Memory and Narration


I feel like the function of memory in Housekeeping was one of the more interesting aspects of the book. One of Ruth's biggest points about memory is that by nature, it's flawed and not necessarily reliable. For example, take how Lucille and Ruth remember their mother. Lucille remembers Helen in a more idyllic way than Ruth does. Ruth remembers her mother as being indifferent and kind of odd. This is emblematic of the way that memories aren't perfect snapshots of exactly what happened, but rather are modified by different people for different reasons. Lucille remembers her mom in an ideal way because her goal in life is to be considered normal. Lucille remembers her mother in the way that best fits with what she wants. Ruth on the other hand doesn’t have this goal, so her memory of her mother is probably more accurate. In a sense, this is what makes Ruth a reliable narrator. She isn’t too concerned with what everyone else thinks of her and she isn’t really trying to push an agenda. I think it’s interesting to think about Housekeeping might be written differently if it was Lucille telling the story rather than Ruth. I feel like if that were the case, a lot of information would be presented differently or left out for the sake of seeming normal. Lucille probably wouldn’t be actively trying to fool the reader, but rather engaging in a degree of self-deception.

Comments

  1. Smita NairApril 6, 2019 at 5:18 PM

    That's true. additionally, 2 people can experience the same moment in completely different ways. "comfortable silence" to me might be "unbearable awkwardness" to you, etc. Moments in which Ruth and Sylvie feel comfortable doing weird stuff might be incredibly tense and outright upsetting to Lucille.

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  2. MitchellApril 29, 2019 at 11:21 AM

    It's easy to see Lucille's version of Helen (their mother) as a kind of wishful thinking--her death is an accident, she really did care a lot about the girls. We can't tell how much this view is a reflection of Ruth's narration, though, since Ruth prides herself on her clear-eyed lack of illusion when it comes to the hard facts of human life. In some ways, Lucille "cushions" the harsh reality of their mother's abandonment in a manner that recalls how Ruth talks about "human strongholds" (i.e. homes) serve to cushion inhabitants from the harsh facts of transience and decay. There is a kind of consistency in Ruth's view, in that her version of her mother accords closely with her view of "how life is." And her view of Lucille's view also accords with how she depicts Lucille as fleeing for the "shore," unable to deal with the reality that Sylvie and Ruth are so in touch with.

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  3. Katie CMay 25, 2019 at 9:59 AM

    As Mr. Mitchell said above, It's easy to see Lucille's version of Helen (their mother) as a kind of wishful thinking--her death is an accident, she really did care a lot about the girls. We can't tell how much this view is a reflection of Ruth's narration, though, since Ruth prides herself on her clear-eyed lack of illusion when it comes to the hard facts of human life. In some ways, Lucille "cushions" the harsh reality of their mother's abandonment in a manner that recalls how Ruth talks about "human strongholds" (i.e. homes) serve to cushion inhabitants from the harsh facts of transience and decay. There is a kind of consistency in Ruth's view, in that her version of her mother accords closely with her view of "how life is." And her view of Lucille's view also accords with how she depicts Lucille as fleeing for the "shore," unable to deal with the reality that Sylvie and Ruth are so in touch with.

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