"Room" is narrated from Jack's perspective, making it hard to see Ma's true feelings throughout this difficult transition. We tend to focus on Jack's transition to the world, as it seems hardest for him, since he's never seen anything outside of Room. But looking deeper into Ma's struggles, it becomes clear how hard the transition is actually hitting Ma.
We first see Ma struggling during the interview. With demeaning and rude questions being thrown at her by the big haired interviewer, and Ma's credibility as a parent being thrown into question, it was seemingly natural for her to be "gone" the next day. Ma's parenting abilities were what kept her literally alive in Room. She didn't take her life because she had to be a good mother to Jack. Though this isn't the only thing that leads to her overdose, it is a cause and effect. Ma's suicide attempt shows her struggle, though we had been focusing on Jack's.
As we see Ma come back after her suicide attempt and Jack's week alone come to an end, we get the scene of them moving into the Independent Living. The scenes where Jack has rug, and Ma tolerates it shows strength on her part.
But what really shows Ma's strength is the fact that she is willing to go back to Room, the place where so many awful things happened to her, just to let Jack have closure. We see her struggling when she vomits outside the shed, and we can only imagine how she feels seeing her miscarriages child's grave. But the fact that she perseveres through this mental pain, shows her heroism.
I know that the interview was hard for Ma, but I think her reaction was a little extreme. She raised Jack for 5 years in a tiny room, putting up with many hardships and decisions, yet never contemplated killing herself when Jack was with her. I found it odd that, now that she is free, seems to have a weaker mentality. Some rude question pushes her over the edge and she does what she resisted successfully for 5+ years.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ansel's comment, I always felt like the pressure from being in Room is what kept her sane, and now the release of all that tension after her escape is an odd situation for her to be in.
ReplyDeleteIn response to this post in general, the reader can't help but be awed by Ma's actions throughout the novel. I think that her heroism is more showcased in Room, while Jack's heroism is more showcased outside of Room.
I agree with Katie, I'm very impressed with Ma's strength while in Room. She's battling severe depression and trying to raise her son in a confined place. Then she experiences a lot of stress and is overwhelmed by the outside world. When she attempts suicide I saw it as another action due to wanting Jack to be safe, since the interviewer put the idea in Ma's head that Jack would've been better off in an orphanage.
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