"Room"

I have recently read the book "Room"by Emma Donnahue twice,(well once by listening as hearing a story oultoud adds new dimensions and once actually reading the book).I was immediately drawn to the plot that is told in the voice and insights that only a five year old little boy can know ,feel,witness and recount in the story of his life.Jack lives in "room" with Ma.Ma was kidnapped early one morning on the way to college by a man,Old Nick, who is recluse of sorts.He has no real human connections .He is portrayed as base, sadistic,selfish,inhumane, one who must feel utterly powerless, not cared for, living on the fringes ,probably suffering his own forms of abuse that we know nothing of in this story.Jack is born in captivity in a sound proof,hermetically sealed and locked metal shack somewhere in Old Nick's backyard.Ma is visited upon by Old Nick as his sex slave ,and Jack is the product of one of such visits to Ma.Ma births Jack completely on her own. She never lets Old Nick ever cast his eyes upon the child.Jack sleeps in a wardrobe of sorts and all he knows of Nick are the creeky noises in Ma's bed on the nights of Nick's visit which unnerve him, the Sunday treats that Nick brings which are basically not gifts,but the essentials for their survival.
One of the most compelling themes in this story is not the actual story, but the description of the delicate ,intricately woven bond that grows between mother and child. The story for me really is about what happens between a mother and child when they live in a world that all they have is each other.Life can happen that way without the tortures of an actual kidnapping.Sometimes life happens,so that we create our own "rooms" of sorts or for a whole series of factors beyond our control we end up in a room of sorts. What happens as one raises a child in a room all by themselves with no one else around really.This type of parenting , asks of the parent to become a wizard of sorts, becoming,being the entire world for that child.It requires the capacity to be yourself , but many other selves that one may not even know yet,so that this child has exposure to the complexities of human interaction beyond the ordinary that we know of ourselves.It is likely that the bond between such a dyad is so tight,that extraordinary circumstances must ensue to entangle this web and eventually differentiated life apart from each other can exist.
In "Room" , the extraordinary must happen in order for both Jack and Ma to become free and ultimately separate.Ma asks of Jack eventually to be the vehicle that realizes their eventual escape that she conjures up in her mind.Jack is called upon at a tender age to hold onto all that he has learned from Ma in "room" to realize their actual escape. For me, the story has ultimate hopefulness and embodies the message that we ultimately need our separateness , our unique strengths that we are endowed with ,so we can be free to be creative and do great brave things in this world.Living in the cocoon of exclusive dyadic mirroring is a prison that promotes stasis and regression.It is the opposite of creativity.Young children and their parents must leave the room where all that exist is the safe thwarting boredom of each other.Emma Donnahue speaks to the fierce strength and belief in one's ability to creatively survive against all odds.
I will be periodically posting some quotes and my comments on this masterpiece of a book that in many ways speaks to the unfolding story of my life .....