With the completion of this book by Margaret Laurence, I've officially read my entire reading list for my specialized exam (which is tomorrow)!
A Bird in the House was an interesting book to end this journey toward understanding the female Bildungsroman, because while it wasn't my favorite book on the reading list, it did confirm a lot of the issues I've been considering while reading the other books on this list.
It is collection of stories (though, really, I would consider it more like The House on Mango Street in that the stories work together to form a unified whole) that follows the childhood of Vanessa who grows up in a full house with her grandparents, parents, and aunt (and others who come to stay with them for a short time).
Throughout the book, Vanessa struggles (and watches the other women in her house endure these same struggles) against her grandfather who seems to hold all their fates in his fist--determining what each women can say and think, regardless of whether they live in the house with him or not. Edna, Vanessa's aunt, (my favorite character, though, I tend to favor the characters who are spirited and fight back against their oppressors) resists her father's control and as a result, she and her father are always at odds with one another even at his death.
Vanessa's mother, on the other hand, submits to avoid tension much to Edna's dismay and Edna even calls her out on her passiveness, saying "Well, if you're going to make a carpet of yourself...he'll sure as death walk all over you" (176). As a result, Vanessa's mother is trapped in her role of a "carpet" and cannot escape it, because she is afraid of being independent, afraid of having a voice.
While Edna and later, Vanessa, do seem to escape the grandfather's incessant hold on them, they do this by moving out of the house and their physical removal from the house--and the grandfather's presence--seems to be the key in freeing oneself and beginning the journey toward selfhood without outside constraints.
Looking back, the title seems to be especially fitting. When Vanessa's grandmother is alive, she keeps a bird that is often sick and sings only when it is well. The women in this book are much like that bird. Birds are meant to be free, to fly--not meant to be trapped in a cage (or the house for the women in this book), so for most of the book, these women are A Bird in the House--trapped and contained until they can leave--both their restricting environment and the man who held them there.
Overall, it was an interesting book, and I especially liked the chapters titled "The Loons" and "Horses of the Night." Lovely images and characters in those chapters.
Now, it's time to practice for my last comprehensive exam tomorrow. I hope to have good news when it is all finished!
A Bird in the House was an interesting book to end this journey toward understanding the female Bildungsroman, because while it wasn't my favorite book on the reading list, it did confirm a lot of the issues I've been considering while reading the other books on this list.
It is collection of stories (though, really, I would consider it more like The House on Mango Street in that the stories work together to form a unified whole) that follows the childhood of Vanessa who grows up in a full house with her grandparents, parents, and aunt (and others who come to stay with them for a short time).
Throughout the book, Vanessa struggles (and watches the other women in her house endure these same struggles) against her grandfather who seems to hold all their fates in his fist--determining what each women can say and think, regardless of whether they live in the house with him or not. Edna, Vanessa's aunt, (my favorite character, though, I tend to favor the characters who are spirited and fight back against their oppressors) resists her father's control and as a result, she and her father are always at odds with one another even at his death.
Vanessa's mother, on the other hand, submits to avoid tension much to Edna's dismay and Edna even calls her out on her passiveness, saying "Well, if you're going to make a carpet of yourself...he'll sure as death walk all over you" (176). As a result, Vanessa's mother is trapped in her role of a "carpet" and cannot escape it, because she is afraid of being independent, afraid of having a voice.
While Edna and later, Vanessa, do seem to escape the grandfather's incessant hold on them, they do this by moving out of the house and their physical removal from the house--and the grandfather's presence--seems to be the key in freeing oneself and beginning the journey toward selfhood without outside constraints.
Looking back, the title seems to be especially fitting. When Vanessa's grandmother is alive, she keeps a bird that is often sick and sings only when it is well. The women in this book are much like that bird. Birds are meant to be free, to fly--not meant to be trapped in a cage (or the house for the women in this book), so for most of the book, these women are A Bird in the House--trapped and contained until they can leave--both their restricting environment and the man who held them there.
Overall, it was an interesting book, and I especially liked the chapters titled "The Loons" and "Horses of the Night." Lovely images and characters in those chapters.
Now, it's time to practice for my last comprehensive exam tomorrow. I hope to have good news when it is all finished!
Congrats on finishing your reading list, and good luck tomorrow! You are going to kill it, I know! :-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You'll be great!
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