Loretta is saved by a police officer who suddenly "falls in love" with her, and tries to save her from the town finding out what has taken place in her bed, both before the shooting and after. In an act of "mercy," Howard, the police officer, makes an advance towards Loretta:
They stared at each other for a long moment. Loretta felt nothing at all; her skull was hollow, burned out. Then she heard him unzipping his pants. She half rose, maybe to run out of the place or maybe to make it easier for him, and he grabbed hold of her and the two of them stumbled back against the table. He had begun to moan, clumsily and softly, as if in pain. Loretta saw the dishes still piled in the sink. She saw the clock on the icebox but didn't have time to see what it said.
"Don't you worry about it, not that little bastard," Howard said, clutching at her, pulling up her dress, "don't you think about him, not about him the hell with him!"
And then, struggling with Howard, struggling to make it easier for him, she did think of Bernie for the first time: he was dead. She had loved him and he was dead and she would never see him again. Never would he come to her the way Howard was trying to come to her. He was dead, it was over, finished, that was the end of her youth. She tried not to think of it again. (49-50)
After being woken into a harsh reality, Loretta is forced to continue life married to Howard as a pregnant woman. Through these acts of violence, Oates portrays how reality can catch you off guard and that life isn't all fun and games. I'm interested to see what the point of this novel is going to be, and if there is a happy ending. Knowing Oates, though, one can conclude that it will not only be an unhappy ending, but a violent one as well.
Wow, Laura. I haven't read _Them_. Still, I think I'd say it's some of her most violent writing. Like you, I'm curious about where the book goes next. Loretta - don't you just feel like that's the perfect name for this character? It's actually almost too perfect. It conjurs an image of a woman who is poor or working class, probably southern or at least rural, treated like crap by men, not well educated, and so on. She's all of these, right? Loretta. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteWow. That was a very brutal scene. I am now interesting in hearing more about this book. Could you give a description of Loretta? I imagined her as being a poor black girl? Is this statement correct? Why was the unfortunate Bernie shot by her brother? You did a good job in this post, you got me super intrigued by "THEM"
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post to read. You picked the perfect excerpt to analyze and I'm definitely looking forward to more of your posts to see how the story continues.
ReplyDeleteOne thing pops up in my mind, this girl is twisted. Twisted as in her life is messed up twisted. This girl is so unsure of what she wants. She just laid there, getting ready to what it sounds like rape. She said she loved Bernie, but let herself being rape by another man. It sounds like she one of those women victims who let themselves get beat up by their partners, but still claiming that they love their partners.
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