Imperfect women
The world in which the narrator lives divides things men and women are supposed to do. While men are expected to work in the fields and provide for their families, women are expected to stay home, take care of the house, help their husbands but most importantly, be mothers and have children. Ginny cannot have children and this affects her greatly since she doesn’t feel as a real woman. Rose as well had to lose her breast, a symbol for her feminine attributes after she was diagnosed with cancer so in a way the women in the novel are de-feminized and their main role is taken away from them. Thus, the author portrays women not as nurturers but as beings incapable of fulfilling their God-given role. Thus, because they are unable to do what they were supposed to do, the women in the novel have to focus their attention on something else and this causes problems on their own.
Stoicism
In the tenth chapter, when Ginny returns home after taking Rose to her doctor’s appointment, she passes by her father’s house and she sees him sitting on the porch, unmoving. Fearing that he might be dead, Ginny stops and goes to talk with him. The way Larry is described by Ginny is important because it reveals the way Ginny thinks about her father. Ginny sees Larry as being almost a statue, unmoving, cold and emotionless. Larry fails to connect with any of children and the only thing he is able to connect with is the land he owns.
Saving a man
In the fourteenth chapter, Ginny thinks about how her father used to be in his youth and about the stories she heard about him. Ginny remembers and instance when Harold Clark had an accident and remained stuck under his truck. Larry was quick to help Harold, saving his life, and he even sent Harold a bottle of whiskey after, thus showing that he cared about his neighbor’s wellbeing. The image portrayed here is that of a strong man who cares about those around him. Larry is however scared to show his compassionate side, fearing that it will make him look weak and choses instead to hide behind a mask.
Naughty child
In chapter 20, Larry has an accident while driving his car. Ginny, Rose, and their husbands go to the hospital where Larry was admitted and they also bring him home after he is released by the doctors. On the way home, Larry sits in the backseat car with Ty driving and Ginny sitting beside him. Ginny describes Larry here as being like a child who was disciplined by his parents after doing something naughty. This shift, from a cruel tyrant to a defenseless old man is important because it also influences the way Ginny and Rose take care of Larry. If before they tried to do everything humanly possible to make sure that he had everything he wanted because they were scared of him, now they reached the point where they saw their father as a burden, powerless and dependent on them.
