"In much of my reading at this time in my early adolescence there was a terrible logic: something virulent and vengeful prepared to rise up in the night, beneath us as we slept, like an animated earthquake, to punish us. Why we were to be punished was not explained. Punishment was something that happened, and could not be averted. Punishment suggests a crime: but what is the crime? Born bad, it was said even of some individuals in Sparta" (119).
This quote is representative of the reasoning behind why Madelyn knows Mr. Carmichael will kill himself (page 135). Mr. Carmichael would inevitably be punished for his actions--the logic from Madelyn's reading gave her confidence that, no matter what, Carmichael would pay.
Do you think this is why Madelyn did not immediately tell anyone about what happened with Mr. Carmichael?
Looking back on it I would think so. However, when she is returning to the hospital in the end of the story she mentions that his suicide had not happened yet and that there was no way to accurately fortell what, nor how, things will play out from then on out. Then again there were so many memories I lost track of what was in the present and what was in the past. The whole punishment thing also reminds me of the father beaten almost to death and avoided questions that were personal (pg 115), suggesting that he may be doing something bad.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Harvey Fleet is guilty of something horrible? If the story is linear and not told by an older Madelyn, do you think that Harvey will be punished by death? Or do you think this is a recollection and combination of Madelyn's memories, and that Harvey's beating/death is his punishment, or Madelyn's for not telling what happend with her and Mr. Carmichael? Simply put, who is being punished and why?
The idea of inevitable punishment also struck me while reading this story. Irrational fears seem to be ever-present in Madelyn's mind; she worries that the elevator will stick or that doors will lock behind her.
ReplyDeleteMadelyn leaves her father's side in the hospital to go with Mr. Carmichael, with whom she thinks she is in love. The idea of inevitable punishment is present in this situation as well, as Mr. Carmichael will wind up sexually assaulting Madelyn.
"All I knew was, I had to return to my father's beside. I was desperate to return to my father's bedside." (135)
It seems as though Madelyn believes the assault was her punishment for leaving her father. Do you think Madelyn believes her father will stay alive as long as she is there with him?