"I Don't Want Her Growing Up Confused. Speak English." (Chapter Five)

The characterization of both Maternia and James changes drastically. James is painted as a much darker character, while the innocence of Maternia is stressed heavily. James, for all his good wishes has a lot of personality flaws.

A main theme in this chapter is motivation, more specifically the bad things that motivate people to do good things. From a philosophical point of view, many people are familiar with the theory that there is no such thing as a selfless act, or a selfless thought, and that humans are motivated only by what will eventually do good for themsleves. I think this chapter exemplifies this theory. Maternia wants to have a baby, more specifically a boy, but only because she wishes to be accepted by her family again: "Her father would be hard pressed to disown a first grandson, even if it came to him through a daughter" (MacDonald 31). James is also not free of blame in this chapter. We can tell he wants a superior quality of life for his daughter but only because it will make him feel proud: "She was going to grow up a lady. She'd have accomplishments. Everyone would see. She felt like a king" (MacDonald 32). James feels an overwhelming desire to prove himself to the people in his life. However, he often talks about how everyone is below him. Why does he feel the need to prove himself to people he believes are not worth his time? From a psychoanalytic point of view, James is a very interesting character.

James's character flaws are quite abundant. In addition to taking out his frustration on other people, having extreme visions of grandeur, being extremely prejudiced and elitist and the inexplicable need to prove himself to those around him, he also refuses to take responsibility for any of his actions. Instead he blames Maternia: "She had seduced him That is why he hadn't noticed she was a child. Because she wasn't one. Not a real one. It was queer. Sick, even. Perhaps it was a racial flaw. He would read up on it" (MacDonald 34). The fact that James, an "adult" but still holds Maternia responsible for the flaws in their marriage is disturbing. What will become of this young couple?

The theme is death is also presented again in this chapter: "And at night, the staring zombie he'd married" (MacDonald 34). This brings up the issue of Maternia's symbolic death in the previous chapter. Now, she is no longer just dead to her family, but is a zombie: a creature that walks around without purpose, direction or emotion. The only thing zombies crave is to eat the brains of those around them. In a way, James believes that Maternia is metaphorically "eating his brain" as she is sucking the life out of him. Here, the author once again effectively uses a metaphor.

Indeed, James makes some very unsightly comparisons in regards to Maternia. As the narrator describes to us James "Herded her down to the kitchen whinging and whining every step of the way" (MacDonald 33) when he was trying to get her to feed her baby. This indirect comparisons to a barnyard "herdable" animal reinforces our belief that James treats the people in his life, especially his wife as if they were animals whose only use is to propel him forward so that he could feel good about himself.

I really enjoyed this chapter; it picked up the pace once again. I found myself going back and reassessing the introduction so that I could match up characters mentioned in each. Unfortunately it appears baby Kathleen will end up dead at a later age. Her presence is almost eerie and haunting in the introduction. She died later, has a beautiful singing voice, but all her childhood pictures are burned. I think the author set up the introduction as such so we as a reader are aware that all the characters in this book are doomed. Somehow, knowing they will all be fated illy makes the book extra haunting.

Interesting Vocabulary
-Pelt
-Dregs
-"Roman Hocus Pocus" (More stabs at religion)
-Feckless
-Ensnared