"If it's your fault, do something about it, Claire. Otherwise shut up and never say that again. Never open your mouth about this again."
This stopped the crying. I watched my wife draw in her forces, sealing herself off from not just what I said, but from me as well, from the evening, from the days that had passed. A project of wall building, face hardening, secret fortifying of everything that mattered to her. All done without moving, an inner construction project Claire seemed to command until she was, in all the ways that matter, gone. Sitting on the steps Claire receded, drifting farther and farther away from me until she looked up at me with the stare reserved for a stranger, all intimacy erased. (Page 93/94)
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From the beginning of the book, we see Claire and Sam's strained relationship interspersed with moments of happiness leading up to the day they leave their daughter. This is the culmination of both happy and sad moments from the chronological beginning of the book in which both of them explode. Claire has just denounced their religion, leaving Sam to practice alone (which according to him is not her choice to make). To me this passage is most powerful in the way that it displays non-verbal communication. This is a common trend throughout the book. Since the entire concept of the book is faced on the toxicity of language, it seems only fitting that the author utilizes nonverbal communication. It is done with beauty and efficiency as well. Here we see how nonverbal communication can hurt just as much as verbal. Maybe Sam is not physically hurt by Claire's inner fortifying in the same way he is hurt by Esther's speech, but the emotional damage can almost be felt even by the reader. The use of nonverbal communication, as well as analysis of this form of communication is fascinating to me. It is without a doubt one of my favorite aspects of this book so far.
I chose the passage right before this one, but I talked about what Claire said about blaming herself. I think that your analysis of the use of body language in the book is really interesting and makes me think about the way that the author portrays both verbal and nonverbal language. The characters tend to choose their words very carefully and when they use stronger words, like when he says "Claire" it really gets to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree; people often forgo body language and physical actions. They can be just as telling as words. Words have this deeper meaning behind them while actions have this unspoken language that many people sometimes choose to ignore or are oblivious to.
ReplyDeleteI love the description in this passage. The manipulation of the words not only conjures the image of Claire's inward focus, but made me feel the tension that he was describing in Claire's appearance.
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