worth witnessing — whether on the stage, on the screen, or in the world itself — must flow from the heart, not from hollow design. Her words, though born from the craft of storytelling, touch upon a truth older than drama itself: that all human strife, all beauty and ruin, must arise from the deep well of emotion that lies within the soul. Without that wellspring, action is empty, and passion becomes mere noise.

The ancients knew this truth well. The tragedians of Greece — Sophocles, Euripides, and Aeschylus — never wrote of battles or betrayals for spectacle alone. Every clash of pride, every fall from grace, was rooted in the emotion of the character. Oedipus, in his anguish, sought truth not for glory, but for the tormenting need to know himself. Medea, consumed by jealousy and betrayal, became both victim and avenger, her fury rising like a tempest from the depths of her wounded love. Their conflicts endure not because of their grandeur, but because they spring from the raw, honest places of the heart. So too does Patrick remind us: without emotion, there is no story — without soul, there is no life.

To speak of angst and jealousy is to speak of the storms that dwell in every human being. These emotions, though often feared, are not evils in themselves; they are signals of passion misaligned, of love and longing unmet. A tale without such emotion is lifeless, for it lacks the pulse of truth. Even in the “catfights” Patrick describes — the fierce rivalries, the clashing egos, the burning tensions — what gives them meaning is not the shouting or the fury, but the truth behind them: the pain of being unseen, the desire to be valued, the fear of being forgotten. The truest conflicts are not between people, but within them.

Consider the story of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt — a woman whose life was filled with grandeur and strife. History remembers her not merely for her beauty or cunning, but for the intensity of her emotion. Her loves, her losses, her jealousies, her defiance — all sprang from the wellspring of her being. When she faced the ruin of her kingdom, she did not act as a puppet of fate, but as one fully consumed by her own spirit. It was that depth of feeling that made her story eternal. For audiences and historians alike, she is not just a figure of politics, but of passion incarnate — proof that what moves the heart moves the world.

Thus, Sallie Patrick’s wisdom extends far beyond the writer’s craft. It reminds us that all authenticity, whether in art or life, begins with honest emotion. To act without feeling is to live falsely; to express emotion without understanding its root is to drift without purpose. True creation — whether of art, relationships, or destiny — must spring from the inner well of genuine experience. Every person has this reservoir within them, though many fear to draw from it, for it demands vulnerability and truth. Yet without it, we are but shadows, speaking words that do not belong to our souls.

The wise, then, must learn to know their wellspring — to feel deeply without drowning, to express emotion without losing reason. It is not wrong to feel jealousy, or to know angst; what matters is to understand what these emotions reveal. Do they spring from love? From insecurity? From longing? In knowing their source, we transform chaos into meaning. The artist does this upon the stage, but the sage does this within his own heart.

So let this be the teaching: whatever you create, whatever conflict you face, let it come from the wellspring of truth. If you are angry, understand why. If you are jealous, ask what you fear losing. If you love, let it burn not for possession, but for connection. For it is not the emotion itself that defines you, but how deeply and honestly you express it. Sallie Patrick’s words are not merely for storytellers — they are for all who seek to live with authenticity.

Remember this, O seeker of meaning: emotion is the river that gives life to all creation. Drink from it, but do not be swept away. Let your actions rise not from pride or pretense, but from the wellspring of the soul, for only then will your story — like those of the ancients — ring true through the ages.