We hear from Ma
that before Jack was born, she was very depressed (and rightfully so). She was kidnapped
at nineteen and used as a sex prisoner for two years. No one would wish that
fate on anyone. But then comes along Jack.
Ma could have
reacted to Jack in a variety of different ways. She would have been twenty-one
ish at the time of her pregnancy which is still pretty young. We don’t know if
she had planned on having kids but definitely not with the man who kidnapped
her. Also, as if she wasn’t going through enough already being trapped and raped,
she was now pregnant and was going to have the responsibility of a child. To
add another point, this child’s father is the very man causing her all this misery.
Even though none
of this was Jack’s fault, I’m surprised Ma didn’t snap more often or have
resentment towards Jack (considering everything she was dealing with). She
could have maybe requested abortion pills if she wasn’t ready for a child or
had a sense of dread in raising an offspring who carried a part of her
kidnapper. Anyhow, I guess what I’m trying to saw is that in all of this, Ma chose
to be positive and love Jack. Ma is super heroic but reflecting on this stuck
with me. She not only chose to be happy about her child, but Jack actually did
make her genuinely happier than before.
So, she has a
child but then comes the question of raising Jack. Should she have kept the Outside
a secret? Given that she didn’t have ill feelings towards him and wanted the
best for him, I believe what she did was right. Usually parents want what is
best for their children and Ma is struggling with providing the best possible
life for Jack for obvious reasons. But in framing Room as being the main thing
in existence helps Jack to not constantly want to go out. She gives him a
perfect fantasy when their situation is anything but perfect. She creates a
world so that he can have a good and fun first 5-years of life. Even though I
think this was the best route to take, there are definitely some problems with
it (although there isn’t a route without problems). As Jack is
growing older, he is getting more set in his ways and the fantasy. Being/adjusting
to the outside world will only become harder and harder. But for the time
being, I believe Ma made the right (and might I add the most heroic) choice.
One reason that Ma may not have decided to get an abortion while she was in Room was because she realized what condition she was in and what she was turning into. I do not doubt that Old Nick would have fully supported the idea of abortion, as that means something like what happens is able to happen (it also means less money going to them). That means that the decision to keep Jack was entirely her decision and not motivated by anything else than the desire to turn her life around.
ReplyDeletema is an astounding character with her ability to keep calm and do so well in such a horrible situation. i think the world she created for jack may have also helped her to take her mind off what was going on and give her a sense of purpose to raise jack.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there was actually a reference to Ma taking birth control pills around the start of the book, but we cannot be sure whether she stopped taking them earlier so she could have Jack. Anyways, I agree that she is very heroic for having raised Jack, matched his energy, created the ideal world for him, and persevered, but I am not sure whether Ma or Jack is supposed to be the hero of this book. Indeed both characters are heroic, but I think Jack might actually be the central hero (he is the narrator and was the one who actually executed the escape plan).
ReplyDeleteMa is so wonderful and heroic. There was one reference Grandma made to how Ma used to babysit for free and I was like "yeah makes sense". I think your question is so valid and I wonder the same things. It's something I don't think we'll ever get to know because Ma would obviously never tell Jack that she used to resent him or anything like that and the narrative that we get is how Jack saved her. I think maybe that since Ma was taken away from her family the idea of having someone with her who was her family was important to her, though this is all just speculation. As to if it was the right decision for Ma to raise Jack the way that she did I don't think it's a question we can never answer but she certainly raised Jack happy and I love her so much for that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought about Ma as much throughout the book because it's all narrated by Jack, but it is very admirable how she chose to make Jack a positive and happy force in her life. I can't imagine how hard it would be to see the child of your captor every day, but Ma chose to turn Jack into only hers -- at her interview with the TV people, she says that Jack is nobody's son but hers. She took Jack as a chance to make her life a little better and a bit more bearable. Just the way Ma has raised Jack is heroic to me.
ReplyDeleteAmid all this chaos, I was surprised that Ma decided to have Jack + another child. Bringing in a child and being confined in Room just don’t seem to be an ideal situation. You make great about how Ma doesn’t show resentment against Jack. Her dad certainly does. The guy doesn’t even want to look at his own grandson. Even though Old Nick is Jack’s biological father, Ma never tells Jack that nor does she admit that it’s the truth.
ReplyDeleteI believe Ma did the correct choice in the short term. Since they didn't know if they would ever get out, Ma elected to have Jack believe that Room was a good place to stay. However, this decision has now impacted Jack once they've actually escaped. I don't think there was any other alternative to what Ma did, since it was the best choice in her situation, but it still had some consequences.
ReplyDeleteNormally, people aren't so completely on their own when raising a child. There are other people, often with some prior experience rasing children, that help the parents. Ma didn't have that. I think that making Outside mystical was the best way to protect Jack from knowing how terrible their situation was, and doing the escape when he was five seems like a good balance between escaping early enough to limit the long-term effects and having Jack old enough to be competent.
ReplyDeleteI've been really impressed with Ma throughout the book. She's very tolerant of him and his questions, and played games with him every day in Room. She completely reformed herself after having Jack so she could be a good parent for him. Even though she's "Gone" some days, every other day is devoted to raising Jack.
ReplyDeleteYou raise some admirable points about Ma, I can't stop thinking about the pregnancy she had to go through in Room with limited food and little space to stay active. It's impressive enough that she decided to go through. Carrying it out -- and doing it well -- is also crazy heroic.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think in some ways, keeping the outside world as fantasy was also Ma's way of coping with the situation she was in. In keeping it a secret, Ma can also pretend that it doesn't exist and therefore can make it less painful. This is just an idea, definitely not sure if it's true, but it's a possibility.
ReplyDelete