I've been wanting to talk about Sylvie for a while now, but I wasn't quite sure how to start until I read this passage from chapter 8:
"Sylvie?"
She smiled. "Shhh."
"Where's our lunch?"
"Still in the boat. You're probably right. It would be good if they saw you eating."
I found a bag of marshmallows among the odds and ends that Sylvie had bundled into a checkered tablecloth and brought along for lunch--a black banana, a lump of salami with a knife through it, a single yellow chicken wing like an elegant, small gesture of defeat, the bottom fifth of a bag of potato chips." (p. 151)
This interaction displays why I have come to dislike Sylvie: she is incapable of being a good parent figure to Ruth and Lucille. Not only does she bring an unhealthy and insufficient mix of food on their outing, but she also only sees value in Ruth eating lunch if it will help them accomplish the task of luring in wild children. Sylvie is, whether she likes it or not, Ruth's guardian, and as such, she needs to have Ruth's health and wellbeing as a priority. It was hard at first to pinpoint why Sylvie came across as a frustrating character because Ruth doesn't care that she is unreliable, inconsistent, flighty, etc., and Lucille, the one who does initially realize Sylvie's faults, is portrayed as a brat. When Sylvie first arrived, everyone--Lily, Nona, Ruth, Lucille, me-- had high hopes for her and she seemed to understand kids and their needs. When she promised the girls that she would get them presents the morning after she arrived, I felt optimistic about her abilities to take care of them because she knew how to talk to them and make them happy. However, as I've continued reading the novel and seen Sylvie get progressively worse at being a caretaker, I have started to identify more with Lucille. As we mentioned in class today, it is a bad sign when the teenager is angry at the guardian for not having a stricter hold over what they can or can't do. If I were Sylvie, I would have been furious and scared after the girls spent the night in the woods. Maybe I'm being harsh, because Sylvie has definitely had hardships in her life and didn't have to come back to Fingerbone to watch over the girls, but part of me wishes that she hadn't.
I was very happy with Sylvie when she was liberal and accepting of the girls--she seemed like just what they needed. What I think this scene reveals is that rather than being enlightened, Sylvie simply doesn't care. This is... unacceptable, and justifies much of Lucille's predicament.
ReplyDeleteI still kind of like Sylvie. She is careless, but I think that's vital to the plot. Because she left Ruth there, we were able to understand more about Ruth's fascination with the lake water and her thoughts on her mother. I know being vital to the plot doesn't constitute liking but, I still like her little quirkiness. She still doesn't put Ruth in real danger I feel like, but she does have her dangerously careless moments. But then again, not every parent is perfect. Lucille is the traditional parent, basically us, in the novel. I think with Lucille there, the reader won't feel like Ruth is going to end up so badly because Lucille will help her somewhat have a hold on reality...?
ReplyDeleteI understand your concern but Ruth has done a good job of convincing me to like Sylvie. I don't think Sylvie doesn't care about the girls' well being-- I'm sure that if it weren't for them, she would have been long gone from Fingerbone, and she does fight for Ruth when she's about to be taken away-- I think it's just that she sees no problem with them following her disorganized lifestyle. Now, if you're Lucille and you can't stand Sylvie's lifestyle, then she doesn't make a great parent, but for the same reason that a very conservative parent would be an issue for a very liberal child; as a matter of fit, I think, rather than a matter of irresponsibility. When the girls need food, she gives them food, and when they want to stay home, she keeps the house relatively livable for them (and quite pleasant by her standards). They have a lot of freedom, but I don't think that this is necessarily a bad thing. Although, again, I can definitely see your problem with her and think that she is not the ideal guardian for every kind of kid (but who is, right?).
ReplyDeleteSylvie is an interesting character and I think throughout the novel I have found myself falling in and out of love with her. On one hand, the things she stands for and the way she acts are so interesting that I can't help but be intrigued by her. On the other hand, though, I feel pretty attached to Lucille and Ruth so it is difficult to see Sylvie put Ruth in such odd and uncomfortable situations. The novel's narration is stricken with between the line sadness, so it is difficult for me to see Sylvie not attempting to address or help Ruth's sadness and difficulties in life, even if it is not obvious. In this way I really do appreciate and enjoy Sylvie's personality, but sometimes I just cannot love the way she handles and acts towards Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason I was drawn to Sylvie is just that she offered a contrast of lifestyle in the story. She seemed capable in her own ways, like the scene where she's throwing rocks at the stray dogs. Her parenting style is to be more hands off and let the girls make their own mistakes, which is valid especially since she came into the girls' lives at a point where a super hands on parent wouldn't be as good for them.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that a nutritionist would be justifiably aghast at Sylvie's culinary practices--here and elsewhere. Apart from her crazy idea that the "children" will see Ruth eating (which we can scrutinize in a host of related categories), the mere fact that this salami/rotten banana/marshmallow combination is deemed "lunch" might be seen as a problem from a child-rearing perspective. But maybe it counts for something that this is also what Sylvie herself eats--it's not neglect, it seems like a preference (one that's hard for most of us to understand). But they do have money--the grandmother's money--and Lucille is free to spend it at the grocery store. It's as if Sylvie only buys stuff like this because she's not interested in more traditional meals.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this does make her an unfit parent. It's also subtly inculcating Ruth into the culture of transience, as she gets used to this as a "meal." She doesn't complain.