Glory, in this regard, can be considered as the opposite of Mary. Whereas Mary abandoned all conception or desires for the future to adopt her present situation, to give space for God to take action, Glory clutches onto daydreams to distance herself from her present situation, giving God no space to take action in her. There is, however, a degree of grace owed to Glory. With her father’s mental and physical decay manifesting in aspects of the house, Glory’s external environment lends itself to internal acedia: “every day she swept and straightened – light work, since the house was virtually uninhabited. . . sometimes she listed to the radio, if there was an opera or a drama, or if she just wanted to hear a human voice . . . it was the kind
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Glory, however, does not have the same privilege. Glory cannot verbally share in her grief or manifest it externally. Due to her father’s dependence, she is unable to leave the house for extended periods of time and “her father could not bear her unhappiness. His face fell when he saw any sign of it. So she did not permit herself to brood, strong as the urge was sometimes. It would make him miserable” (16). French philosopher Gaston Bachelard explores the phenomenological implications of the structural house: “the house shelters daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace” (6). While Glory’s environment protects her physically, it suffocates her mentally and spiritually; she cannot process her sadness as there is no one to receive it and she is not allowed to freely process it on her own. However, her coping method of daydreaming is unsustainable since it is …show more content…
An inability to accept a subjective experience as valid results in a constricted individual “‘depleted by self-frustration and broken by despair’” (Millon, 1969, pg. 70 qtd. In McRay et.al 70). Self-frustration suggests a desire for control over one’s life; if one views oneself as responsible for all internal feelings and reactions, the individual isolates herself from the greater external environmental stimuli and relies solely on herself. This becomes problematic in the practice of prayer as it is, etymologically, a begging or entreating (Andrews 197). To beg or entreat means to be without and to be without means to be less than all sufficient. Jack’s arrival indicates to the reader Glory’s desire for control and fear of failure: “she knew one hard look from her might send him away, defeating all her prayers, not to mention her father’s prayers, which we unceasing” (31). When understood as an answering of prayers, Jack’s arrival is a gift from God. To assume that a cold look would negate the Lord’s gift affirms Glory’s perception that she is in control or responsible. By not considering external environmental factors that might send Jack away, she is focused on being the right thing for him rather than being a right and healthy person. A relationship cannot be healthy unless the individual is, at least, aware of her unhealthiness.
Glory, however, does not have the same privilege. Glory cannot verbally share in her grief or manifest it externally. Due to her father’s dependence, she is unable to leave the house for extended periods of time and “her father could not bear her unhappiness. His face fell when he saw any sign of it. So she did not permit herself to brood, strong as the urge was sometimes. It would make him miserable” (16). French philosopher Gaston Bachelard explores the phenomenological implications of the structural house: “the house shelters daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace” (6). While Glory’s environment protects her physically, it suffocates her mentally and spiritually; she cannot process her sadness as there is no one to receive it and she is not allowed to freely process it on her own. However, her coping method of daydreaming is unsustainable since it is …show more content…
An inability to accept a subjective experience as valid results in a constricted individual “‘depleted by self-frustration and broken by despair’” (Millon, 1969, pg. 70 qtd. In McRay et.al 70). Self-frustration suggests a desire for control over one’s life; if one views oneself as responsible for all internal feelings and reactions, the individual isolates herself from the greater external environmental stimuli and relies solely on herself. This becomes problematic in the practice of prayer as it is, etymologically, a begging or entreating (Andrews 197). To beg or entreat means to be without and to be without means to be less than all sufficient. Jack’s arrival indicates to the reader Glory’s desire for control and fear of failure: “she knew one hard look from her might send him away, defeating all her prayers, not to mention her father’s prayers, which we unceasing” (31). When understood as an answering of prayers, Jack’s arrival is a gift from God. To assume that a cold look would negate the Lord’s gift affirms Glory’s perception that she is in control or responsible. By not considering external environmental factors that might send Jack away, she is focused on being the right thing for him rather than being a right and healthy person. A relationship cannot be healthy unless the individual is, at least, aware of her unhealthiness.