This story is filled with many secrets. Some are secrets that are just never answered at all--left completely up to the readers, and some are hinted at, but never fully answered outright. Alice Munro seems to do that with most of the stories in the Open Secrets collection. I said in a previous comment on The Albanian Virgin, that the short stories in this book remind me of those "Choose your own ending/ what happens next" books that were back in the day.
The main questions I had in this book were the following: Why is Gail so desperate and in such obsession with Will? What is the actual relationship between the old man and young man and where does the young man go? The ending is also a secret of "What will happen between Will and Gail?"
Gail seems to have an obvious obsession with Will--it definetely seems lustous. She shows quite the apparent jealousy of Sandy, as is seen on pg 173 where she is reading Will's letter to Ms. Thornaby:
"Wife. He is trying to be respectable in the eyes of the possible cousin."
Perhaps it is just the way I read it but I definetely sensed an air of jealousy.
The whole story as a whole is evidence for her obsession. She leaves her life completely, goes under disguise, and moves to Australia to see what Will is up to. She then pretends to be a deceased old woman to keep in contact with Will without him knowing it is her.
I was quite surprised when Munro writes that the old man and young man were lovers. I too, due to the described age gap, assumed they were father and son, grandfather and son or maybe even family friends. On page 184 is when Munro hints at the lovers:
"Lovers. Gail thinks. She is suddenly sure of it. She feels a shiver of sympathy, an odd gratification. Lovers."
Although it is never truley said outright by either the elder or the young man, we assume through Gail's assumption that they were indeed lovers.
It is also never answered what happens to the young boy. There is a scene where the old man is yelling and the young boy is standing outside the apartment--perhaps a fight is what set them apart? Or maybe it's a simpler explanation that the young man was away--on a buisness trip, for example.
Lastly, I found the end to be the biggest secret of all, meaning, the one as a reader that I would like answered. Gail recieves a note, presumed to be from Will saying that he knows it's her.
The very last sentence on page 189 says:
"Now it's up to you to follow me."
The reader never knows, doesn't even get a hint or assumption, of what will happen. Will Will be happy and return to Gail? Will he be upset and ignore her, or upset and go after her? Will Gail be unable to leave the decision up to Will and feel the need to go back? These are the questions that the reader is left with and really that true "secret" of the story.
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4 comments:
I agree with Emily. I think that the whole story is revolved around and describes Gail's obsession with Will. It is shown through the letters they write back and forth but also in the way she acts. When she returns from the hospital and finds the note that says "Gail. I know it's you." she begans to panic.
"Hurry. Hurry. Her rent is paid. She must leave a note for the manager. She must take the money out of the bank, get herself to the airport, find a flight. Her clothes can stay behind - her humble pale-print dresses, her floppy hat. The last library book can remain on the table under the sagebrush picture. It cxan remain there, accumulating fines." (pg. 188). This passage shows that Gail is ridiculously obsessed with Will and does not want him to know about it, not only in letters, but by her actions as well.
I also agree with Emily and the comparisson between this novel and Open Secrets. They both leave secrets and open-ended questions that make not only the reader but also the other characters wonder what is happening and what is going to happen. This novel is written with several different narrations which also make the reader think of what the true meaning is. Assumptions are what completes the novel for the reader.
This story was definitely based on Gail's complete obsession with Will. However the focus i think the author was trying to get across was to keep the reader questioning Will's motives and his feelings. Throughout the story it was unclear to me how Will truly felt for Gail. He loved her, but he hated her, and was also kind of scared of her. She stalked him, pretended to be a dead lady in order to talk to him, and she followed him, so it was apparent to the reader that she still "loved" him, but Will's feelings towards her were never really made clear.
I liked the analogies you used, comparing these short stories to the "Choose your own ending" books. Sadly I can't say I like either, but thats not what is important now. The nature of letting the reader make up their own ending, so to speak, is a secret in itself, of the author kept from the reader.
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