“Deep, deep deep”: Mary Lavin’s “Happiness” and complicating the Ideal Ireland
On St. Patrick’s Day of 1943, former Irish president Éamon de Valera gave a speech detailing the “ideal Ireland.” He pronounced that the Ireland of which “we” dreamed would be a land of “bright cosy homesteads”, with villages that “would be joyous with the sounds of industry, with the romping of sturdy children, the contest of athletic youths and the laughter of happy maidens,” and homes would be “forums for the wisdom of serene old age”, in short it would be a land “of a people living the life that God desires that men should live” (De Valera 446). To him, Ireland was meant to be a frugal, self-sufficient, pastoral utopia that centered around a the Church and …show more content…
For example, the young widow, Vera, and her three daughters, live in the beautiful Irish countryside, their closest confidant is a priest from the local monastery, and they strive to be happy above all else. However, the simplistic lifestyle imagined by Éamon de Valera’s St. Patrick's Day speech is complicated by Vera’s individualistic philosophies, particularly her focus on self-assertion in the face of grief and loneliness. Vera’s character subverts expectations for Irish widows and mothers by establishing herself as a spiritual and emotional leader in her family and community. Furthermore, Lavin’s conversational and impressionistic style is underlined by eldest daughter’s narration as she experiences life with her mother. This style makes the story feel honest, rather than idealistic like the De Valera speech and, in turn, shows the possibility for complexity in the Irish family and …show more content…
When Vera’s husband is sick, she takes him to a hospital in Dublin. Being in the city is “awful” for him and when she returns from home, she decides to bring him the blooming daffodils. But when as she attempts to give him the flowers, she is reprimanded by a nun. “‘Where are you going with those foolish flowers, you foolish woman?’ she said. ‘Don’t you know your husband is dying? Your prayers are all you can give him now!’” (Lavin 317). It is clear that the Nun wants Vera to focus on her husband’s salvation. To her, the process of death should be concerned with preparing for the afterlife. In retrospect, the mother agrees that she was foolish, however there was something admirable about her intentions. The daffodils were her attempt to evoke a something magical with an object of simple, earthly beauty even in the face of imminent loss and heartbreak. The daffodils, like the snowdrops from earlier passages, symbolize a cyclical, unavoidable value that welcomes an unorthodox transcendence and an appreciation of one’s life through important, individual moments rather than through otherworldly
On St. Patrick’s Day of 1943, former Irish president Éamon de Valera gave a speech detailing the “ideal Ireland.” He pronounced that the Ireland of which “we” dreamed would be a land of “bright cosy homesteads”, with villages that “would be joyous with the sounds of industry, with the romping of sturdy children, the contest of athletic youths and the laughter of happy maidens,” and homes would be “forums for the wisdom of serene old age”, in short it would be a land “of a people living the life that God desires that men should live” (De Valera 446). To him, Ireland was meant to be a frugal, self-sufficient, pastoral utopia that centered around a the Church and …show more content…
For example, the young widow, Vera, and her three daughters, live in the beautiful Irish countryside, their closest confidant is a priest from the local monastery, and they strive to be happy above all else. However, the simplistic lifestyle imagined by Éamon de Valera’s St. Patrick's Day speech is complicated by Vera’s individualistic philosophies, particularly her focus on self-assertion in the face of grief and loneliness. Vera’s character subverts expectations for Irish widows and mothers by establishing herself as a spiritual and emotional leader in her family and community. Furthermore, Lavin’s conversational and impressionistic style is underlined by eldest daughter’s narration as she experiences life with her mother. This style makes the story feel honest, rather than idealistic like the De Valera speech and, in turn, shows the possibility for complexity in the Irish family and …show more content…
When Vera’s husband is sick, she takes him to a hospital in Dublin. Being in the city is “awful” for him and when she returns from home, she decides to bring him the blooming daffodils. But when as she attempts to give him the flowers, she is reprimanded by a nun. “‘Where are you going with those foolish flowers, you foolish woman?’ she said. ‘Don’t you know your husband is dying? Your prayers are all you can give him now!’” (Lavin 317). It is clear that the Nun wants Vera to focus on her husband’s salvation. To her, the process of death should be concerned with preparing for the afterlife. In retrospect, the mother agrees that she was foolish, however there was something admirable about her intentions. The daffodils were her attempt to evoke a something magical with an object of simple, earthly beauty even in the face of imminent loss and heartbreak. The daffodils, like the snowdrops from earlier passages, symbolize a cyclical, unavoidable value that welcomes an unorthodox transcendence and an appreciation of one’s life through important, individual moments rather than through otherworldly