Annie John tells the story of a girl’s road to becoming a young woman. All her life she has had such a close relationship with her mother. They would do everything together like take baths, go to the market, and so on. She found her mother to be beautiful and perfect. This is quite clear when she says “how important I felt to be with my mother” (15). Moreover, there was a deep love that she possessed for her. However, as she continued to get older their relationship deteriorated as well as the love she had for her mother. One day coming home from school, she comments that there was a bitter taste in seeing her mother and that she no longer loved her (53). The story goes on to describe this love-hate relationship.
As I was reading, I noticed that the deterioration of their relationship was not caused by any one person but by both Annie John and her mother. It could be argued that this strain on their relationship is all Annie John’s doing but it appears to be mutual. Her mother started the pushing away. We see this in the beginning of the novel when she is told by her mother that “you just cannot go around the rest of your life looking like a little me” (26). Why would her mother start to destroy such a good thing? Annie resented this and began to push back. She began to confide in other females besides her mother such as Gwen and Red Girl. Also, she became mischievous and kept secrets. Things between both of them would never be the same. They even developed two faces of which one was for father and the rest of the world and one for when they found themselves alone with each other (87). Her mother had a lot to do with this tension.
But in the end, their relationship could never be broken. Though she despised her mother, Annie John still had love for her mother and she too for Annie John. What signified to me that this relationship would last is when her mother tells her that “it doesn’t matter what you do or where you go, I’ll always be your mother” (147).
2 comments:
I don't think that Annie's mother was trying to push her daughter away when she told Annie that she couldn't go through life being a little her. She was trying to tell Annie that she needs to grow up and mature into a young woman. Annie loved her mother dearly but pushed herself away by her actions. The first time she ever pushed away was when she lied to her mother about not bringing home the fish. Every time she deceived her mother she pushed herself away. Mrs. John never pushed her daughter away. She loved her daughter. Yes there were times when Annie hurt her, for example when Annie told her like mother like daughter about being a slut, but Mrs. John still loved her. A mother's love could never die. She didn't push her daughter to leave, Annie was the one who freely pushed herself away from her mother and her home.
I would have to agree with Margaux on this one. It was out of love that the mother tried to distance her from her daughter. It was for the pure benefit of the daughter so that she could learn to grow up, fend for herself and learn how to make decissions for herself. The novel really showed how much of every relationship is love-hate. Not to the extreme that Annie had with her mother but there is always some form of animosity that exists in every relationship. This story just goes to show that the love you have for someone can overcome any negative thoughts you have. A mother-daughter relationship is one of the strongest you can form.
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