Lifeless Love

“At first, she called him every day, but mostly what she did was cry—‘I want to see it,’ she sobbed. ‘I want to see out daughter’s grave.’ That froze him inside. He tried to picture her—her now, China, the love of his life—and he couldn’t… because all he could remember was the thing that had come out of her…” (86)

After the death of the baby everything in Jeremy’s life was cold, still, and lifeless, just like the child he knowingly murdered. Most notably, his love for China faded into a cool regard. Even as he called her the love of his life, he could not picture her, just as he couldn’t picture his mother earlier in the story. The death of his father and of the baby result in the same loss of connection to someone he loved. When he describes both the baby and kissing China, he relates them to “cold meat,” emphasizing his perception of them as objects undeserving of compassion or value. Essentially, Jeremy is selfish. His love was founded more in an immature lust than any real connection, which is evident in how he handles the entire situation with a chilling passivity, even in the face of his crime. He sees his mother’s arguments, which demand empathy, as “pathetic” and ultimately his heart becomes “like sand turning to stone under all the pressure the planet can bring to bear.” However, this selfishness existed prior to his arrest, most evidently demonstrated in his ability to throw the baby in the dumpster despite its “rattle of a breath.” The only love Jeremy could foster was a love for himself and his interests. He did not consider the repercussions China would endure, both emotionally and physically in her life. While China may have truly loved Jeremy, the eventual distance that pervaded their relationship proves the shallow nature of their “love” that transformed into contempt under the strain of their situation.

Can what Jeremy and China had be called love, or were they simply two teenagers entranced by lust? Was it only Jeremy’s fault their lives were ruined, or by telling him to “get rid of it,” was China also to blame despite that she didn’t know the baby was alive?