A New Character Is Introduced (Chapter Four)

In this chapter, we are introduced to Mrs. Luvovitz, the neighbour who discovers Maternia on the cliff. This chapter contains a lot of commentary on voyeurism and the value of the speculation of ones neighbours. Luvovitz is somewhat nosy by nature, and feels the need to intervene in Maternia's life.

In my opinion, this is where the themes of isolation versus intrusion meet. In the previous chapter, james insists on keeping Maternia for himself, for fear of social embarrassment, but also because he has a personality that craves control. Which will end up hurting Maternia more: the intrusion of her neighbours, or the isolation of her husband?

Again, James's prejudiced behaviour is high-lighted. We can see from his commentary on the Luvovitzes: "Compared to Maternia's family, the Luvovitzes seem downright white" (MacDonald 30).

A part i found notable is when Maternia, telling her story to Mrs Luvovitz, describes herself as "dead": "'I don't belong to them anymore....I'm dead'" (MacDonald 29). She is saying this because now that she has left her family, the customs of her culture no longer consider her a person or "alive" in their society. Mentioning this, however, gives the reader a strong sense of foreshadowing. It also leads the reader to question if Maternia is also "dead inside." This strong statement by her presents a lot of potential future situations in the plot-line. I also found it interesting, that Mrs. Luvovitz describes Maternia as a kind of human lighthouse: "Like a fixture, warning ships or luring them" (MacDonald 27). Could there be a potential change in Maternia's personality in the next few chapters?

Something I really like about this book is there is not yet a set protagonist or antagonist. This mimics real life in the sense that there are two sides to every story. We like James because he got over the death of his mother, is an intellectual and tried to be a patient husband, but we also see his dark prejudiced side, and the fact that he is angry and hard to please. Marenia, the reader is drawn to, because she is young and innocent and "harmless." However, we also see that she is foolish and immature. Like real family life, there is no "bad guy and good guy," just an assortment of people with their own demons, strengths and weaknesses.

The main themes so far in this book seem to be:
-youth
-isolation
-judgement
-religion and prejudice based on religion
-death

Overall, this particular chapter did nothing special for me. It was an introduction to a potentially interesting character, but otherwise was kind of slow.

Interesting Vocabulary:
-Kelpies
-Golems
-Forerunner
-Shiva
-Bisquit