🚶🏻♀️➡️Carol Flashcards
Carol
•Can I do it in a minute? Sorry, I was just going to the smoking room.’ (Ch. 1)
From the first chapter, we can see Carol putting her own needs before her children’s when she’s asked by the nurse to feed Jake. Her proclivity for addiction is foreshadowed with her need for cigarettes, and the irony of her doing something so linked to disease and death after just giving birth is highlighted.
‘Just me and you and him. Always.’ (Ch. 1)
This quotation demonstrates that Carol does care for Leon and Jake, and has good intentions. Perhaps de Waal is commenting on the poor state of the health services in the 8os, which failed to support someone who had struggled with post-natal depression and had to have her first child temporarily fostered before. There is also an irony to this quotation, as the reader will probably know from the blurb that they will not always be together.
‘Carol used to say sorry when she shouted at him but she forgets all the time these days so tomorrow he’s going to take some money out of her purse.’ (Ch. 4)
After swearing and shouting at Leon after Tony saw him, Carol does not apologise. Here we can see how her actions and the unfairness Leon feels trigger his stealing. We feel sympathy for Leon here, and concern about the comment that ‘she forgets all the time’,
, especially
when she has been forgetting other things essential to looking after her children.
‘He realizes that the whole room smells like Jake’s nappy and that his mum has wet the bed again. He opens the window but only a little crack in case Carol gets cold.’ (Ch. 5)
At this point in the text, we realise the extent of Carol’s illness- the chapter began saying ‘things get jangled up at home’, but this moment emphasises how much of an understatement that was. The single word ‘again’ highlights how this isn’t just a one-off, but has been going on for an extended time. Carol’s inability to look after her children or herself is juxtaposed by Leon’s inherently caring nature, as he is concerned about her feeling cold
“Itinerant lifestyle’ and emotionally unstable personality disorder. (Ch. 12)
We learn a bit more about Carol’s mental health struggles through the files in Salma’s purse: Carol is dependent on alcohol and prescription drugs, and isn’t capable of looking after her children. De Waal could be making the reader consider the support that those with mental health problems receive, particularly in the 198os.
Despite Carol having previous history of post-natal depression leading to Leon’s previous stay in temporary foster homes, there seems to be little if no support for her after Jake’s birth. This makes the reader feel empathy for Carol, and we recognise it is not her fault, but responsibility needs to lie with support services as well.
‘He feels a dark star of pain in his throat and the last warmth of her touch on his fingers. (Ch. 14)
The metaphor of ‘a dark star of pain’ is almost oxymoronic; ‘star’ is positive, but ‘dark’ and ‘pain’ have negative connotations. This is almost symbolic of their relationship, as Leon looks up to Carol and admires her, as she is his biological mother, but Carol’s mental health issues mean she is not able to look after Leon, causing him hurt and pain.
‘he doesn’t see her turn around and wave because she didn’t.’ (Ch.25)
This is another heart-breaking moment in the novel. After Carol’s visit in Chapter 24 at the family centre, she doesn’t turn and wave.
Leon can’t seem to get over the fact that she wouldn’t want to turn around and see him for one last time.
‘she seems to go from hard to soft without moving a muscle. […]
“And you [.] I still love you.’ (Ch. 41)
This is a key turning point in the novel, and presents a satisfying resolution for the reader. Knowing that his mum doesn’t need rescuing, and accepting that he is loved although she’s not able to be with him is a key moment in Leon’s development, and in the final chapter we see him beginning his journey into acceptance.
