For me, one of the most memorable scenes in
Housekeeping was when Sylvie walked out onto the railroad bridge for the first time. This act, in my opinion, reveals more about her character than any description that Ruth has given us. Because Ruth and Lucille are by the lake and spot her by chance, we learn something about how she spends her days. From the way Sylvie speaks to Ruth and Lucille about it, this very dangerous act of walking out onto a railroad bridge is nothing special in her eyes.
"I had no idea it was so late!" she called as we walked towards her. "I though it would be an hour or so until school was out."
"School isn't out," Lucille said.
"Well I was right after all, then. The 1:35 just went through a little while ago so it must be pretty early still." (81-82)
He tone is very relaxed and matter of fact, as if she just expects the girls to be totally ok with what she just did; Sylvie herself is certainly unfazed by the danger. However, it is not that she is suicidal or deliberately putting herself at risk: Sylvie knows the train schedules by heart and makes sure that she will not be on the bridge at the same time as a train. That being said, Sylvie still does take this risk, and does not seem to give too much thought to the consequences of her actions. This becomes apparent when Lucille asks why she would do such a thing.
"What was it like?" Lucille asked. Her voice was small and flat and tensely composed.
Sylvie shrugged and laughed. "Cold. Windy."
Lucille said, "You did it just to see what it was like?"
"I suppose so."
"What if you fell in?"
"Oh," Sylvie said, "I was pretty careful."
"If you fell in, everyone would think you did it on purpose," Lucille said. "Even us."
Sylvie reflected a moment. "I suppose that's true." She glanced down at Lucille's face. "I didn't mean to upset you." (82)
Sylvie doesn't give the danger much thought, simply saying that she was careful. She also is unable to explain to Lucille a good reason for taking this risk. However, I for one believe Sylvie completely when she says that she didn't mean to upset the girls. She is not used to being responsible for others, and seems to be considering for the first time what would have happened if she had slipped and fallen in. Is Sylvie crazy for behaving this way? Do actions like this make her unfit to be the guardian of Ruth and Lucille? Lucille certainly seems to think so...
I think Sylvie not thinking of the consequences of her actions is part of her character development-- she goes from leaning over the bridge not thinking about the two children in her care; to becoming a mother figure to Ruth, and working to keep them together no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI think that she definitely doesn't understand the fears that Ruth and Lucille have, especially given that their mother drove off the cliff into this lake. She doesn't mean to upset them and is completely honest that she had no idea that it would effect them or that they were even their. I also think that it is important that she doesn't question their not being is school, but just continues to use it as justification for her point.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a very memorable scene, and it shows us a lot about Sylvie's character. This is one of the first scenes were we get the definite idea that Sylvie is taking big risks just for the experience of it. We also see a large disconnect from Sylvie's actions and Lucille's expectations. Lucille is clearly very upset by this event, and even though Sylvie didn't mean to upset her, we don't see her going out of her way to reassure the girls. Sylvie still doesn't seem to understand that her actions may not be acceptable to everyone and that she had to act differently to take care of children than she would on her own.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this scene is very revealing about Sylvie's character. She doesn't care what other people think, whether it is the townspeople or Ruth and Lucille. Even though Lucille is obviously upset at Sylvie, Sylvie doesn't bother to apologize. She doesn't think she has done anything wrong as she doesn't understand why the girls have gotten upset.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this scene. I saw it as Sylvie connecting with nature: the fluid current beneath her, and the wind around her. Her transient lifestyle reflects in the current and the wind, there's even a line mentioning how she sways in the wind and it causes her coat to billow. I find this beautiful as she's connecting her (fluid, ever-changing, moving freely) life to the nature around her. And it's also to interesting to see how at peace this makes her. She hardly notices Lucille's annoyed (but rightful) interrogation. However, is this an okay hobby for a guardian of two girls? Unfortunately probably not.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this, I interpreted it as Sylvie not being able to think her actions out when confronted about them. She shrugs and says I suppose, when asked about why she did it and what she felt. However, I think looking back Sylvie really had no experience with taking care of kids. So in a way, I think Sylvie learns from this experience.
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