I love how you put this: "Then later, when her own feelings catch up with her, she holds out a hand to him."
It creates a beautiful parallel between her reaction and her son's, which I hadn't considered. They both shut down in their own ways at Eugie's death, then when their feelings "catch up" with them, when they're seeking for one ano…
I love how you put this: "Then later, when her own feelings catch up with her, she holds out a hand to him."
It creates a beautiful parallel between her reaction and her son's, which I hadn't considered. They both shut down in their own ways at Eugie's death, then when their feelings "catch up" with them, when they're seeking for one another, in that vulnerable moment, they each turn the other away.
So tragically human. To me, it's an instinct for self-protection - the lashing out, the isolating ourselves like barbed fences we build as if they could keep the pain out, when really, in the long run, they tend to hurt us more.
It's crushing. But perhaps (to end on a more hopeful note), it can teach us to see the hurt child underneath the stone men we encounter. It might teach us to be a little more forgiving and compassionate with each other.
I love how you put this: "Then later, when her own feelings catch up with her, she holds out a hand to him."
It creates a beautiful parallel between her reaction and her son's, which I hadn't considered. They both shut down in their own ways at Eugie's death, then when their feelings "catch up" with them, when they're seeking for one another, in that vulnerable moment, they each turn the other away.
And that makes me cry every time i think of it. What we do, in our weakness, to others, even when we love them.
So tragically human. To me, it's an instinct for self-protection - the lashing out, the isolating ourselves like barbed fences we build as if they could keep the pain out, when really, in the long run, they tend to hurt us more.
It's crushing. But perhaps (to end on a more hopeful note), it can teach us to see the hurt child underneath the stone men we encounter. It might teach us to be a little more forgiving and compassionate with each other.
All too real.