Lots to discuss about this work. Very honest writing, which I appreciate. And the imagery is stunning. Doerr has a way of taking us as readers right into the story so that we experience it rather than see it unfold.
The hunter found himself in love with a 16 year old, a mere girl, when he was a grown 30 year old man. She was like a small doe in the beginning, a frail, feminine object of his desire, all clad in a sparkling red dress with the slit running up the thigh. He liked the simple little girl who loved rhubarb pie. He loved her wilderness initially, when it was all for himself to share with her, before she shared it with the world. He had been accepting of her gift then. But. As soon as she began to find her own, to grow from girl to true woman who had purpose and wanted to share it with the world, it was too much for him to handle. He viewed himself a simple mountain man, set in his ways, comfortable in his little world. And she grew to be so much more, slipping like water between his fingers no matter how tightly he tried to keep them locked tight to cup her, to keep all of her in. I imagine it feels like trying to bottle in a wind from the north, trying to capture something so wild and big, and when failing, arriving at a humbling reminder of one's limitations as a mere human. He wanted to keep her all to himself, and that's what drove her away in the end.
It must have been beautiful yet terrible from her perspective as well, more so reflecting back than in the moment. A hunter, a predator, taking advantage of a then foolish (or at least, naive) 16 year old orphan with no parents to guide and protect her; taking her to his remote cabins to be snowed in with this total stranger. And yet finding herself loving him. How frustrating, though, that she could feel everything, understand him more than he did himself, but he could not return the favor. Imagine having all the empathy in the world, and your partner unable to understand you on a fundamental level, or rather, unwilling to. Perhaps if he had admitted to himself that yes, her abilities are real, it would have been admitting that he wasn't enough, not anymore at least. That he couldn't keep up with her. Even the imagery of her has changed. From sweet girl in the red dress to a woman in a sleek and chic black pantsuit.
A part of me wonders what would have happened if he has pursued someone who'd already grown into themselves, already established their identity; that in their firmly rooted identity, and yet they are silly and simple and sweet and love rhubarb pie and wouldn't change, at least not as much, as a young girl undergoing the metamorphosis into Woman.
The story is about the hunter's wife, yes, but it is narrated through the hunter's eyes, from his perspective alone. If it had been through her eyes, the work might have been titled differently. Maybe something like "The Mystic" or "The Seer" or "The Visionary" etc. Maybe it would have been to much, too overwhelming, to have seen it all through her lens.
The hunter found himself in love with a 16 year old, a mere girl, when he was a grown 30 year old man. She was like a small doe in the beginning, a frail, feminine object of his desire, all clad in a sparkling red dress with the slit running up the thigh. He liked the simple little girl who loved rhubarb pie. He loved her wilderness initially, when it was all for himself to share with her, before she shared it with the world. He had been accepting of her gift then. But. As soon as she began to find her own, to grow from girl to true woman who had purpose and wanted to share it with the world, it was too much for him to handle. He viewed himself a simple mountain man, set in his ways, comfortable in his little world. And she grew to be so much more, slipping like water between his fingers no matter how tightly he tried to keep them locked tight to cup her, to keep all of her in. I imagine it feels like trying to bottle in a wind from the north, trying to capture something so wild and big, and when failing, arriving at a humbling reminder of one's limitations as a mere human. He wanted to keep her all to himself, and that's what drove her away in the end.
It must have been beautiful yet terrible from her perspective as well, more so reflecting back than in the moment. A hunter, a predator, taking advantage of a then foolish (or at least, naive) 16 year old orphan with no parents to guide and protect her; taking her to his remote cabins to be snowed in with this total stranger. And yet finding herself loving him. How frustrating, though, that she could feel everything, understand him more than he did himself, but he could not return the favor. Imagine having all the empathy in the world, and your partner unable to understand you on a fundamental level, or rather, unwilling to. Perhaps if he had admitted to himself that yes, her abilities are real, it would have been admitting that he wasn't enough, not anymore at least. That he couldn't keep up with her. Even the imagery of her has changed. From sweet girl in the red dress to a woman in a sleek and chic black pantsuit.
A part of me wonders what would have happened if he has pursued someone who'd already grown into themselves, already established their identity; that in their firmly rooted identity, and yet they are silly and simple and sweet and love rhubarb pie and wouldn't change, at least not as much, as a young girl undergoing the metamorphosis into Woman.
The story is about the hunter's wife, yes, but it is narrated through the hunter's eyes, from his perspective alone. If it had been through her eyes, the work might have been titled differently. Maybe something like "The Mystic" or "The Seer" or "The Visionary" etc. Maybe it would have been to much, too overwhelming, to have seen it all through her lens.
Statistics: Posted by DiatomTom — Tue Dec 19, 2023 7:34 pm