Tyler Caskey thinks all it takes to make Lauren Slatin into a minister's wife is a marriage certificate and a slightly uncomfortable wedding. After all, "They were in love by the benediction.... was this God's will? It was. They were lifted into the wonderous arms of God, for God is love, and love filled Tyler to the point of dizziness... waiting in the quiet of the study for that sparkle to flash through the phone... love is always God's work." If it is God's work, why would warrant have any trouble fitting into the role as it is designed? Tyler is used to having things work out. For example, "Tyler had driven back from Brockmorton that afternoon understanding that the seminary's campus belonged to other men, and yet it had seemed, when he was a student there, to be constructed wholly and utterly for him... the building seemed diminished, as though it had shriveled imperceptibly, taking with it the stateliness Tyler's younger self had imbued it with." People and places do not take on the qualities we wish them to simply because we love them, or because we idealize them, in idealizing ourselves. More to the point, Lauren Caskey will not give up her love of money, status, socializing, and having pretty things simply because she loves Tyler. She will not be happy in a small town, with very little money, a budget, and no gossip simply because Tyler has laid down the law. She never calls him Reverend, because she does not want the rights and responsibilities of being a Reverend's wife.
However, even though we cannot influence interests and personality traits by loving them into someone, it seems that in this book characters are labeled by their names and name changes reflect a hidden or dualistic personality.Let's take the name Caskey: first there's the obvious association with caskets, especially given Tyler's occupation as a minister. Does this foreshadow in some way Lauren's death? It could also be associated with the word cask meaning barrel, although Tyler does not appear as of yet to have a drinking problem. What else does he struggle with addiction to? His theology? Being obsessive about memorizing his sermons? Or ironically, given our framework for the course, the life and theology of Kierkegaard? Does he keep something inside his barrel, perhaps self-centeredness? Maybe Charlie Andrews is right, maybe there is a darkness inside Tyler, beneath that smiling demeanor, born out of always putting others first. Maybe Tyler stands for tyrant, or tied down his parents. I think that in Lauren's name there is lament, or perhaps even a reference to Ralph Lauren, since she likes clothing to the point of hoarding. Slatin is an overt reference to how breakable both her body and her image are. Her reputation as a minister's wife and for being moneyed are all based on someone supporting her continually, despite her reckless habits. Even her father predict this is not going to end well, but Tyler loves her too much to see the downside of her reckless nature, and everyone else gives her "credit" (with multilayered meaning) because she's the minister's wife. Slate is a rock that while very beautiful and very soft breaks off into sheets and fragments under pressure. Lauren hates money arguments and cannot stand to hear them. She breaks apart from Tyler and her own sanity when she realizes she cannot be what is expected of her in the small town as a wife, mother, and upstanding citizen. This is much more than postpartum depression. Her breakdown in the station sounds a lot like a severe panic attack, or a small nervous breakdown. It could also mean that the cancer had already advanced to her brain, causing her to hillucinate or lose memory and neurological skills. One could argue that the breakdown is a symptom of the cancer, but one could just as easily argue that cancer, in this case, as it often is in reality, is psychosomatic. Lauren's body develops cancer because who she is is fundamentally and physically incompatible with the situation she finds herself in. No one thinks she belongs there, not her family or her current community. They don't want to hear about her troubles. Her family wants nothing to do with her, aside from sending her money (which they knew would be necessary). They are so sure of her doomed incompatibility that they are utterly convinced she will die. I would venture to conclude that they would still hold this opinion if the story were set in the modern era, and cancer had a better prognosis. Lauren does not have a place in West Arnett, no real best friend except her husband. Not even with Carol Meadows. I'm not sure if Meadows means "mellow" or "meddles" at this point, but I hear distance in their conversations. Connie Hatch is obvious: Connie for con artist, and Hatch is in "escape hatch". It is right after Katherine is born that Tyler is accused of becoming too Catholic, because he uses his arms too much while preaching. She is also the only one who acts out her anger at her mother's death. She was also the talkative one, who played with words, and said whatever she thought. Now she has nothing to say, but physically demonstrates her pain. Katherine is waiting for catharsis, but acting out isn't working. Jeannie is congenial and happy wherever she is, like her name. Alison Chase is always trying to chase Tyler down. think about the incident with the apple crisp. It may actually be true Tyler hates the smell of apples after his wife's death, but it may be more true subconsciously that Tyler knows that this attempted offering of food may be Alison's attempt to "chase" down Reverend Caskey. She may not be the only one. Remember Ora's comment about Doris Andrews "'Doris wants that new organ even more than she wants to divorce Charlie and marry you'". The name Doris fits her character when one thinks about how it rhymes with Dolores, which means "full of pain and tears". She is full of pain about Charlie and his explosive nature, not to mention his affairs. Charlie could be short for Charlie horse, which has a double meaning in that his anger and emotion jumps out at random and inexplicable times, and that it causes extreme bursts of pain in whoever his anger is (mis) directed toward. At this point I'm not sure whether the characters have intertwining storylines relating to their names, or if each one should be treated individually. They're definitely relating to the status of each person, which, true to small-town life greatly contributes to the identity of each person. Identity is important. It speaks to who we are and who we are; what we do and where we belong. It also has to do with who has power, including where and when they exercise it. This in many ways is controlled by money (the board approving the housekeeper, or raise versus the new organ).
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The people without money are not composed: Connie Hatch is not composed (is always worried, is accused of stealing money from patients); Reverend Caskey is not composed, and neither is his wife (Lauren ran them into debt by being unwise and secretive about her compulsive need for pretty things; Tyler feels the need to keep up appearances by not asking for help, believing that love renders all other problems nonexistent). Both have their respective homages to Lady Macbeth, the stress of wanting too much (in Lauren's case), or doing too much (Tyler) brings them to the brink of insanity and perhaps collective self destruction. I'm thinking in particular of the breakdown Tyler experiences during his 'best' sermon. Like Lady Macbeth, Lauren dies accusing her husband of cowardice. But I wonder if money and power through pharmaceuticals also given him something else in common with the Scottish Lord. Murder. I think Tyler is conflicted about this too. Is assisted suicide murder? Is leaving something out and not being in the room assistance? Does it matter if your terminal? Was Lauren able to make her own decision? Did Katherine see that take place and stop talking? How is Connie involved, considering her actual history? Does it make a difference considering Tyler's vocation as a minister? I think it's good that he is questioning his role in Lauren's death and the morality of his decision, but I see it as highly morally questionable that the establishment of the Church merely pats him on the back, chalks it up to grief and puts him back on the horse to start over. I'm all for rebuilding relationships, but I'm more than slightly worried about the future of a Church that would send someone who is not sure if they murdered their wife, and has just recently decided to continue raising both his daughters who have developed grief related disabilities (and probably inherited a few from Lauren) should be the sole head of a congregation. At the very least, he needs counseling and heavy support from church membership.
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