Thursday, July 3, 2008
Discussion Question #3
Okay... the first part of this question is really easy for me to answer- she does not flatly refuse David because she is in love with him. This "act of contrition" kind of bonds them or at least in her mind- bonds her to him. You know alot of people confuse the physicality ( I don't know if that's a word but that is what I want to use :)) of love with the emotional side of love. Even though they have never dated/shared a kiss/both of them are aware of this- love/bond between them. Consequently she does not question what he ask her to do. Now the other questions they are a bit harder to explain- Was she right? I don't see why not, if the alternative is to leave her in an institution to "rot"/"waste" away- I also think that Caroline eventually looked/viewed Phoebe as a way to love David from afar. Phoebe is part of him, and she loves him. Norah. Ummm...She ( Caroline ) could have argued with David about what he was doing... but I go back to what seemed to be acceptable at the time... Children with Down's Syndrome weren't viewed as viable or at least least not the way society defines viable. So... if it was commonplace, maybe the thought never occurred to her to tell Norah, but things got awfully complicated once David told Norah that Phoebe died- Caroline did not know this until she read the paper! so now sure she could have told... but she would also be an accomplice to David once the truth came out-As a mother I would want to know... let me see what you all say!!!! I think she comes to Norah after David's death because... technically he should have told Norah a long time ago... I don't think it was really Caroline's duty to tell.... David caused this mess... he should have cleaned it up! I think Caroline wanted to know that someone would be there to take care of Phoebe if anything ever happened to her or Al. oh by the way- Al is my Hero!!! What a Guy!!!
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2 comments:
I agree with you Goins, that she did it because she THINKS she loves David and she saw the raw pain in his face. She hesitated, but after seeing the pain she could not refuse to do it. She actually took Phoebe to the institution but could not leave her there b/c of her compassion. I think if the place had been a "healthy" evironment, she would have left her, but b/c it was a dumping ground, she could not do it. She rationalized her decision on the fact that she loved David and that he might come to his senses. I felt she was right to do what she did b/c then her conscience would not have been clear and all of her life she would have been living under guilt. The next question... should she have told Nora?? I am conflicted. On one hand I think she should have simply because it is the right thing to do especially after she found out David lied. On the other hand, I can see her honoring what David wanted even if it was wrong and leaving it up to him to straighten up his mess! I think I would have told and then if both if them did not want Phoebe, then raised her. Remember, Caroline had some issues too! She kept Phoebe not just b/c of her conscience and moral obligation, but she rationalized it in her brain that she would not be alone for the rest of her life. She did not see herself marrying anyone else other than David and she grew up an only child with older parents and she wanted someone to love. And remember, when David wanted to come see Phoebe, she stopped corresponding with him b/c she did not want to let Phoebe go even after she and Al were together. She became attached and got scared of the possibility of him changing his mind. I will wait to address their relationship when we get to question 6. I think she told Nora for two reasons. First b/c now she would not betray David by telling Nora the truth and second because of selfish reasons. Al wanted her to travel with him and she felt she couldn't b/c she felt she had to be around for Phoebe, just in case she needed her. By telling Nora, she could have a life with Al because she knew Nora would want to be a part of Phoebe's life. Now she can put some of the responsibity on Nora. So I don't think it was because she wanted to make sure Phoebe would have someone if something happened to her, but b/c David is dead and she can now go on with her life with Al. I will explore this later in question 6.
I definitely agree with the both of you. Caroline kept the child because in her brain she had a pseudo relationship going on with David, she loved him and Phoebe was their secret, their link, their connection with one another.
Was it right? Hmmm, well it was better than leaving Phoebe in an institution, especially after she saw the horrible condition it was in; as far as raising her as her own? That’s a hard one. I really don’t know! I guess it was better that Caroline raised her as her own rather than Phoebe knowing the truth from the beginning. Imagine how confused Phoebe would have been.
I feel that Caroline was “morally” obligated to tell Caroline, but again it wasn’t her truth to tell. She was caught in the middle of David’s internal battle. Caroline was not obligated to take care of Phoebe, but she did; and Phoebe did fine!
I think Caroline needed some sort of closure, that’s why she told Norah. She needed closure with David and needed to make sure that this lie was cleared up. She felt like she needed to make things right; and like someone mentioned… she needed to make sure that Phoebe would be okay if something were to happen to her. BTW…I ♥ AL too!
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