Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping is a novel about two sisters, Ruth and Lucille, who lived with her aunt, Sylvie, after their mother, Helen, committed suicide. Since Ruth and Lucille are the novel’s main characters, it is not a surprise that the literary work dedicates sufficient attention to the topic of sisterhood. However, a more detailed analysis of the novel reveals that this theme is also found in a relationship between other characters. A close reading reveals that Sylvie’s oblique description of her sister, Helen, allows for supposing that broken sisterhood is what will happen to Ruth and Lucille.
In the beginning, it is necessary to explain what passage is under analysis. The focus is on the moment when Ruth and Lucile meet Sylvie and ask her a myriad of questions about their mother. Sylvie’s answers were short and restrained, and she limited herself to statements like “she was nice,” “she was pretty,” “she played the piano,” and others (Robinson, 2004, pp. 38-39). That description did not satisfy the girls, and Sylvie explained that it was “hard to describe someone you know so well” (Robinson, 2004, p. 39). That statement significantly shocked Ruth because she believed that she would never forget her sister’s appearance and character traits. In the novel, this conversation is followed by Ruth’s thoughts about how she and Lucile followed a woman in a train window to a lake’s shore. When the train entered a bridge, Ruth suggested that the two could walk across the lake, but Lucile stopped her because it was cold. This information is essential, and further analysis will comment in detail on it.
The selected passage is essential because of two distinct features. On the one hand, the excerpt depicts a scene in which Ruth and Lucille become familiar with Sylvie because this woman will significantly affect their relationship and lives. Sylvie arrives shortly after the girls’ grandmother, Sylvia Foster, died (Robinson, 2004). On the other hand, Sylvie’s answers reveal that she was not close to her sister, Helen, and this description allows readers to predict what future events will occur to Ruth and Lucille. However, it is reasonable to admit that Sylvie lost her sisterhood connection after Helen got married, while Ruth and Lucille will experience a worsened relationship when Ruth becomes close with Sylvie (Robinson, 2004). This information demonstrates that a relationship between relatives can deteriorate when other people enter their lives.
Analysis of the passage’s language can result in a better understanding of its meaning. Firstly, Sylvie’s answers were short and followed the same constructions. This choice was necessary to depict the character as mysterious and drifter. Secondly, Sylvie’s statement that it is complicated to describe a relative is strange and even paradoxical. It seems that she used these words to excuse herself because she had not been close to her sister. Thirdly, it is reasonable to comment on the meaning of the lake in Ruth’s memories, which has been introduced above. Potts (2017) stipulates that the lake’s waters “metaphorically and actually bear much of the death and loss in the novel” (p. 484). The passage did not cover it, but Ruth and Lucille’s grandfather and mother died in that lake (Robinson, 2004). When Ruth offered to come across the lake, Lucille stopped her, which indicated that the sisters were still close.
In addition to that, the lake that was introduced in the passage is associated with the symbol of border crossing. Helen’s marriage and departure from Fingerbone by train across the bridge over the lake gave rise to the worsened relationship between Helen and Sylvie (Robinson, 2004). Simultaneously, Ruth’s journey to an island in the lake marks the broken bond with Lucille (Robinson, 2004). Belkheir (2020) also reveals that Ruth’s improved relationship with Sylvie is another border that distances Lucille from her sister. Consequently, this description demonstrates that the passage under analysis contains metaphors and symbols that contribute to a better understanding of the novel.
At this point, it is reasonable to present a detailed interpretation of the passage in relation to the theme of sisterhood in Housekeeping. On the one hand, Sylvie’s initial responses allow readers to suppose that she lost her connection with Helen because Sylvie was mysterious. Her short answers, inability to offer a detailed description of her sister and the strange subterfuge support the claim that there was no closeness between the sisters. However, further analysis reveals that sisterhood is not a simple phenomenon, meaning that various issues can adversely impact it. Thus, Sylvie’s quote that she was not close to Helen “after she was married” reveals that the distance between Helen and Sylvie significantly contributed to the fact that the women lost their connection (Robinson, 2004, p. 39). This description demonstrates that even physical proximity in childhood does not guarantee that close relatives will obligatorily maintain such a relationship in adult life.
On the other hand, the author uses the passage to highlight what outcome Ruth and Lucille will face. Initially, the girls seem very close to each other, but the signs that they will part are found early in the novel. One of them is found when Ruth offers to cross the lake, and Lucille does not want to do it. Since it has been determined that the lake and the act of crossing the border are important symbols in the novel, this situation reveals that the sisters had some significant differences. It seems that Robinson depicted the lives of Lucille and Ruth to indicate that sisterhood is an essential but fragile bond. Girls are typically close while they are young because they have shared interests. However, moving into adulthood leads to the fact that close relatives lose emotional and mental closeness because they become familiar with the outside world and can cross borders that break their connection with one another. That is why, when Ruth finally crosses the lake with Sylvie, it indicates that sisterhood has been broken.
In conclusion, one can state that Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson is a novel that focuses on the controversial nature of sisterhood. Even though sisters are typically close when they are children and teenagers, adult lives often lead to the fact that they lose their emotional connection. The author introduces the stories of Helen and Sylvie as well as Ruth and Lucille to depict this thought. Furthermore, Marilynne Robinson relied on specific metaphors and symbols to explain how it happens that close relatives become detached. Quotes from the novel reveal that the author gave early clues that Ruth and Lucille would repeat the fate of Helen and Sylvie. However, these signs were subtle, implying that their meaning could only be discovered with the help of close reading. Thus, Housekeeping demonstrates that the topic of sisterhood is a complicated and exciting one.
References
Belkheir, A. (2020). Home space, feminine subjectivity, and unhousing in Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping [Master’s thesis, University of Mohamed Boudiaf-M’sila]. DSpace-UMBM.
Potts, M. (2017). “The world will be made whole”: Love, loss, and the sacramental imagination in Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping. Christianity & Literature, 66(3), 482-499.
Robinson, M. (2004). Housekeeping. Picador.