Veronika Decides To Die

Three months after the events of Veronika, the character of Paulo Coelho hears about the events of Veronika’s life from the daughter of Dr. Igor, also named Veronika. Coelho learns that Villete is used by the rich and well-to-do of Slovenia to put away familial problems and save a family or spouse’s reputation among polite society. Villete represents the “worst aspects of capitalism” in a country that recently ceased operating under communism (12). Veronika’s story touches Coelho and reminds him of his own time in psychiatric hospitals, which he has wanted to write about for a while. Coelho has refrained from doing so due to his love for his parents and writes about Veronika’s story as a way of exploring his own experiences.

Veronika decides to die on November 11, 1997, in her convent-rented apartment in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. Veronika is a successful individual by society’s standards: She is college-educated, well-rounded through extracurricular activities, and has extremely loving and well-off parents. She works at a library and spends her evenings courting anonymous men in bars because she believes that it is something she should be doing. Veronika decides to die because life is dull, routine, and devoid of meaning.