ide. Seeing that Mabel is still alive, Jack tries desperately to pull her from death's grip by making "the water come from her mouth" (570). The deadness created by the water gradually leaves Mabel's body. However, at first Mabel doesn't fully recuperate; she is alive but emotionally lifeless. Mabel is filled with deadness, not just because of the water, but because of the loss of life at home. Everything that she had lived with for years is now gone. All she had is dead. Jack tries to remedy her problems by putting "spirits" into her (570). Although literally Jack gives her whiskey, he is also symbolically putting life back into Mabel as well. In these melodramatic events, Mabel may seem without strength and helplessly depressed. After all, a person who is strong and independent would not be trying to welcome death the way that Mabel does. Ironically, Mabel's attempted suicide actually reveals her strength. At the beginning of the story, Mabel didn't want to go live with her sister even though her brothers keep insisting that she should. In her suicide attempt, Mabel has devised a scheme or a plan that will allow her to remain in a place that she wants to be. This plan involves Jack and a pond. If Mabel can get Jack to "save" her, then she will be secure. She will have a place to go. Mabel's independence and determination not only proves her the strength for her to go through with the plan but also the power to manipulate Jack once they are back at her house. With the power and strength that she possesses, Mabel convinces Jack that he loves her. As Jack sees and feels the strength in Mabel, he experiences an epiphany and realizes that he truly loves her. Earlier, Jack had mused upon the excitement he feels from his "contact with the rough, strongly-feeling people" he serves; it was a "stimulant applied direct to his nerves" (568). Because Mabel possesses the characteristics that Jack desires, her plan is made even easier. Oddly, onc...
