One Foot In Eden Character Analysis

Infertility is powerful enough to split couples apart and lead people to act immorally. The “curse” of infertility plagues the characters, starting with Will and Janice and eventually shifting to Billy and Amy. They face humiliation from society while trying to manage their personal lives. The characters show that infertility damages relationships. However, in the case of Billy and Amy, indirectly, it brings them together. In his novel, One Foot in Eden, Ron Rash writes about families devoid of children and how their relationships with their society, but more importantly their relationships with themselves degrade and improve. Will and Janice’s marriage and is a prime example of how people’s relationships with each other can be shattered by miscarriage and infertility. At first, it is unclear as to what is causing the mistrust and lack of understanding between Will and Janice. Even though Will has sexual desires for Janice, she emphatically rebuffs him by turning away from him when they are in bed and even …show more content…
These situations can possibly help the reader gain a better understanding on how people react. Although the most of the book, focuses on the debilitating effects of infertility, the ending sheds some hope for the future. Although, Isaac learns the truth about Holland, he eventually accepts that Billy is his true father. Also, Will’s void of no children is temporarily filled when Isaac is to live with him until he goes to Clemson. Although missing holes have been filled from these characters lives, many questions remain. What happens to Will and Janice’s marriage? The table have turned because know Isaac doesn’t have parents instead of his parents not being able to have a child. How will Isaac deal with the death of his parents. These are questions that the reader must answer themselves, but in the end, Ron Rash gives some answers, but leaves more to