I just commented on Darren's post about how Housekeeping has made me think pretty intensely about life. Why are some ways of life okay and others not?
Housekeeping is a great book because of how simple it is to contrast multiple ways of living; it's one of the major themes in the novel. Sylvie is a transient; staying in one place for a long period of time isn't her cup of tea, and she certainly isn't one to "housekeep". And that's okay.
The thing is, I (and many of you I'm sure) have grown up with my life half-mapped out for me already; graduate high school, go to college, graduate college too, etc. That's always been the plan and what's expected of me. I'm actually somewhat ashamed because, when I started the novel, I was under the bigoted notion that my way is "right". But the more I read, the more I found myself questioning this. Why did I think it was "right" for me to to college and "wrong" for me not too? Ultimately I think people should do whichever best suits their future plans; lot's of people make it big without graduating college (Bill Gates anyone?!). And yet I've been brought up with these societal expectations and ideas about how one way is superior to another way, even though different people thrive in different environments.
I think this is what Lucille struggled with. She didn't fit into the more fluid, boundless lifestyle Sylvie enjoyed and introduced Ruth to; Lucille needed some sort of structure, and she also paid a lot more attention to the societal norms of her time (sew dresses, pay attention to beauty, take home economics, etc.). Lucille wouldn't have been happy living such a transient lifestyle, and that's okay. Sylvie and Ruth do enjoy such way of life, and, while the people of Fingerbone definitely do not agree with it, that's okay too.
I think.
With this post done, I do fully intend to further develop a draft I have about Sylvie's ability to be a parent. I hope I don't contradict myself too much. Be on the lookout!
No one is really "right" though, we just have to choose what is "right" for us. While a transient lifestyle may suit a few of us, the vast majority would prefer to settle down and just do what has been planned out for us. And we can't necessarily make that decision before age 21, so maybe that people of Fingerbone were honestly trying to protect Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI think that this acceptance of other ways of life is a big theme of Housekeeping. From Ruth's perspective, it is fine that Lucille doesn't want to be transient. What seems to be more of an issue is when Lucille starts being intolerant toward Ruth's lifestyle. But then, could Lucille truly live her lifestyle without putting down the alternative, at least to herself? The whole point of Ruth and Sylvie's eventual way of life is flexibility and range of experience, which involves a degree of non-judgement towards the different experiences, at least without trying them first hand. For more r8gid ways of life, stubbornly rejecting altrrnatives even without good evidence of their problematicity may be essential.
ReplyDeleteI think that this acceptance of other ways of life is a big theme of Housekeeping. From Ruth's perspective, it is fine that Lucille doesn't want to be transient. What seems to be more of an issue is when Lucille starts being intolerant toward Ruth's lifestyle. But then, could Lucille truly live her lifestyle without putting down the alternative, at least to herself? The whole point of Ruth and Sylvie's eventual way of life is flexibility and range of experience, which involves a degree of non-judgement towards the different experiences, at least without trying them first hand. For more r8gid ways of life, stubbornly rejecting altrrnatives even without good evidence of their problematicity may be essential.
ReplyDeleteYea I agree with this, but I also think that a bit of practicality has to come into play. Like, one of the main reasons we want to go to college is so that we can find a good job and Ruth didn't have to really worry about this as much as we do. We make decisions based on our ultimate goal and this is what we decide to be "right". Since these goals are different for everyone, same with the paths. But yes I agree that maybe I should be a bit more open minded
ReplyDeleteI think the popular phrase "you do you" very much applies here. Who says people even need to make it big? If they are happy living a not so materialistic lifestyle then, seriously, props to them. The world wouldn't function if everyone had the same values and wanted to live the same way.
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