As soon as Bea returns from her second visit to Paris, visiting Los Angeles, she begins to intervene within the web of people's lives she has entered. She doesn't have very articulated motives, but she affects people enormously. Visiting Margaret -- why? -- and later writing her a letter to tell her that Julian is coming home, that he is married to a displaced person -- this leads to her death, as Marvin accuses her, but then Margaret dies imagining joy! Visiting Leo -- why? -- and creating with her violent bang on the piano a sound such as he has only dreamed of creating -- leading to his ironic "gift" to her of a symphony in B minor, yet also bringing closure to her. Intervening to burn up Marvin's check to Julian, then to sponsor Julian and Lili in her flat -- and then lying to Julian about his mother, that she was happy, in a kind of artists' home. This lie gives Julian a comfort that little else could give him. It is amazing how much subterfuge Bea practices on all these characters -- and yet she turns the plotlines of these characters to the good.
Subterfuge is a great word for it, Eileen. There was something that Bea didn’t do that I expected she might, but I will comment on it after we read The Ambassadors because I don’t want to suggest what happens in that novel. I’ll leave it for now just to say that though there are definitely similarities in the plots of both novels, there also are many, many differences. We certainly will not feel as though we are reading the same novel on either the level of the narrative and most certainly not the writing style!
Eileen, I enjoyed your comment, breaking down all of Bea’s “actions” and what those resulted in.
I was journaling some final thoughts this morning and came across a passage I highlighted:
“Her heart in its cage a foreign body—it had no business stirring up this frenzy, this delirium of knowing and unknowing. She thought: How hard it is to change one’s life. And again she thought: How terrifyingly simple to change the lives of others.”
I was thinking how well that quote sums up Bea’s realization that she has affected so many lives in the course of this story.
Thank you for breaking those down in your comment.
Yes! Excellent quotation that sums it up. I like it that Bea has a capacity to be surprised at herself! She unknots some of the strands of her life that have bound her, but she really doesn’t consciously intend to, if that makes sense. That surprise for me makes her breakthroughs believable.
Ah! This last section of reading had such turns for the characters that I really wanted to stay on the sidelines. I read this book on the heals of Lolita, obviously famous for not having a reliable narrator or sympathetic characters. Ozick’s book, though less distasteful a subject matter, left me with a similar feeling. No one was terribly attractive to me and I left that world thinking I was happy to leave them all behind even as I enjoyed the telling of their story. A good read and, yes, Trust may very well be on my list sooner than later. Excited about Ambassadors!
No, I did not question the reliability of her story-telling, quite the opposite. It almost felt like a truth-telling by the narrator as if she meant to face the narrative of her life, to lay out facts without judgement. Perhaps as if she needed to tell the story without the internal judgement that would clearly have been built into her wiring given the nature of the people she had been surrounded by throughout her life. Imagine Marvin as a more even more impetuous and unfiltered young man… the impact he would have on those around him! On reflection now, I would say Bea is letting go of these events without judgement even as it casts everyone in what is best to be called a real light as opposed to a heroic light. The book carries an even deeper meaning for me in this light.
I am also excited about The Ambassadors. I just purchased Trust today for a “future me”. I would like to experience more Ozick and it sounds like Trust is the way to go.
Trust is her “big novel” that she spent seven years writing, with a copy of James’s The Ambassadors on her writing table for inspiration on style. I don’t think she considers it her best novel, as it was the first, but it’s exactly the kind of novel that I love.
“Even so, in the long, long war with Leo, wasn’t it Bea who’d won?”
By ending this with a question mark, I wonder if the author means to portray that Bea may not feel like she has won after all. Maybe she is still not sure that she feels like the winner.
A point of irony too is that I feel like Bea judges Lili a bit for supporting Julian and deciding to be the one to work allowing him to “study” and “be”.
Bea did the same thing with Leo, so he could “be” (compose) while she “did”.
Maybe I missed it, but I feel like she didn’t make that connection, but the author wanted a bit of irony of the situation? Maybe I am reading too much into that part.
I think you are spot on with the irony of Bea not seeing that Lili is doing for Julian what she did for Leo. I think that Bea has a soft spot for Lili, and in a lot of ways Lili is more perceptive at times than even Bea. Thanks for highlighting the Lili Bea similarity, Valerie. I didn’t really see that before but it is a good interpretation. And yes, the question mark has to have significance. I guess I assumed that Bea had won the war of controlling the course of certain things, whereas she seemed to have so little earlier in the novel. Her control often leads to unintended consequences—Margaret’s death, Julian’s move to Texas—but its a much more self-empowered Bea in the end.
Up to this point, Bea’s heart had been “in its cage a foreign body…” This was the moment, to me, when she realized that she had real agency over her life and her relationships with others— when she was able to finally love herself!
For sure Bea's the winner here, though I do feel sad for Iris and I think she sort of traded places with Bea. Now she gets to be the long suffering woman taking care of her dad. Poor Margaret was put out of her misery; getting run over did her a kindness. I think Bea realizes things could be worse and she's finally free to embrace life on her own terms.
I like your interpretation, Nancy, that Bea realizes that she derives a lot of satisfaction from her teaching career. In that light, she is the winner.
As soon as Bea returns from her second visit to Paris, visiting Los Angeles, she begins to intervene within the web of people's lives she has entered. She doesn't have very articulated motives, but she affects people enormously. Visiting Margaret -- why? -- and later writing her a letter to tell her that Julian is coming home, that he is married to a displaced person -- this leads to her death, as Marvin accuses her, but then Margaret dies imagining joy! Visiting Leo -- why? -- and creating with her violent bang on the piano a sound such as he has only dreamed of creating -- leading to his ironic "gift" to her of a symphony in B minor, yet also bringing closure to her. Intervening to burn up Marvin's check to Julian, then to sponsor Julian and Lili in her flat -- and then lying to Julian about his mother, that she was happy, in a kind of artists' home. This lie gives Julian a comfort that little else could give him. It is amazing how much subterfuge Bea practices on all these characters -- and yet she turns the plotlines of these characters to the good.
Subterfuge is a great word for it, Eileen. There was something that Bea didn’t do that I expected she might, but I will comment on it after we read The Ambassadors because I don’t want to suggest what happens in that novel. I’ll leave it for now just to say that though there are definitely similarities in the plots of both novels, there also are many, many differences. We certainly will not feel as though we are reading the same novel on either the level of the narrative and most certainly not the writing style!
Eileen, I enjoyed your comment, breaking down all of Bea’s “actions” and what those resulted in.
I was journaling some final thoughts this morning and came across a passage I highlighted:
“Her heart in its cage a foreign body—it had no business stirring up this frenzy, this delirium of knowing and unknowing. She thought: How hard it is to change one’s life. And again she thought: How terrifyingly simple to change the lives of others.”
I was thinking how well that quote sums up Bea’s realization that she has affected so many lives in the course of this story.
Thank you for breaking those down in your comment.
Yes! Excellent quotation that sums it up. I like it that Bea has a capacity to be surprised at herself! She unknots some of the strands of her life that have bound her, but she really doesn’t consciously intend to, if that makes sense. That surprise for me makes her breakthroughs believable.
Yes, Ozick’s makes her heroine very believable.
Ah! This last section of reading had such turns for the characters that I really wanted to stay on the sidelines. I read this book on the heals of Lolita, obviously famous for not having a reliable narrator or sympathetic characters. Ozick’s book, though less distasteful a subject matter, left me with a similar feeling. No one was terribly attractive to me and I left that world thinking I was happy to leave them all behind even as I enjoyed the telling of their story. A good read and, yes, Trust may very well be on my list sooner than later. Excited about Ambassadors!
Thanks for this, Stephen. Very interested to know if you questioned Bea’s reliability as you were reading?
No, I did not question the reliability of her story-telling, quite the opposite. It almost felt like a truth-telling by the narrator as if she meant to face the narrative of her life, to lay out facts without judgement. Perhaps as if she needed to tell the story without the internal judgement that would clearly have been built into her wiring given the nature of the people she had been surrounded by throughout her life. Imagine Marvin as a more even more impetuous and unfiltered young man… the impact he would have on those around him! On reflection now, I would say Bea is letting go of these events without judgement even as it casts everyone in what is best to be called a real light as opposed to a heroic light. The book carries an even deeper meaning for me in this light.
I am also excited about The Ambassadors. I just purchased Trust today for a “future me”. I would like to experience more Ozick and it sounds like Trust is the way to go.
Trust is her “big novel” that she spent seven years writing, with a copy of James’s The Ambassadors on her writing table for inspiration on style. I don’t think she considers it her best novel, as it was the first, but it’s exactly the kind of novel that I love.
I am looking forward to it. Not sure when I will start it, but having it on my shelf will make sure it gets in the line up.
I think the ending line,
“Even so, in the long, long war with Leo, wasn’t it Bea who’d won?”
By ending this with a question mark, I wonder if the author means to portray that Bea may not feel like she has won after all. Maybe she is still not sure that she feels like the winner.
A point of irony too is that I feel like Bea judges Lili a bit for supporting Julian and deciding to be the one to work allowing him to “study” and “be”.
Bea did the same thing with Leo, so he could “be” (compose) while she “did”.
Maybe I missed it, but I feel like she didn’t make that connection, but the author wanted a bit of irony of the situation? Maybe I am reading too much into that part.
I think you are spot on with the irony of Bea not seeing that Lili is doing for Julian what she did for Leo. I think that Bea has a soft spot for Lili, and in a lot of ways Lili is more perceptive at times than even Bea. Thanks for highlighting the Lili Bea similarity, Valerie. I didn’t really see that before but it is a good interpretation. And yes, the question mark has to have significance. I guess I assumed that Bea had won the war of controlling the course of certain things, whereas she seemed to have so little earlier in the novel. Her control often leads to unintended consequences—Margaret’s death, Julian’s move to Texas—but its a much more self-empowered Bea in the end.
Yes, for sure. I agree. A much more victorious Bea for how she changed toward the end for the better.
I really enjoyed this introduction to Ozick’s work.
I plan to read more from her backlist in the future.
really recommend her Trust!
Up to this point, Bea’s heart had been “in its cage a foreign body…” This was the moment, to me, when she realized that she had real agency over her life and her relationships with others— when she was able to finally love herself!
Really good observation, Mel! Thanks for sharing your interpretation with us.
Mel. I just journaled this quote and was thinking the same thing! Thanks
For sure Bea's the winner here, though I do feel sad for Iris and I think she sort of traded places with Bea. Now she gets to be the long suffering woman taking care of her dad. Poor Margaret was put out of her misery; getting run over did her a kindness. I think Bea realizes things could be worse and she's finally free to embrace life on her own terms.
I like your interpretation, Nancy, that Bea realizes that she derives a lot of satisfaction from her teaching career. In that light, she is the winner.