When the women in the novel meet on Paradise Circle, all three are feeling the loss or imminent loss of their sense of belonging. Why is each woman struggling with a sense of crippling displacement? Are they on Paradise Circle by choice or circumstance, in your opinion?
I think all three women are there by circumstance, and perhaps only June is/was enjoying her life on Paradise Circle, due to her love for Elwood. All three shared unfortunate circumstances that caused them to come together. I suppose you could say that fate brought them together.
They were there by circumstance–Eva, as a maid to Melanie, and by the loss of her family and homeland; Melanie by being blacklisted from her career and hiding out in Malibu; and June by the death of Elwood and losing her home on Paradise Circle.
Life choices create circumstances, ultimately. However, as the story opens, all three women have landed on Paradise Circle as a result of circumstances beyond their control, brought about by their own prior choices.
Melanie made the choice to move to Hollywood and pursue action, and has found herself blacklisted through no fault of her own. She’s been unjustly branded guilty by association simply for socializing with people in Hollywood, most notably Carson. That was how the Hollywood blacklist worked – it was a horrific time in American history when many people lost careers & livelihoods when they had done nothing wrong.
Eva made the choice to emigrate to the U.S. and falsify her background because of the manner in which Americans viewed Russians. Now she is trapped in a job she cannot quit without raising suspicion, working for a woman who will be further harmed if the truth about her national origin becomes known. She fears deportation and likely death if she is sent back to Russia. She is paralyzed with fear, unable to think of an effective solution.
And June’s predicament is a direct result of the choice she made after Elwood’s suicide. She was emotionally distraught and impetuous, but is now facing the aftermath.
I think two of the three were there by circumstances, for the most part, which were out of their control. June created her circumstances and was okay with it until Elwood took his life and then she was no longer in control because she made a hasty decision. I feel like anytime things are out of your control it can be really hard to know how to navigate those circumstances. A sense of overwhelm can easily take over and, as a result, you don’t always think straight.
I think that they were all there due to their circumstances. Melanie didn’t choose to be blacklisted, Eva was forced to hide her background due to how her background would have affected her life and June was in love with a man who couldn’t love her back.