fall on your knees ann marie macdonald summary

And now that she is at this juncture she realizes the predicament of her situation. Thus, through the statement, the narrator recognizes Mercedes thought-process and on how she is devout but harbors no hope any longer. She wishes to soon also meet her own demise and be able to be with her sister again. She feels alone and unsure of who will be her confidant or pray for her for that matter. Mercedes contemplates the way forward following the death of her sister Frances. To believe and yet to have no hope is to thirst beside a fountain.” Narrator So as in their absence society should not be critical towards what is present. Henceforth, the assertion alludes to the fact that the world should not be molded to need certain individual attributes. Furthermore, the notion that she could have done something different with her life than she did due to her upbringing. The statement is directed at Aunt Camille who is considered an hardhearted woman by the people around her. “The world should not be organized to require heroines, and when one is required but fails to appear we should not judge. The quotation reflects the line the women in the Piper household walks because of their devoutness. Thus, in her mind this is a sacrifice in her part rather than a sin hence does not have to seek forgiveness. In this case, she lies to her father in regards to why Frances is not present for the meal, for she has gone to sleep. Hence any act that she deems a sin she has to repent. Mercedes is trying her best to be righteous and prayerful in the hope for Lily’s wellbeing. “Lies like that are not a sin, they are a sacrifice.” Narrator We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. Giving it a mythic quality that allows dark, half-buried secrets to be gracefully and chillingly revealed.These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. MacDonald skillfully shifts the story backward and forward in time, Tragic events that surround it provide a haunting focal point around which much of the capacious plot will revolve. Her sudden, mysterious return to Cape Breton and the When Kathleen goes to New York to study opera, more difficulties descend. Materia resurrects her Roman Catholic faith and her native language after the births of two more daughters. A daughter, Kathleen, is born with a musical gift her father dotes on her, yet sends her away to school, intent on improving her prospects. Materia is denied all family contact by herįather and is made to suppress both her heritage and her outgoing nature by her husband.

Get into trouble almost from the start when James, the aloof, ambitious son of Gaelic-speaking parents, elopes with Materia Mahmoud, the 13-year-old daughter of prominent Lebanese immigrants. He Canadian actress and playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald writes of several generations of a Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, family in this resonant first novel.

Fall on your knees ann marie macdonald summary