The Optimist's Daughter
This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel tells the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who has left the South and returns, years later, to New Orleans, where her father is dying. After his death, she and her silly young stepmother go back still farther, to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. Along in the old house, Laurel finally comes to an understanding of the past, herself, and her parents.
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Community Reviews
A short novel by Eudora Welty. Tells the story of Mississippi-born Laurel McKelva Hand, who now lives in Chicago, but rushes off to New Orleans where her 71-year-old father (Judge Clint McKelva) is having emergency eye surgery. He's there with his new young wife (Laurel's mother is deceased), a self-centered woman who seems to only care how much this has all inconvenienced her.
Judge McKelva dies shortly after the surgery, and they make the sad trip back home to Mount Salus, Mississippi for the funeral. Laurel is thrust back into her childhood home, into the past, and during her time there she slowly begins to see things in a different light.
Nice story, but even as short as it was (121 pgs), it would've worked better as a short story.
Judge McKelva dies shortly after the surgery, and they make the sad trip back home to Mount Salus, Mississippi for the funeral. Laurel is thrust back into her childhood home, into the past, and during her time there she slowly begins to see things in a different light.
Nice story, but even as short as it was (121 pgs), it would've worked better as a short story.
This is a very straightforward book. When Laurel's father dies, she must deal not only with her own grief but that of her friends and neighbors (her father was a well-loved judge in their small town). On top of that, she also has to deal with the histrionics of her stepmother, a woman younger than herself, who does not react in a way that Laurel finds seemly.
The night after the funeral, Laurel finds herself alone in her childhood home. Going through things from her past, she reminisces about her parents, and is able to come to terms with aspects of their relationship and her mother's final illness.
Welty writes her scenes sparingly, allowing characters to speak for themselves. The disparity between the actions of Laurel's stepmother's family and those of the locals is told through dialogue, rather than description, to great effect. One can't help but cringe on Laurel's behalf for what she has to go through before she is free to mourn her father.
The night after the funeral, Laurel finds herself alone in her childhood home. Going through things from her past, she reminisces about her parents, and is able to come to terms with aspects of their relationship and her mother's final illness.
Welty writes her scenes sparingly, allowing characters to speak for themselves. The disparity between the actions of Laurel's stepmother's family and those of the locals is told through dialogue, rather than description, to great effect. One can't help but cringe on Laurel's behalf for what she has to go through before she is free to mourn her father.
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