Margaret Laurence and The Fire Dweller:
-
“Everything drifts. Everything is slowly swirling, philosophies tangled with the grocery lists, unreal-real anxieties like rose thorns waiting to tear the uncertain flesh, nonentities of thoughts floating like plankton, green and orange particles, seaweed -- lots of that, dark purple and waving, sharks with fins like cutlasses, herself held underwater by her hair, snared around auburn-rusted anchor chains.”
― Margaret Laurence, The Fire-Dwellers
-
“Must've been off my head, wandering around the harbour so long. Didn't even get the nightgowns. Are the kids okay? Damn, I wish I didn't always have to be home at the right time. At the Day of Judgement, God will say Stacy MacAindra, what have you done with your life? And I'll say, Well, let's see, Sir, I think I loved my kids.And He'll say, Are you certain of that? And I'll say, God, I'm not certain about anything any more. So He'll say, To hell with you, then. We're all positive thinkers up here. Then again, maybe He wouldn't. Maybe He'd say, Don't worry, Stacy, I'm not all that certain, either. Sometimes I wonder if I even exist. And I'd say, I know what you mean, Lord. I have the same trouble with myself.”
― Margaret Laurence, The Fire-Dwellers
The Fire-Dwellers
Stacey Malinda, thirty-nine years old, broad in the beam, under-educated, married to a laconic salesman, mother of four children (squabbling brats), sister to Rachael from the novel A Jest of God. Stacey happens to be lonely, be-widened, frustrated, desperately trying to find the person she once thought she was. In other words, she is caught up in the universal search for identity. Sorting dirty laundry and wiping dripping noses is how Stacey spends her day like many other woman. She is no heroine, but is a person worthy of respect for her valiant fight by simply in coping from day to day. Stacey is too honest to indulge in self-pity or self-delusion. She never viewed herself with ironical contempt. Under defence is a frightened girl who got lost somewhere along the way. Stacey’s main problem is that society forces so many roles upon her that she cannot find a clear line of continuity connecting one posture to another. As a wife, mistress, mother, neighbour, all she knows is that she is expected to be beautiful, efficient, radiantly cheerful. As a failure to every department Stacey shows self-esteem issues. She day-dreams about being younger when she see her fourteen-year-old daughter. Her relationship with her husband (Mac) who happens to be one of the most remarkable achievements to the novel. Mac only has something to say to her only when he reproaches her for spoiling the children. He seems to notice her when he reminds her to fix her appearance. He always seems to be on the defensive side, about with her awareness of her contempt for his job. Stacey’s impulsive bluntness with his phony boss who happens to be the constant source of embarrassment to Mac and Stacey. Mac will not look into the lower depths. Lovemaking is swift, ritualistic act of necessity. He appears to be attracted to younger girls at the office. Stacey can’t feel any jealousy because she understands his frustration witch is very similar to her own. Circumstances lead Stacey into having sexual encounter with one of her husband’s friend. Stacey had an brief affair with a young writer. The age difference causes humiliation with the young man’s understanding her predicament. The increased guilt is the inevitable price Stacey pays for neglecting her own children. The children are a disturbing force in Stacey’s life. Her physical presence she is undeniably there in harrumphed slacks, with her nagging anxieties. With the novel ending with unresolved compromises. The old problems disappear, other new ones take their place. Stacey begins to comprehend that all the people around her are also living like her.