Although Maggie is initially an admirable woman, her motivations and values become questionable once we become more attuned to her scenario. I was first repelled by her thought processes during her grandson’s funeral. Instead of lamenting over the loss of the one relative that she later describes as “her champion” and “her hope,” she her only grief stems from the fact that she missed the chance to express her disapprobation for him (69). Most notably, she feels this anger before she even discovers her grandson’s sexual orientation. We later discover that the family has always perceived homosexuality to be an abominable characteristic. What could possibly be the cause of the severity of this anger (assuming it wasn't caused by the fact that her grandson was homosexual)?
After this discovery, she conceals her hate and disgust with tenderness for Edward’s lover Gabriel, with ulterior motives that are not yet revealed. After the first few pages, Maggie has turned into a protagonist that we feel uncomfortable siding with.
After spending some time with Gabriel, Maggie’s expectations are uprooted. She finds something gratifying about his comparison of his sexual orientation to his skin color. I think this comparison is what compels Maggie to begin to sympathize with Edward and Gabriel. Although she has made no definitive changes in behavior or perspective, we can sense a change in her demeanor. It doesn’t really seem that “heavy-handed” to me.
It's odd that Maggie was angry instead of sad during the funeral, but anger is it's own stage of grief. Though this isn't the usual type of anger for grieving.
ReplyDeleteTerrific reading of this character, Matt. Well done.
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