Introduction
Deirdre Madden’s One by one in the Darkness, published on 1996 in London, is a social realism novel. Deirdre’s style of writing is known to tackle depth of human consciousness and of her characters’ humanity as well.
In order for her to create such, Madden examined each of her characters, meticulously built each with traits and realistic personal issues, with different perspective in certain regard such as the loss of the Quinns’ father. Such style of hers came out best in this novel, One by One in the Darkness. (Johnsen 2008).
One of the substantial topics that can be discussed in her novel is the effect of the unfortunate events in the characters’ lives. Through that, the context and in between lines of the story lies the depth of the Deirdre’s message regarding the effect of the Northern Ireland’s Troubles into its habitant.
Summary
One by One in Darkness is set in Belfast, as well as in Northern Irish countryside. The main characters are the three Quinn Sisters; Cate, Sally and Helen, living with different kind of lives. Other characters are also considered played important details to project some essential aspect in effect of the historic Troubles.
The story opens recounting Cate, a glamorous journalist in London working on a fashion magazine, living independently and was anxious about her pregnancy. The tension already starting in there as she’s bound to go home to tell her family whom she’s sure of wouldn’t be accepting the news with open arms. She was not accepted by their mother at first, and was then forced to live with her sister Helen in Belfast for a meantime. Eventually, her mother gathered enough strength to face the situation of Cate while still recovering from the loss of her husband.
Sally lives a simple life. She remained in their home with their mother near in Belfast and teaches in primary school where the sisters themselves have attended when they were children.
Helen, although living just nearby home, is in Belfast. She’s a lawyer in the city, and part of her practice is representing accused and tried Catholics of political crimes.
From the motivation of Helen in the option of her work, it is apparent that they had been raised strictly as Catholics. Such fact is what makes Cate dreadful of going home, knowing that she will bring home news that is definitely hard for such family’s orientation to accept, the fruit of her liberated lifestyle.
They all had grown up in the country, Troubles begun when they were just practically children. Such event then leads the lives of each in the family into inevitable changes.
It was the death of their father due to the violence brought by the trouble that claimed them into emotional misery. He was murdered in the kitchen of their uncle’s kitchen, as witnessed by their aunt.
Eventually, their uncle’s kitchen had been renovated to erase off the tragic memory in the part of their house. Though they admitted they cannot retrieved anymore the life’s loss in even how they wanted it to be remodeled.
The concluding part settled in the scene where Cate is giving birth, and her family supportively rallies around her. The author had implied that in this sight, each of them had glimpsed of reformed life drifting away from the lasting effect that brought by the incident of the Troubles.
Between the Lines
One by One in the Darkness, was set in Belfast, and Northern Irish Countryside, and depicting the lasting effect of the Troubles in the people involved. The family of the Quinn sisters represents the people who suffered from the turmoil of the period.
The novel is regarded as “the most obvious example of the phenomenon” (Johnsen 2008). It is said that the author closely examined the historic period and is faithful to its account that made her characters in the story to be reliable of the effect of it in them.
The primary theme of the novel is the aftermath of the brutal violence brought by the sectarian’s political conflict to the oppositions, which was called the Troubles period. It has retrospective portion to tackle clearly as well to build up the worsening effect of brought by the Troubles in the people.
The ulterior theme of the novel is about the unfair fate of the guilty ones during the Troubles as they were deemed guilty by association. They were accused of terrorism and lost their lives in such baseless presumption (Johnsen 2008).
Their father died being accused guilty by the association in their uncle’s kitchen. In their eyes, however, especially to their mother, who the most affected was in grieve with his loss and took her years to finally recover, their father was innocent.
The Quinn’s Uncle’s kitchen though renovated into a new kitchen and remodeled cannot erase the memory of the tragedy. What is more painful to Cate is that she found out that what was erased along with the old kitchen were the happy memories she had when they were little.
The influence of the Catholicism in the family as one of the factor of the lasting effect of the Troubles is also clandestine theme of the novel. Religion thus is one of the faint themes of the novel.
The Troubles
The Trouble sis the period in the Northern Ireland Countryside that dealt with political conflict involving Loyalist Parliamentary, Republican Organisations, Civil rights groups, Political Activists, the British Army, and as well as the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Taylor 1980).
When Prime Minister Viscount Brookeborough stepped down on 1963 in the office, some minor sectors were marginalized. This was the product of the long term tenure of Brookeborough. The latter case however, was “the product of the Ulster Unionist domination of politics in the north since partition in 1921.” (BBC History 2007).
One of the minorities that was marginalized was the Catholics. In the novel One by One in the Darkness, the Quinn sisters were raised by a Catholic family, and in their earlier years, they witnessed such marginalization to them that eventually claimed the life of their father.
In Northern part of the countryside, the majority are the Protestants. During the election, they controlled the votes for the unionist even to the boundaries of the Catholics. (BBC History 2007).
Eventually, at this period conflicts filed up from one group to another. Violence sets in and worsens as police took part of the brutality and abusive acts. Harassment toward oppositions was here and there.
All in all, the portrayal of Deirdre’s characters’ emotions and reactions during and even the post-Troubles period in the novel is accurate and realistically executed.
Works Cited
“Northern Ireland: The Troubles”. BBC History. BBC News. 2007. Web.
Johnsen, Rosemary. Deirdre Madden Biography. Online Biographies. 2008. Web.
Taylor, Peter. Behind the mask: The IRA and Sinn Fein. Chapter 21. 1980. Penguin. New Yorkshire.