Of Lidy, Elsie says, “Right or wrong, but never indifferent. She was a Strong through and through.” Did you agree with the steely matriarch’s decisions to do what she thought best—whether keeping a painful secret or ending a life prematurely?’
I have to say, Lidy was one of my favorites. She personified the strong (no pun intended) resourceful pioneering woman one often hears about. No matter what needed to be done, she did it. She relied on her wits, her hard-life experiences, and her Ozark superstitions to guide her. She was tough-as-nails yet loving & kind in her own way, as could be seen in her relationships with neighbors and the way she raised the three girls as practically her own. I believe, rather than be ruled by a strict code of ethics such as scriptures might have laid out, Lidy operated comfortably with moral ambiguity. She supported her family’s illegal moonshine business to allow the family to be clothed & fed, she killed her abusive alcoholic husband to protect her son & herself from his frequent attacks, she killed her daughter-in-law Alta to prevent her from being in an ongoing vegetative state, & she attempted to cause Elsie to abort to prevent the heartache she perceived Elsie would suffer because of her pregnancy. While I don’t justify any of these acts, I do believe that Lidy felt that it was the kindest option available to help those she loved.
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