The one “Strong woman” we don’t hear from directly in the novel is Alta. Hiram worships and grieves her; a put-upon Lidy resents her. Rebecca and Elsie crave her softness and stories—while Shine has no memories of her at all. How do you feel about this complicated voiceless character? Do you believe—as Shine comes to—that she shouldn’t be judged too harshly for her worst transgression or mistake?
Hiram loved her and Rebecca and Elsie miss her, so there must have been a lot of good in the woman. I feel she made a mistake that resulted in Shine. She then felt desperate enough to try to end her pregnancy. Lidy’s resentment came from having to hide that secret, as well as the secret that the reason Alta jumped was to term her pregnancy, which is also understandable. We are all people and no one is perfect. (Interesting though that not only did Alta try and term her pregnancy, but Lidy tried to term Elsie’s.)
I feel compassion for Alta. She clearly had mental health issues and there was no treatment for her condition - only judgment. It is heart breaking that she felt the only option available was to kill her baby and herself.
Alta was a sad character. I don’t think Hiram would have ever suspected the new child was not his, he loved his wife and daughters. It is hard to imagine a sane mother of toddlers making the choice to end her life. I feel Alta must have been suffering from mental health issues that were impossible to treat at that time.
I felt sorry for Alta. She appeared to be a good mother and must have seen no other way to take care of her problem than trying to end the pregnancy by jumping.
I also felt sad or Alta given her “secret” that she couldn’t share with her family. And felt she had to take such drastic measures to get “rid” of her secret. Very sad.
We didn’t get to hear Alta in the story. She was loved by her husband and daughters. I think we all have a bit of a transgression in our lives and should not be judged by that incident.
I felt that Alta found herself in a life that with foresight, she wouldn’t have chosen. Hiram loved and doted on her, but Shine’s father happened along at a time when Alta was realizing her dissatisfaction with that life. I kind of think she jumped intending to end her own life, as well as the child’s. I don’t think she could live with the shame. I felt great compassion for her,
I felt sad for her that she felt this was her only alternative. Her daughters and her husband loved her.
I sensed that Alta felt more and more trapped in a lifestyle of exceedingly hard work and poverty. Shine was conceived with another man with whom Alta might have thought would be a better life; although she wouldn’t and couldn’t leave. Lidy was a powerful matriarch. Alta probably thought she could never match her strength and would live in Lidy’s shadow as long as Lidy lived. Sad situations for Alta.
Alta’s story is an exampler of how well written this book is. We never meet her but we know who she was. She was flawed. She made a choice to live a life she did not understand. The hard work wore her down. It lead her to be tempted. She still did everything to not hurt those she loved. I think it was as much the fear of hurting Hiram as the shame that made he do what she did
I have mixed feelings about Alta. On one hand, I can understand the despair & desperation a person can have about circumstances in which they find themselves with no way of coping, and seeing suicide as the only way to deal with the horrible feelings they have. On the other hand, it is difficult for me to fathom someone choosing to end their life when they have two small children who need their mother. Also, the thoughts of the damage that would be inflicted on the people that are left behind, as well as the anger, hurt, etc. that they would feel could be painful enough to stop someone from actually going through with commiting suicide.
I agree that the author did a very good job of developing the character of Alta, even though she was “invisible” within the plot. She was in deep despair within every realm of her life, and I felt only compassion for her. The author was effective in portraying the deep love that her husband, daughters and mother-in-law felt for her even in her absence.
The author did an excellent job of giving the reader only a glimpse into Alta’s life and let us fill in the blanks. It was obvious that she suffered from depression and was probably misunderstood by both Hiram and Lidy. Finding herself pregnant by another man and without mental health support or good counsel Alta saw no way out but suicide. I am thankful that so many advances in mental heath support have occurred since the 1930’s. Society needs to embrace not judge others.
I wonder if she meant to end her life or just her pregnancy. She seemed to dote on her daughters. It also seems that Hiram had no reason to doubt her love. I feel she just gave into temptation.
Alta certainly had a prescience in everyone’s life after her death. I think Hiram and the girls remembered her in a positive way that may not have reflected the actual reality of living with Alta. Lidy, on the other hand, realized why Alta committed suicide and couldn’t forgive her this choice. Shine, as she matured began to realize no one is perfect. Judging someone for their choices lacks a personal understanding and acceptance.
This is where I became impressed with the writer. Even though we never meet Alta, I felt that others loved her and, in some ways, I understand her actions. She had a tough life, with few options and I felt sorry for her. I don’t agree with her decisions, but I can see that she did not feel she had any other option. How very sad.
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Dee I feel exactly the same way. I think Alta was well written. She was such a big part of the story yet she was hardly ever mentioned. That takes talent
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Renee_P, Thanks. It really does take talent. I am not sure I have seen that done by a lot of authors. Always glad when book browse introduces me to a new author!
I am late jumping in here, but I agree with most of what has already been said–with one exception. I remember at least one, and maybe two, references to the hidden rock on which Alta hit her head. Obviously she was not “thinking straight,” but I don’t believe she intended to commit suicide, but rather just to end the pregnancy.