Love Medicine
Detail of beadwork from an Ojibwe medicine pouch
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Flesh and Blood
For some reason I never quite understand the end of the chapter. I know y'all probably already talked about this too, on Friday, but I wasn't there. I was wondering if anyone understood the end of the Flesh and Blood Chapter. It says, "I put my hand through what scarred him. I held it out for him. And when he took it with all the strength of his arms, I pulled him in." What is it that scarred him? The letter? I know she left whether she found the letter or not up in the air... for him to figure out on his own ... the whole sugar or salt thing. Anyway, if anyone knows exactly what it's getting at, let me know.
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2 comments:
I'm pretty sure she held the latter out and he took it. This symbolized that she didn't care what it said any longer and forgave him by bringing him in and hugging him. JMO
No, she does not hold the letter (not latter) out to him. She puts the letter under the salt shaker and never mentions it to him, so he wonders for the rest of his life if she knows about Lulu or not. What scares him (not scars him) is whether he can come home or not, whether he is still loved, and whether he has a place with Marie. He is afraid that he has ruined that relationship. Marie holds out her hand to him and accepts him back into the home, but he doesn't know if she does this because she doesn't know, or despite the fact that she DOES know. I think that will always be a horrible uncertainty for him - "does she love me for me and despite all of my flaws and imperfections," or "does she love me now, but she will stop loving me if she finds out." She only halfway holds unconditional love out to him, even though she seems to take him back and comfort him; its like he's a fish and she takes him off the line but leaves the hook in to hurt him if he turns the wrong way.
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