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Michelangelo
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From: Maia <maiakevin>
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 18:27:11 -0700
Hmm. Well, insofar as romantic love is concerned, at the end of True Believer it is only Jolly who seems to have found a decent relationship.
Threads: Myrtle and Annie and LaVaughn were all in the 'keep your knees pinned tight until the right man comes along' club. It is what they believe will preserve them from becoming Jollies. So M&A join the Jesus group (side note: I kept wondering if Jinny would mention that such clubs are often where kids end up in sexual "encounters") for their salvation from sex, and also for their sense of belonging. LaVaughn falls in love with an unattainable boy, and misses the wonderful, available one at her side. LaVaughn's mama considers a life with a man who is working at cross purposes to her own. It is only Jolly, trashed and used and abused, who finds a amazing boy who can teach her son to read, who never raises his voice - and she finds him "down in the dirt with the flowers." Ricky, "A refuge for Jolly. Yes. A refuge."
I love it that Jinny never permits us to flounder for too long in false pity, that she turns stereotypes on end. It is Jolly who finds solace for her heart.
Mmm. Yes, LaVaughn finds love and hope too. Different sorts: Friendship. Mother-love. (I didn't think it was odd that LaVaughn bonded easily with kids -- it is from our parents that we learn how to love children, and LaVaughn has had a good teacher in her mama. But then, I am an only too. )
Yes, the doors are open. LaVaughn's options are broadening. Jinny does not point her firmly to one vocation -- she could become a teacher, a nurse or a doctor, an artist. (And how circular that Jody gives her Michelangelo. Just how far will LaVaughn's horizons expand?)
For now, LaVaughn still strikes me as a child, sheltered by the wideness of her mother's arms and that single-minded pursuit of freedom. Soon, she will have to see through less sheltered eyes, shed that cloak of protection. I wonder what will happen when that bubble of maternal determination shatters - as it must, because we can only live in the delicate worlds that our parents construct for so long. Jolly pricked at the bubble, and it grew to absorb her. What will burst it open?
And what will she see when the soapy film washes away?
I guess we'll find out in Book Three...
Maia
-Little Folk Tales http://www.littlefolktales.org Water on the Web Designs http://www.waterwebdesigns.com
Received on Tue 24 Jul 2001 08:27:11 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 18:27:11 -0700
Hmm. Well, insofar as romantic love is concerned, at the end of True Believer it is only Jolly who seems to have found a decent relationship.
Threads: Myrtle and Annie and LaVaughn were all in the 'keep your knees pinned tight until the right man comes along' club. It is what they believe will preserve them from becoming Jollies. So M&A join the Jesus group (side note: I kept wondering if Jinny would mention that such clubs are often where kids end up in sexual "encounters") for their salvation from sex, and also for their sense of belonging. LaVaughn falls in love with an unattainable boy, and misses the wonderful, available one at her side. LaVaughn's mama considers a life with a man who is working at cross purposes to her own. It is only Jolly, trashed and used and abused, who finds a amazing boy who can teach her son to read, who never raises his voice - and she finds him "down in the dirt with the flowers." Ricky, "A refuge for Jolly. Yes. A refuge."
I love it that Jinny never permits us to flounder for too long in false pity, that she turns stereotypes on end. It is Jolly who finds solace for her heart.
Mmm. Yes, LaVaughn finds love and hope too. Different sorts: Friendship. Mother-love. (I didn't think it was odd that LaVaughn bonded easily with kids -- it is from our parents that we learn how to love children, and LaVaughn has had a good teacher in her mama. But then, I am an only too. )
Yes, the doors are open. LaVaughn's options are broadening. Jinny does not point her firmly to one vocation -- she could become a teacher, a nurse or a doctor, an artist. (And how circular that Jody gives her Michelangelo. Just how far will LaVaughn's horizons expand?)
For now, LaVaughn still strikes me as a child, sheltered by the wideness of her mother's arms and that single-minded pursuit of freedom. Soon, she will have to see through less sheltered eyes, shed that cloak of protection. I wonder what will happen when that bubble of maternal determination shatters - as it must, because we can only live in the delicate worlds that our parents construct for so long. Jolly pricked at the bubble, and it grew to absorb her. What will burst it open?
And what will she see when the soapy film washes away?
I guess we'll find out in Book Three...
Maia
-Little Folk Tales http://www.littlefolktales.org Water on the Web Designs http://www.waterwebdesigns.com
Received on Tue 24 Jul 2001 08:27:11 PM CDT
