As the book progresses, it’s quite sad to see how Ruth and Lucille have grown apart. In the beginning of the book, Ruth uses “we” a lot, to signify that she and Lucille were inseparable. They did everything together, and even sometimes thought the same things. But once Sylvie comes along, everything changes. Ruth beings to gravitate more towards Sylvie, and Lucille tries to stay in the boundaries of “normalcy”.
After reading Shaleen’s blog post, and Isabel’s comment, I have come to an interesting realization of which I have no evidence to back up, (So bare with me). In the scene where Lucille asks Sylvie to describe Helen, Sylvie is unable to please Lucille. Although I assume that Sylvie and Helen were close when they were young and living in Fingerbone with Sylvia, the grandmother, they have since grown apart (obviously). Sylvie is unable to describe someone who she barely even knows now, because she can’t understand her and how she is different, she just accepts it. But after Sylvie answers with her simplistic descriptions of Helen, Ruth adds that she could describe Lucille. But, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ruth is gravitating towards Sylvie, and that because of that, Ruth and Lucille are beginning to separate. Although we may never know for sure, I believe this could be a reflection of how Sylvie and Helen went their separate ways. Having this in mind leads me to believe that, if Ruth and Lucille continue to grow apart, over time, Ruth will be unable to fully describe Lucille is a helpful way to others.
This is just a theory and I’m curious to know what you guys think.
Your theory about Helen and Sylvie's estrangement is very tantalizing and convincing, but unfortunately we don't have much to go on. From what Ruth has disclosed, Helen seems to have been just as aloof, even if she chose to become a mother and led a somewhat sedentary lifestyle. But who knows what drove her down that path (no pun intended)? Was she a proto-Lucille who, lured by the attraction of societal acceptance, "abandoned" her sister to become a housewife but ultimately realized she was unfit and unhappy with that lifestyle? If she does represent a failed Lucille, I am even more curious to what becomes of Lucille herself.
ReplyDeleteI think much of the novel is focused on this idea of how much of our memories are false. What is it that really sticks with us? I think that you are not in the wrong to assume that as two people drift apart, no matter how close they once were, they begin to loose a sense of who that person is/was. In the end of the book Ruth begins to imagine what Lucille's life will be like but her imagined story is founded in the way Lucille behaved up until Ruth and Sylvie ran away. Though it is safe to say she probably still has some of the characteristics her life could be vastly different than what Ruth imagines. She would be able to describe a former Lucille but is left with hypothesizing present Lucille.
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