A Jest Of God Essay Research Paper

A Jest Of God Essay, Research Paper We were strangers from the beginning tormented by our difference which did not exist. (Betsy Warland) An important ingredient inherent in a successful mother-daughter relationship is balance. Like the scales of justice, maintaining equilibrium requires work. The special bond between mother and daughter is delicate and unlike any other relationship due to expectations of performance on behalf of both women. The female psyche is, characteristically, particular: each woman having a certain regiment making themselves unique. Ideals and behavior learned, possibly inherited, from others are two of many things which carve an individual?s personality. It is these similarities and differences which often cause conflicts between mother and daughter.

In A Jest of God, the relationship between Rachel and her mother is strained due to unspoken expectations that each had of the other. Stemming from poor communication, a host of differences were assumed to exist between the two, when in fact their struggle originated in their sameness. The largest weapon which spear-headed the communication war between Rachel and her mother was the generation gap; coming from different eras, the pair assumed they had nothing in common. In Rachel?s eyes her mother was a pristine, saintly woman who maintained high moral values for herself and her family. Therefore, being a good person and making the right decisions was never questionable to Rachel, as this was how her mother expected her to behave. Rachel listened numerous times to her mother

comment on how “peculiar” her behavior looked, and spoke of anyone else she observed doing the same. Although this annoyed Rachel about her mother, she adopted similar paranoia tendencies, speculating how her behavior with Nick, a summer beau, looked to anyone who could be watching or noticing. Irritated by her mother?s attitude, Rachel excused it on the pretense that her views reflected the past times in which she lived. However, Rachel had neither the patience nor the desire to speak out against her mother for fear of stirring trouble between them. The irony in Rachel?s decision is that their relationship needed just what she was so desperately trying to avoid. By turning her back on the communication problem between herself and her mother, Rachel wanted to believe that the

problem was inherent in the misunderstanding each had of the other. Underneath her shell, Rachel was coming to terms with what was really true of the gap between herself and her mother: their difference lay in her want to not be similar. Both were single: Rachel unmarried and her mother a widow. Through her fling with Nick, Rachel wanted to express her desires to be independent from her mother, and have an adult relationship with another human being. Another similarity between the two women was in their propensity to be stubborn and secretive, having opinions they did not speak of but eluded to. This stubbornness was evident in terms of religious exploration as both were curious about faith. Rachel was more aggressive in her curiosity as evidenced in her visit the Tabernacle,

however kept it a secret knowing her mother speculated about what good people saw in such activity. Yet another similarity both mother and daughter share was in their satisfaction at living in a small town. Following the death of her father, neither Rachel nor her mother were anxious to change their living pattern. Rachel was not blind to the similarities she had with her mother, but attempted to change herself in order to be different. Like a teenager?s last rebellious actions before entering adulthood, Rachel?s actions during her last months in Manawaka symbolized the final fight to be different from her mother. Struggling to maintain a casual relationship with a man her mother would disapprove of, Rachel was forced to sneak around behind her mother?s back. Rachel?s mother