Nora Webster

Throughout the novel, grief dominates Nora’s life in the wake of her husband’s demise. As the narrative covers the years-long period from the immediate aftermath of Maurice’s death to the point at which Nora comes to terms with her grief, the author uses Nora’s many struggles and setbacks to illustrate the overwhelming nature of loss. Everything and everyone in Nora’s life holds painful associations with Maurice, and no matter what she does, she must reckon with his absence in every waking moment. Throughout the novel, her struggles to deal with the loss of Maurice remind her of other tragedies, such as the deaths of her parents. Just as these losses saddled Nora with a sudden burden of responsibility that denied her space in which to grieve, she now begins to feel as though her entire existence is comprised of pain and irrevocably marked by the deaths of her loved ones. 

Just like Nora, her children are also consumed with grief over the death of Maurice, and although Nora finds forms of distraction as she deals with the family’s financial and practical concerns, Donal and Conor are left alone to come to terms with what death really means. Because Nora focused entirely on Maurice during his last days, her sons were left to cope on their own, and Nora must now deal with the disconnect that she herself has engendered in their relationship. Because she does not stop to consider the possibility that her own children are just as consumed by grief as she is, her negligence in this matter introduces an invisible rift in the family dynamics, slowing the healing process for everyone. 

The issue is further compounded by the fact that Nora’s sons lack the maturity to comprehend the emotional nuances of the family tragedy. This issue is most pronounced in Donal, the child who most closely resembles Nora. Like her, he feels alienated from society and tries to process this emotional struggle through art. Eventually, however, he cannot contain himself any longer, and his sudden emotional outburst reveals his ongoing struggle to come to terms with his grief. Because his school—where Maurice once taught—is a physical embodiment of Donal’s pain, he has no way of laying his father’s memory to rest and moving on with his life. Faced with the sudden realization that she is not alone in her grief, Nora resolves to recover her own equilibrium in order to help her children.

As the family struggles to heal, the author uses a series of concrete images and activities to illustrate the complex nature of their triumphs and setbacks in this arena. Thus, Nora’s determination to redecorate her house becomes symbolic of starting her life anew. While her intentions are positive, her renovation-related injuries also suggest that even the process of healing can inflict new, unexpected wounds. When Nora resorts to painkillers and sleeping pills, these chemical aids provide a cursory bandage for a much deeper emotional problem that has yet to be fully addressed. Thus, the spiritual climax of the novel occurs when Nora dreams (or hallucinates) the presence of Maurice’s ghost and endures a necessary but intense point in her recovery process: the moment when her emotional pain is matched by her physical suffering. As she speaks to Maurice’s insubstantial form, his vague and ominous warnings indicate that in death, he has become no more than a ghost from the past, one who brings her nothing but anxiety about the future. This experience makes Nora recognize that she must put her physical and emotional pain behind her. As she relies upon the support of her loved ones, the acts of removing Maurice’s old clothes and burning his love letters reflect her recognition that she does not need physical reminders of her husband to cherish her love for him. By accepting his presence as ghostly memory of pain and love, she finally moves on from her grief.