Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Edward Tulane
I was struck by Edward Tulane's journey. It is not only a physical journey, but an emotional journey as well. At the beginning, Edward is cold and incapable of loving Abilene. By the end of his journey, he is capable of love and happy to be home. He changes as the story progresses, because he learns a valuable lesson from the different characters he meets along the way. Tulane's journey is definitely miraculous.
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I am also struck by Edward's emotional inner journey. When we first meet Edward, he is as what he appears to be: a somewhat arrogant, indifferent, self-absorbed china rabbit toy. When he is tossed overboard and must remain in the muck at the bottom of the sea, he slowly begins to realizie that, for the first time in his creation, he is alone; he has lost the one person who truly loved him and showed him love -- a person he always felt too superior towards to return that love. He starts to look inside himself; he experiences fear and loneliness; yet, he also displays hope and patience -- all of these being very real human emotions.
Edward contiunes on his inner emotional and spiritual growth while living with Nellie and Lawrence: he learns acceptance and unconditional love; most of all, he begins to learn to listen and hear what is being said to him. When Lolly tosses him at the dump, he feels and begins to understand loss; yet, he still manages to hold on to hope and patience. When Edward is taken into the home and affections of Bryce and Sarah Ruth, he grows even more as he learns about illnes, poverty and death -- especially the protracted and unstoppable death of a child. Edward had acquired hope and patience over the trials and tribulations of his outer journey; he now learned about the powers of unconditional love and prayer during this phase of his emotional inner journey.
Edward's transition from a mere china rabbit to a more human rabbit is best exemplified after he is flung against the counter and blacks out: he dreams of all the events of his outer journey, as well as all the people who have loved him during that time. To me, the most poignant moment comes while he dreams and Lucy bends to lick his tears -- the once self-absorbed china toy now expresses truly emotional and human behavior. In my opinion, this is a truly powerful scene.
I, too, would love for Bryce to have been allowed to take Edward home again. Even though his circumstances were poor, his love for Edward was rich and true -- probably a little more than Abilene's love, because Edward had brought Sarah Ruth (as well as Bryce) such comfort and joy before her death. Though Edward had to sit for so many years on the shelf in Lucius Clarke's shop, Edward always remembered the words of the old antique doll: "Someone will come; someone will come for you." It is probably fitting that, for this story to come full circle -- and in order for Edward to complete his outer and inner journeys -- that it should be Abilene and her daughter Maggie who come for Edward and bring him home again. And that Edward himself would learn unconditional love and loss and how to love again. A magnificent story!
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