Housekeeping By Marilynne Robinson And Middlesex, By Jeffrey Eugenides
What is a home? Many argue a home is the place where one resides. According to the Merriam - Webster dictionary, a home is “the place where someone lives or originally comes from: the place to which you feel most strongly attached.” In the books Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, home is an important aspect of the characters lives. Housekeeping is about a girl named Ruth who lives in an isolated town called Fingerbone. She grows up there with her younger sister Lucille and at the age of six, her mother abandons her to live with her grandmother. When her grandmother passes, Ruth is placed in two ladies custody who then flee and Ruth’s Aunt Sylvie is left to take care of her. All of this chaos takes place in
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one house that Ruth’s grandfather built. Next, Middlesex is about an intersex man named Cal, who is born a woman. Cal tells the story of his grandparents Lefty and Desdemona who are siblings who marry. They begin their lives Turkey and then move to America. Then Cal narrates the story about his parents and finally, himself. He talks about his childhood and his gender identity journey. Housekeeping and Middlesex show that home is where one feels both safe to be themselves, and comfortable with the people around them and their physical surroundings.
In Housekeeping, when the main character Ruth and her sister Lucille are younger children, they do not feel like they have a home. First, their mother Helen abandons them and later commits suicide. When Ruth is older, she reflects on this act and says, “We would have known nothing of the nature and reach of her sorrow if she had come back. But she left us and broke the family and the sorrow was released” (198). When Helen dies, she leaves the girls homeless in some sense. This is when the girls meet their grandmother for the first time, so it is like living with a stranger. Considering the situation, it is difficult for Ruth and Lucille to make their grandmother’s house feel like a home. On their grandmother's death, the girls’ next caretakers are Nona and Lily, the grandmother’s sister in laws. When they arrive, the girls realize Lily and Nona do not want to be there and Ruth mentions that, “We stayed awake at night because Lucille was afraid of her dreams” (32). The death of their grandmother and mother obviously haunts Ruth and Lucille. If they did not go through so much despair, Lucille could have been comforted, not have nightmares, and feel at home. Now they are under the care of two women who do not want them. This forces Ruth to take a motherly role to Lucille. She is the one person Lucille can depend on to be there. This is a role Ruth should not take on. Ruth and Lucille need an adult in their lives that they rely on and take care of them.
Shortly after Nona and Lily arrive, they leave the girls with their Aunt Sylvie, whom Ruth will soon feel at home with.
At this point, Ruth has gone through many caretakers and Sylvie is the one person who makes her feel comfortable. This leaves Ruth longing for stability and for Sylvie to stay in Fingerbone. Ruth mentions, “It seemed to [her] that if [Sylvie] could remain transient [t]here, she would not have to leave” (103). Ruth spends her whole life without a stable, reliable adult. Except for her sister, she only has people in her life for short periods of time. Now, Sylvie seems like the only option for someone that Ruth can look up to and Ruth does not want her to leave. Also, Ruth starts taking after Sylvie. By doing this, Ruth and Sylvie start forming a home for themselves. Jacqui Smith suggests “[Sylvie] transforms the house--the house does not transform her”. Sylvie makes a place that both she and Ruth feel comfortable and can be themselves in. Shortly after, in Ruth’s junior high school years, she becomes more like Sylvie. She is reserved, quiet, and unconventional. Lucille, who does not like the household, leaves to live with a teacher. As a result, Ruth and Sylvie living alone together. However, they then obtain a hearing about Ruth’s custody. Ruth thinks about Sylvie and says, “It seemed to me that we shared the house amicably because it was spacious enough and we had both felt at home there” (190). Ruth admits that the Fingerbone house feels like home. When Sylvie’s guardianship is threatened to the point where both Sylvie and Ruth know that they will be separated, they run away and stay together. Ruth knows that if she gets removed from her household, she will have a hard time feeling at home in a new place. Ruth only feels at home with Sylvie and knows they will can make a home again if they get out of Fingerbone. In the end, Ruth and Sylvie travel the country together and are each other’s
comfort.
Although Ruth feels at home with Sylvie, Lucille feels the opposite way. When Ruth and Lucille grow up, they are constantly in new situations, where everything is new except their house and each other. Ruth mentions that “[she] ha[s] never made a friend in [her] life. Until recently, neither had [Lucille]” (130). Lucille and Ruth were the only people who were always there for each other. However, as they grow older, Lucille starts making friends. She does this because she despises the way Sylvie runs the household and needs someone to talk with. Maureen Ryan says, “As the sisters enter adolescence and Lucille grows increasingly impatient with their unusual lifestyle”. Lucille believes that Sylvie should run the house in a traditional way. All Lucille is looking for is to be raised by someone she feels is normal in a stable home. Soon, Lucille starts making friends and does not want to seem like an outcast because of Sylvie. As a result, Lucille starts acting out and make it known she does not like Sylvie. Ruth mentions that Sylvie’s “habits... were clearly the habits of a transient. They offended Lucille’s sense of propriety” (103). Because of these habits, Lucille does not feel comfortable and at home in the Fingerbone house. Although she has grown up with Ruth always by her side, they start drifting when Ruth becomes more like Sylvie. Lucille knows that she needs a place to call home and Sylvie’s house is not it. She moves in with her home economics teacher which gives her a life that will be better. Lucille finds an adult in her life that she knows is normal and someone she can feel safe with.
one house that Ruth’s grandfather built. Next, Middlesex is about an intersex man named Cal, who is born a woman. Cal tells the story of his grandparents Lefty and Desdemona who are siblings who marry. They begin their lives Turkey and then move to America. Then Cal narrates the story about his parents and finally, himself. He talks about his childhood and his gender identity journey. Housekeeping and Middlesex show that home is where one feels both safe to be themselves, and comfortable with the people around them and their physical surroundings.
In Housekeeping, when the main character Ruth and her sister Lucille are younger children, they do not feel like they have a home. First, their mother Helen abandons them and later commits suicide. When Ruth is older, she reflects on this act and says, “We would have known nothing of the nature and reach of her sorrow if she had come back. But she left us and broke the family and the sorrow was released” (198). When Helen dies, she leaves the girls homeless in some sense. This is when the girls meet their grandmother for the first time, so it is like living with a stranger. Considering the situation, it is difficult for Ruth and Lucille to make their grandmother’s house feel like a home. On their grandmother's death, the girls’ next caretakers are Nona and Lily, the grandmother’s sister in laws. When they arrive, the girls realize Lily and Nona do not want to be there and Ruth mentions that, “We stayed awake at night because Lucille was afraid of her dreams” (32). The death of their grandmother and mother obviously haunts Ruth and Lucille. If they did not go through so much despair, Lucille could have been comforted, not have nightmares, and feel at home. Now they are under the care of two women who do not want them. This forces Ruth to take a motherly role to Lucille. She is the one person Lucille can depend on to be there. This is a role Ruth should not take on. Ruth and Lucille need an adult in their lives that they rely on and take care of them.
Shortly after Nona and Lily arrive, they leave the girls with their Aunt Sylvie, whom Ruth will soon feel at home with.
At this point, Ruth has gone through many caretakers and Sylvie is the one person who makes her feel comfortable. This leaves Ruth longing for stability and for Sylvie to stay in Fingerbone. Ruth mentions, “It seemed to [her] that if [Sylvie] could remain transient [t]here, she would not have to leave” (103). Ruth spends her whole life without a stable, reliable adult. Except for her sister, she only has people in her life for short periods of time. Now, Sylvie seems like the only option for someone that Ruth can look up to and Ruth does not want her to leave. Also, Ruth starts taking after Sylvie. By doing this, Ruth and Sylvie start forming a home for themselves. Jacqui Smith suggests “[Sylvie] transforms the house--the house does not transform her”. Sylvie makes a place that both she and Ruth feel comfortable and can be themselves in. Shortly after, in Ruth’s junior high school years, she becomes more like Sylvie. She is reserved, quiet, and unconventional. Lucille, who does not like the household, leaves to live with a teacher. As a result, Ruth and Sylvie living alone together. However, they then obtain a hearing about Ruth’s custody. Ruth thinks about Sylvie and says, “It seemed to me that we shared the house amicably because it was spacious enough and we had both felt at home there” (190). Ruth admits that the Fingerbone house feels like home. When Sylvie’s guardianship is threatened to the point where both Sylvie and Ruth know that they will be separated, they run away and stay together. Ruth knows that if she gets removed from her household, she will have a hard time feeling at home in a new place. Ruth only feels at home with Sylvie and knows they will can make a home again if they get out of Fingerbone. In the end, Ruth and Sylvie travel the country together and are each other’s
comfort.
Although Ruth feels at home with Sylvie, Lucille feels the opposite way. When Ruth and Lucille grow up, they are constantly in new situations, where everything is new except their house and each other. Ruth mentions that “[she] ha[s] never made a friend in [her] life. Until recently, neither had [Lucille]” (130). Lucille and Ruth were the only people who were always there for each other. However, as they grow older, Lucille starts making friends. She does this because she despises the way Sylvie runs the household and needs someone to talk with. Maureen Ryan says, “As the sisters enter adolescence and Lucille grows increasingly impatient with their unusual lifestyle”. Lucille believes that Sylvie should run the house in a traditional way. All Lucille is looking for is to be raised by someone she feels is normal in a stable home. Soon, Lucille starts making friends and does not want to seem like an outcast because of Sylvie. As a result, Lucille starts acting out and make it known she does not like Sylvie. Ruth mentions that Sylvie’s “habits... were clearly the habits of a transient. They offended Lucille’s sense of propriety” (103). Because of these habits, Lucille does not feel comfortable and at home in the Fingerbone house. Although she has grown up with Ruth always by her side, they start drifting when Ruth becomes more like Sylvie. Lucille knows that she needs a place to call home and Sylvie’s house is not it. She moves in with her home economics teacher which gives her a life that will be better. Lucille finds an adult in her life that she knows is normal and someone she can feel safe with.