A Jest Of God :: essays research papers

A Jest of God                    We were strangers from the beginning                    tormented by our difference                    which did not exist.                                   (Betsy Warland)An in-chief(postnominal) ingredient inherent in a successful mother-daughter kind is balance. Like the scales of justice, maintaining equilibriumrequires work. The special bond between mother and daughter is delicate and different any other relationship due to expectations of performance on behalf ofboth women. The female psyche is, characteristically, particular each womanhaving a certain control making t hemselves unique. Ideals and behavior learned,possibly inherited, from others are two of many things which carve anindividuals personality. It is these similarities and differences which oftencause conflicts between mother and daughter. In A Jest of God, the relationshipbetween Rachel and her mother is strained due to unspoken expectations that eachhad of the other. Stemming from poor communication, a host of differences wereassumed to exist between the two, when in fact their try originated intheir sameness.The largest weapon which spear-headed the communication war between Racheland her mother was the generation gap coming from different eras, the pairassumed they had nothing in common. In Rachels eyes her mother was a pristine,saintly woman who maintained high moral values for herself and her family.Therefore, being a good person and making the beneficial ratiocinations was neverquestionable to Rachel, as this was how her mother expected her to behave.Rachel listened numerous times to her mother comment on how "peculiar" herbehavior looked, and spoke of anyone else she observed doing the same. Althoughthis gravel Rachel about her mother, she adopted similar paranoia tendencies,speculating how her behavior with Nick, a summer beau, looked to anyone whocould be watching or noticing. Irritated by her mothers attitude, Rachelexcused it on the pretense that her views reflected the knightly times in which shelived. However, Rachel had neither the patience nor the desire to speak outagainst her mother for fear of stirring trouble between them. The irony inRachels decision is that their relationship needed just what she was sodesperately trying to avoid.     By turning her back on the communication problem between herself and hermother, Rachel wanted to deal that the problem was inherent in themisunderstanding each had of the other. Underneath her shell, Rachel was comingto terms with what was really true of the gap between herself and her mothertheir difference worldly in her want to not be similar. Both were single Rachelunmarried and her mother a widow. Through her fling with Nick, Rachel wanted toexpress her desires to be supreme from her mother, and have an adult