In the book Room by Emma Donoghue, I find the character of Old Nick to be the most confusing so far. So this guy has had Ma locked up in this 11 x 11 room since she was in college. The only time we read scenes with Old Nick, is when he comes back to Room to have sex with Ma, throw out the trash, and pick up the list of necessities. Two years into Ma’s captivity, she gives birth to a son named Jack, who, although he gives Ma some company and a reason to take better care of herself, he also has to live in this 11 x 11 room with Ma, not yet having experienced what the outside is like.
So the question is: What is Old Nick getting out of this? In the beginning of Ma’s captivity, I suppose it was the feeling of control and dominance, but that theory only comes from watching numerous crime tv shows. Even if Old Nick’s satisfaction from this situation is over, and to him, it’s just becoming tedious to have to provide for both Ma and Jack, he can’t really quit now, he’s too far into his own “game”. If he were to release Ma and Jack, they would just report him to the police. He’s been caught in his own trap, in his own room.
This leads to the question: Does Old Nick actually cares about Ma and Jack? He does bring them things, not just the necessities (like food, electricity, etc), like games, books, and different toys. It could be argued that these things are just used to keep Ma and Jack preoccupied and distract them from the fact they are trapped in their limited 11 x 11 room, but it still brings light to the dismal situation of Room. It could also be argued that he brings toys and games for Jack as a way of messing with Ma. In the beginning of the book, Jack has a good impression of Old Nick, for he only hears about him when he brings them their Sunday Treat, because of this, Jack is reluctant to believe Ma when she reveals that Old Nick is an evil man. Even though Jack has never interacted with Old Nick, he still thought of him as a good man, which gets on Ma’s nerves since she can’t prove otherwise.
Because of these different views we get of Old Nick, I don’t know what to think about him. I know what he has done is wrong, but I am intrigued to see what he will do as Jack’s world becomes enlightened as he becomes older and Ma will begin to have a stronger helper.
I think that Old Nick is doing all of this because he wants to feel powerful. He can easily control them because they were in Room and so the only thing he gets out of this situation is the enjoyment out of being able to control Ma and Jack so easily.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Eric. I think that Old Nick does the more-than-necessary things to convince himself (and mess with Ma's head) that he's not as bad as he could be -- he's fulfilling his distorted vision of a consensual relationship by being the bread-bringer. Old Nick is forcing Ma into this role of the pleasing housewife full of gratitude, and so (at first) he confuses Jack about his role in all of this.
ReplyDeleteI think that Old Nick has just dug himself into a hole that is too deep. I think that if he could release Ma and Jack without any consequences, he would, but it's far too late for that now. I believe that Ma was right in trying to escape when she did, because Old Nick would have to release them or silence them through other manners eventually.
ReplyDeleteApart from the kinds of analytical conversations you might have in a course on criminal or abnormal psychology, I'm not sure we can really "understand" the actions of someone like Nick--and I'm thinking here of the kinds of monstrous abusers we learn about periodically in real-life news media as well. I'm glad, actually, that the novel doesn't spend too much time trying to get into Nick's head, or really even giving him page-time at all. He's like an evil force, or "fate," more than a villain in a 3-dimensional sense. He "happens to" Ma, and the novel concerns her efforts to deal with it. He does seem to be having some kind of domestic delusion, in which Ma is something like a troublesome "wife" he has to "keep an eye on," and he does seem susceptible to her emotional manipulations and flattery. And it definitely seems to have something to do with a need for control. But his actions are so far beyond the pale, he vaults into the category of the psychopath with whom it is probably impossible to really see eye-to-eye.
ReplyDeleteThe real paradox that Ma has to deal with, though, is the realization that Jack is the best thing that's ever happened to her, but that happened amidst the worst thing that ever happened to her, and that Jack wouldn't exist without Old Nick. In the end, she has to affirm all that she's been through; she can't "wish it never happened," at least within earshot of Jack.
I definitely agree with CR here. I highly doubt that he actually cares at all for Ma and Jack. He is a sociopath who managed to put himself in a situation that he cannot escape. If he were to let either of them out, he would be immediately found out. His only option would be to kill both of them, but I don't thing he has the willpower to do it. He abducted Ma to abuse her, not have a meaningful relationship.
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