f liberation. Elizabeth’s dreams for her own life have long ago died. Yet she clings to life for the sake of one thought. She is trying to ensure that her son (George Willard) does not become a lifeless thing like herself. This is the basis of their relationship, the “bond of sympathy” as the writer puts it, “based on a girlhood dream that had long ago died” (40). Elizabeth has infinite amount of love for her son. Not the kind of love most commonly felt by a mother for her son. The love she has is almost bigger than both of them; she loves what she thinks is possible inside the boy. Elizabeth loves this because is reminiscent of the thing she loved most inside herself. She describes the things inside George as something “that was once a part of herself re-created” (40). Her own death, in event, would be like a peaceful release. She would in effect be let go from the reminder of her own inner failure to the “thing” alive in her (40). What is inside George potentially represents the only thing she ever really loved in her life. The technicality of her own continued existence is the determination to make sure that George does not let this thing die inside himself. Elizabeth’s love for George is only real because she sees that mystical thing inside him. She makes love into a grotesque and selfish wish that is more for herself than her son. This is hinted at when she is pleading with god, she says “I will take any blow that may befall if but this my boy be allowed to express something for the both of us” (40). In the story death Elizabeth finds a complete release. After the almost love affair with Doctor Reefy, Elizabeth is just waiting to die. She seems content with the idea that death is the only thing that will finally give her peace. She has assured herself that her son will go out into the world and live on the thing that she once lived on. Deat...
