Bastard out of Carolina is a debut novel by Dorothy Allison. Dorothy Allison is an American writer born in April 1949 in South Carolina. In her writings, Allison mainly works on the themes of feminism, child abuse, class struggle and sexual abuse. Other novels by Allison include Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, Cavedweller and Skin: Talking About Sex, Class, and Literature. Bastard out of Carolina is a semi-autobiographical novel that is based on Allison’s early childhood. The novel was set in Greenville, South Carolina in the 1950s. The novel is narrated by a young girl, Ruth Anne “Bone” Boatwright who was sexually abused and even raped by her stepfather in her tender age. Bone’s mother is a 15-year-old unmarried, uneducated waitress, Anney. In this masterpiece, search for human love and acceptance is presented as a significant theme. This paper aims at addressing the mother-daughter relationship portrayed in this novel. A focus on this theme requires a detailed discussion on conflict, connection, and ambiguity presented in the novel.
The Mother-Daughter Relationship
The novel begins with a motherhood story which turns to motherhood dilemma story to the end. The relationship between Anney and her daughter Ruth is widely addressed as a strong bond. Bone goes on to narrate that, “Once I was born, her hopes had turned, and I had climbed up her life like a flower reaching for the sun…If I got a permanent, I would lose those hours on Mama’s lap sitting in the curve of her arm while she brushed and brushed and smoothed my hair and talked soft above me. I would have cut off my head before I let them cut my hair and lost the unspeakable pleasure of being drawn up onto Mama’s lap every evening” (Allison, 2005). Here Bone is trying to portray the kind of relationship present between her and the mother. Although Bone is not old enough to understand all the events taking place around her, she understands her mother’s life and how the struggles shape her life. Anney addresses her daughters as strong, smart girls. Some of the evident aspects of this theme include conflict, connection, and ambiguity.
Connection
Despite the fact that Anney exposed her daughter Bone to mistreatment, Bone tries not to show hate to her mother. The beginning and end of the Bastard out of Carolina show the lives of Bone and Anney intertwined. This frame serves to portray that the novel’s main aim is to show the relationship between the two. In the end, Anney is giving Bone a new, unstamped birth certificate. Despite the fact that her mother was leaving with Glen, Bone was given a certificate that she had always heard about but never seen. Secondly, the mother at least had decided to visit her daughter for the last time and utters words of love to her daughter. Bone also declares that she is already Boatwright woman like her mother, “I was who I was going to be, someone like her, like Mama, a Boatwright woman. I wrapped my fingers in Raylene's and watched the night close in around us” (Allison, 2005). Here Bone admire some characters from her mother and wants to emulate them in every possible way.
Conflict
There arises some internal strife between Bone and her mother, Anney. The gradual integration of Glen Waddell into the Boatwright family starts to change the Bone’s relationship with her mother. The marriage of the two paves the way for much changes since Anney spends much time with Glen. Anney also struggles to hide Glen’s abuse towards Bone, an issue that brings about an internal conflict between Bone and her mother. Bone, in this case, felt helpless and abandoned since her mother chose Glen instead of protecting her daughter. Bone goes on by stating, “My Mama had abandoned me, and that was the only thing that mattered…“I hate her,” I whispered through torn lips. “I hate her”” (Allison 2005). Here Bone is developing a hate for her mother since she had failed to rescue her from mistreatment by her stepfather.
Anney’s decision to leave Bone and live with Glen portrays a mother who was changing and not depicting the caring aspects that had been reflected in the earlier chapters of the novel. Instead of choosing her daughter, Anney chose an abusive man. She also starts questioning her motherhood and came up with the belief that did not deserve to be Bone’s mother. She defends her decision of abandoning Bone. This decision shows Anney’s love for her daughter was beginning to fade off and their relationship had a conflict.
Ambiguity
Ambiguity refers to the possibility of an action or something having more than one possible meaning or interpretation hence confusing. In this novel, Anney is a bit ambiguous, and some of her acts are confusing. Reading the novel, Anney is portrayed as a mother who does everything possible for the wellbeing of her daughters. However, one fails to understand why she decides to stay with Glen and expose Bone to sexual abuse. Well, one can argue that she fell in love with Glen but also why does she sacrifice to leave her daughter, Bone, and follow a man who mistreated her. Even after Glen reveals his true colors, Anney cannot let him go. Probably, she is too tired and broken and cannot afford to lose the third husband.
Secondly, Anney is ever exhausted whenever she comes home from work with a stained uniform. It is evident that Anney is capable of doing anything for the good of her daughters, but she is never in a state of relaxation. This character can be interpreted as a hardworking and at the same time a devoted mom. Probably this is the reason why she wanted someone around her to make her happy and help raise a respectable family. However, which respectable family is this she is referring to when she exposes her daughter to sexual harassment and opts to leave her and walk away with Glen.
Conclusion
It is hard to decide whether to sympathize or feel angry about Anney. Bone chooses to forgive her and keeps on shouldering blames on herself. Allison uses this strategy to portray the kind of mother-daughter relationship present between Anney and Bone. Anney is trying to forge a nuclear family by getting married to Glen, an attempt that fails. The author uses Glen as a parental figure that drives anger and hatred in Bone. The mother-daughter relationship is a mixture of love and betrayal. In conclusion, Bone realizes that she is on her own and opts to stay with aunt Raylene who aids her recovery.
Reference
Allison, D. (2005). Bastard out of Carolina: A Novel. Penguin.
