Count your Blessings
"All those children were what did her mother in--eight of them: two born dead, one died in the first year, one crushed under a mowing machine. Her mother had got dead with every one of them. And all for what? Because she hadn't known any better."(O'Connor).
So Ruby blamed her entire family for ruining her mother. Yet is it ironic that she was not one to blame? Of course she was the good child. How conceded. But at the end of the story, I began to think that Ruby was lonely. Her husband didnt' seem to be ideal and she did not want to have children. She was always angry at Hartley Gilfeet and her neighbors annoyed her. The poor woman didn't have anyone. She came from a decently large family where tragety struck and the family fell apart because of the withered mother. Even though it was so long ago, Ruby had never recovered. A tragety she suffered from her childhood has been haunting her her entire life.
And, the majority of people in the world consider a baby a blessing, but the poor woman doesn't know the meaning of family and loved ones, because of her past. I like the way that O'Connor used an everyday blessing into a heartache and fear. It's not a common dilemma, but we get to see a situation in what most people would react the opposite way towards.
Loneliness is not like the typical ailment, There is no treatment or medication, it is harder to get rid of. :(
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Great point about Ruby never mentioning herself in the list of people to blame for her mother's death. I didn't think of it this way until you mentioned it. After thinking about it though, this is obvious: she is afraid of having children and of getting close to her husband because of, as you said, her horrible past family experiences.
I also love that you mention that you "like the way that O'Connor used an everyday blessing into a heartache and fear." For me, O'Connor's ability to effectively relate opposing concepts makes her stories well worth reading.
I really liked your take on that excerpt. I think that people have an easier time relating to something when the author takes a blessing and turns it into a tragedy. It's not like we want to feel sad, but the emotion that the words cause is what makes it a good story.
This is a great observation Tiffany. She did seem to be very lonely and pessimistic about the world around her. I would think that she would love the old Mr. Jerger because he was willing to talk to her. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said she was the good child. She's stuck up. It seems to me NOBODY IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER! She doesn't like anyone but herself and with that attitude she'll always be lonely. Her disease is truly incurable like you said.