The Importance Of Family In The Memory Keeper's Daughter

In the novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, the birth of Paul and Phoebe Henry affects the plot of the novel by having David Henry make a difficult decision. David Henry’s decision with the birth of his daughter ultimately affects the relationship between him and his wife, brings difficulty connecting with son, and reveals his guilt by giving his daughter away to Caroline and keeping it a secret from his family. The birth of the twins Paul and Phoebe Henry brought joy to Norah and David, until Norah was told Phoebe died minutes after she was born which affect the relationship between Norah and David during their marriage. The death of Phoebe was a lie, she was give away to the nurse, Caroline, but David did not tell Norah the truth about …show more content…
In David’s situation, his kept secrets drives a wedge in his relationship with Norah, which affects his relationship with Paul, his son. This occurs when Paul is older and able to understand what is happening between his parents, which makes it difficult for him to connect with his father. As Paul becomes older, he becomes more passionate towards music, and it is a way for him to isolate his mind from everything else surrounding him, “Music is like you touch the pulse of the world. Music is always happening, and sometimes you get to touch it for a while, and when you know that everything’s connected to everything else” (Edwards 202). Paul’s description of music becomes the turning point of the relationship between him and his father. As Paul matures, his relationship with his father becomes weaker. Keeping a secret can not only destroy a marriage, it also destroys the people surrounding them, such as father and son relationship. Their relationship becomes so destroyed in the end, Paul could not bear to engage in a conversation with his own father, but he still kept close with his mother. Although keeping a secret may have been the best for the family in David’s mind, he untilmatly did not think of it would tear his family apart, “"The fact that something is the truth is not necessarily a reason for it to be told," says Anderson." If the intention is honorable and loving and meant to strengthen the person who is hearing the secret …And remember that how you tell the secret is as important as the information itself. Often the disclosure of a secret is for the benefit of the teller, not the listener" (Bennetts). David felt his decision was not worth mentioning which caused him his family and trust from his family. It not strengthened his family like he thought it would by keeping it away from. By telling the truth, David would be better off especially with his son. He hid his