Who Is Clare Wald's Absolution?
‘Absolution’ is a formal release of guilt, obligation or punishment. The characters in Absolution are all trying to find their own absolution. In the following essay the meaning of the title Absolution of the novel and the way in which this title relates specifically to the character of Clare Wald will be discussed.
Clare is plagued by the idea that she has failed to be a good mother to both Laura and Mark as well as her wrong doings in the past. Clare blames herself for the disappearance and presumed death of her daughter Laura, the death of her sister and brother in law and her rejection of Sam when he appeared on her doorstep when he was still a young child who desperately needed her help and guidance. Throughout the novel we see that Clare tries to seek absolution …show more content…
Her guilt for all of the issues she is dealing with, manifests in the form of nightmares, hallucination and insomnia.
The Absolution narrative is Clare’s attempt to let go of her guilt but also motivate her reasoning for what she has done in the past. In this narrative Clare writes about her confessions to Mark and asks him is he thinks she “deserves amnesty” (pg. 346) for her so called crimes. Mark proceeds to tell her that her role in the deaths, are not considered to be crimes and that “There can’t be a trial where no crime has been committed.”
Clare takes full blame for the disappearance of Laura. She believes fully that Laura disappeared in the time of her contributions in the anti-apartheid struggle. Clare decides to put together a personal journal, in which she tells her version of Laura’s political involvement based on the notebooks Laura left her mother. This is an attempt for Clare to relieve herself of some of the guilt she is plagued with. It also becomes clearer to Clare that Laura is no longer around to forgive her and this is when she tried to build a relationship with Sam, the only one who is still around to hopefully provide her with some sort of
Clare is plagued by the idea that she has failed to be a good mother to both Laura and Mark as well as her wrong doings in the past. Clare blames herself for the disappearance and presumed death of her daughter Laura, the death of her sister and brother in law and her rejection of Sam when he appeared on her doorstep when he was still a young child who desperately needed her help and guidance. Throughout the novel we see that Clare tries to seek absolution …show more content…
Her guilt for all of the issues she is dealing with, manifests in the form of nightmares, hallucination and insomnia.
The Absolution narrative is Clare’s attempt to let go of her guilt but also motivate her reasoning for what she has done in the past. In this narrative Clare writes about her confessions to Mark and asks him is he thinks she “deserves amnesty” (pg. 346) for her so called crimes. Mark proceeds to tell her that her role in the deaths, are not considered to be crimes and that “There can’t be a trial where no crime has been committed.”
Clare takes full blame for the disappearance of Laura. She believes fully that Laura disappeared in the time of her contributions in the anti-apartheid struggle. Clare decides to put together a personal journal, in which she tells her version of Laura’s political involvement based on the notebooks Laura left her mother. This is an attempt for Clare to relieve herself of some of the guilt she is plagued with. It also becomes clearer to Clare that Laura is no longer around to forgive her and this is when she tried to build a relationship with Sam, the only one who is still around to hopefully provide her with some sort of