Back at her father's house, Laurel realized that Fay really believed herself to be in the right, that her scene in the hospital had been no more than a minor disturbance Laurel knew that she could never pity her until Fay acknowledged the harm she had done. She is a widow who had been married to a man named Phil Hand. Laurel's mother and Clint's first wife. In a night alone in the house she grew up in, she confronts elements of the past and comes to a better understanding of it and of herself and her parents. This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel tells the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who has left the South and returns, years later, to New Orleans, where her father is dying. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Just when you think the introspection is where the book will leave off, however, Welty satisfies with some sharp dramatic prose that takes the book full circle. First, I always find the proud clinginess of the Southern patriot to be boring as well as arrogant. The other characters in the novel pity her. But mainly, I found this to be a rather simple tale, with a simple moral, written simply: a small bird in her house utterly terrifies Laurel; it doubtless represents her fear or helplessness. As Eudora Welty so beautifully puts it, "Memory returned like spring..." And, both Laurel and Fay need to deal with it. There is so much space between the words on the page. This won the Pulitzer, but I disliked it. The main character Laurel faces dilemmas and competing loyalties after the death of her father, as she reflects on the deaths of her mother and husband before him. There is a great deal of symbolism surrounding "vision" as both of Laurel's parents had eye issues, visions of deceased people, and also of the lack of vision of her step-mother. During the few days she remains, Laurel digs through the past as she goes through her house remembering her deceased parents and the life she had before she left Mount Salus. I thought it to be extremely average. I wonder if we look at them differently in your youth and age? But she doesn't. Like so many today, Laurel has lived in a city where she survives by avoiding any real involvement with those around her. Laurel is Judge McKelva's daughter, who is an only child. Welty's novel has spunk. The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty on Amazon . [1] It concerns a woman named Laurel, who travels to New Orleans to take care of her father, Judge McKelva, after he has surgery for a detached retina. You have to do some filling in, and because you have to involve yourself more while reading, you start to merge with Laurel, the narrator. Her mother, Becky McKelva slowly loses her vision as she approaches her death, and her father, Judge McKelva dies while attempting to recover from surgery for a detached retina. . After his death, she and her silly young stepmother go back still farther, to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. She died before the events in the story occurred, but through the memories of Laurel, she plays a large role at the end of the story. Welty never ceases to amaze with her dark and subtle look into Southern culture. This is a book about loss, the mystery of family, and how we compartmentalize our lives, and our suffering. It lends a sort of optimism about what literature does and can do without templates that feel plasticized. From there, she embarks on a deeply personal journey to explore her past and her family in order to make sense of her future. Recurrent in Welty’s fiction, including The Optimist’s Daughter, is the paradox of the family as both nurturing and stifling. Aug 11, 1990 The simplicity of the story belies its universal implications. Each shows her a different perspective on life, from which she must choose. You see this character more often in movies, or even in history or real life. Well, not really ... that was Laurel. I loved the description of the sewing woman, Miss Berna Longmeyer. The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty is an emotional story about Laurel McKelva Hand who travels to New Orleans to be with her father for an eye surgery. It not only contains several characters who suffer from blindess or poor vision but also images of vision or the lack of vision. Thanks! The Optimist's Daughter is a compact and inward-looking little novel, a Pulitzer Prize winner that's slight of page yet big of heart. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.
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