As we progress through Housekeeping we see Lucille's growing hostility towards Sylvie, and eventually Ruth. The first instance where I saw Lucille start to change was when she said she wanted to start eating regular dinner foods of meat and vegetables, rather than breakfast for dinner every night.
After that Lucille picks the sequins off the shoes Sylvie gave her, Lucille's outburst about Sylvie's husband, and Lucille's anger when Ruth doesn't want to help make Lucille's dress. At first all of these are pointed towards Sylvie, but as time goes on she gets frustrated with Ruth. Lucille decides they need other friends than each other. This isn't a bad idea, but it comes at a time when Ruth is starting to resemble Sylvie more and more.
It is already apparent that Lucille does not approve of or enjoy Sylvie's way of life. Lucille values domesticity, order, and housekeeping. These are qualities that Sylvie does not possess. She tries to make the house nice for the girls, she buys things she enjoys, but she does not keep things in the tip top shape Lucille wants.
Lucille craves a sense of belonging. She goes so far as to try to reason with Ruth about their mother's habits and even her death. By forcing these ideas onto someone else we get to see what Lucille really wants. She wants that doting motherly figure to watch over her and Ruth. She wants a housekeeper who feeds them and gives them their vitamins. Lucille wants to be more like her grandmother and tries hard to push away the ways of Sylvie.
When Ruth starts to act more like Sylvie she starts to spend more time away from the house and with the girls at the drug store. When Ruth tries to read with her and disturbs her she will say something to "Ruthie." Although Lucille has called her "Ruthie" in the past, she now only calls her "Ruthie" and it seems to be belittling to her.
It will be interesting to see how Lucille's character changes within Ruth's coming-of-age.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Playing House
The further we dive into Housekeeping we see Sylvie acting quite suspicious. When Sylvie first comes to the house she wears a satin green dress with a brooch, something most transients wouldn't own. When Lily and Nona comment on her dress as I sign of approval, Sylvie seems quite pleased with herself. This seems to be characteristic of Sylvie: putting on a front.
Once Lily and Nona leave we get a sense of the living conditions of the girls. Sylvie provides them with the necessary things to survive, but in a strange way. When the girls need shoes Sylvie gives them decorated slippers, which are appealing on the outside to Ruth, but they don't keep the water out. Sylvie is also seen with a scarf tied around her head carrying a broom, typical things of a housekeeper, but she doesn't know what to do with them.
Sylvie also has breakfast for dinner every night-- as far as we can tell. Eventually Lucille wants to have "regular" dinner foods and Sylvie puts her in charge of groceries. Sylvie also washes half of a ceiling and the door in one room, showing that she knows that things should be cleaned, but she doesn't quite know how. Sylvie is only doing what she remembers, or thinks needs to be done, and hides in the darkness to avoid showing that she really doesn't know what she needs to do for the girls.
Once Lily and Nona leave we get a sense of the living conditions of the girls. Sylvie provides them with the necessary things to survive, but in a strange way. When the girls need shoes Sylvie gives them decorated slippers, which are appealing on the outside to Ruth, but they don't keep the water out. Sylvie is also seen with a scarf tied around her head carrying a broom, typical things of a housekeeper, but she doesn't know what to do with them.
Sylvie also has breakfast for dinner every night-- as far as we can tell. Eventually Lucille wants to have "regular" dinner foods and Sylvie puts her in charge of groceries. Sylvie also washes half of a ceiling and the door in one room, showing that she knows that things should be cleaned, but she doesn't quite know how. Sylvie is only doing what she remembers, or thinks needs to be done, and hides in the darkness to avoid showing that she really doesn't know what she needs to do for the girls.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Buddy
When Buddy is first introduced we hear of the first time she saw a cadaver. Esther alludes to many different dates with Buddy, and later goes back to fill in the holes. She calls him a hypocrite before we get the whole story, and because she is the narrator we are supposed to just believe her. But when we get the whole story, it isn't as climactic as I thought it was going to be. I'll admit, I was a little surprised, but she said many times "I figured this out the day the baby was born."
When Esther figures out that Buddy had slept with the same waitress for almost a whole summer, Esther is shocked. She feels as though he has tricked her into believing that he was pure, and she had been with so many guys. Esther feels betrayed and her reaction is to call him a hypocrite and try to break things off.
Looking back I don't think Buddy was a hypocrite. I think he may have played her a little bit, but I don't think he deserved to be called a hypocrite so many times. I think her reaction to this is pretty normal, as she feels like Buddy violated her trust. After this I can see where she would start questioning their relationship, but I don't think Buddy actually lied about his virginity. When she asked him if he had ever been with anyone, he tells her the whole story. It would have been easy to lie, but he didn't.
Although I think that Buddy may have purposely tried to make Esther feel like her sexual maturity was above his, I don't think he deserved to be repeatedly called a hypocrite.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Depression
In class we have been talking a lot about how it seems as though Esther has depression. She shows many signs, like feeling numb in situations, letting Marco almost rape her, decide that if she dies while trying to ski down the hill, she is okay with that. But it's hard to explain depression to someone who hasn't had it. As many of you know, my brother suffers from depression, and with his permission to share this, this is how he said depression feels:
Depression isn't a prevailing sadness, but a lack of any significant emotion, from happiness to despair, and the longing to feel often hurts worse than the pain. Depression is a disease. Depression is waking up in the morning and lying in bed for hours because you don't see any purpose in living that day. Depression is not bathing or brushing your teeth because you don't feel you're worth taking care of. Depression is being sad when something good happens to you because you don't feel like you deserve it. Depression is not caring about anything that used to make you happy. Depression has muted the colors of the world, dulled the tastes and smells. Depression has stifled my passion for anything, including my once vibrant lust for learning. Some days, I feel like I’m gonna kick the world’s ass. Many days I feel like everything’s pointless. Depression is the single most physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting thing I've faced. Depression has made accomplishing anything significant difficult; sometimes I'll stare at a math problem for an hour with no idea how to start. Most of you who know me know that isn't common.
Esther shares many of these thoughts and characteristics. The first day Esther goes to Dr. Gordon she tells us that she hasn't washed her hair for three weeks, or slept for seven days. When she first comes home from New York she is woken up by Dada and her children. After hearing what the noise was, she pulled the covers over herself and pretends like it is night, and says "I couldn't see the point of getting up. I had nothing to look forward to." It's sentiments like these that have us worried what is going to happen next, and what decisions Esther will make.
Esther also shares the feeling of numbness. When she goes skiing she says she feels as though she is fine dying that day, but she only got a broken leg.Esther also spends an hour looking over the same paragraph she wrote, and remarking how it would take her a whole day to write one page at the rate she was going.
Although Esther doesn't outwardly show many symptoms of depression, they are there. Until you get to see what she is thinking, you don't really know what is going on. Luckily Esther had Teresa catch the symptoms relatively early on.
Depression isn't a prevailing sadness, but a lack of any significant emotion, from happiness to despair, and the longing to feel often hurts worse than the pain. Depression is a disease. Depression is waking up in the morning and lying in bed for hours because you don't see any purpose in living that day. Depression is not bathing or brushing your teeth because you don't feel you're worth taking care of. Depression is being sad when something good happens to you because you don't feel like you deserve it. Depression is not caring about anything that used to make you happy. Depression has muted the colors of the world, dulled the tastes and smells. Depression has stifled my passion for anything, including my once vibrant lust for learning. Some days, I feel like I’m gonna kick the world’s ass. Many days I feel like everything’s pointless. Depression is the single most physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting thing I've faced. Depression has made accomplishing anything significant difficult; sometimes I'll stare at a math problem for an hour with no idea how to start. Most of you who know me know that isn't common.
Esther shares many of these thoughts and characteristics. The first day Esther goes to Dr. Gordon she tells us that she hasn't washed her hair for three weeks, or slept for seven days. When she first comes home from New York she is woken up by Dada and her children. After hearing what the noise was, she pulled the covers over herself and pretends like it is night, and says "I couldn't see the point of getting up. I had nothing to look forward to." It's sentiments like these that have us worried what is going to happen next, and what decisions Esther will make.
Esther also shares the feeling of numbness. When she goes skiing she says she feels as though she is fine dying that day, but she only got a broken leg.Esther also spends an hour looking over the same paragraph she wrote, and remarking how it would take her a whole day to write one page at the rate she was going.
Although Esther doesn't outwardly show many symptoms of depression, they are there. Until you get to see what she is thinking, you don't really know what is going on. Luckily Esther had Teresa catch the symptoms relatively early on.
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