Tess Gunty’s The Rabbit Hutch explores
the lives of various people all somehow tied to Vacca Vale, Indiana. Vacca Vale
appears to be a blackhole that forces the characters in the book to confront their
faults and fears. In this way, many characters, such as Blandine and Hope, find
themselves alone in their struggle for normalcy, creating isolation and loneliness.
For example, Blandine struggles greatly with socialization, especially with her
roommates, and most often is secluded in her room reading about mystics and
working on what I would describe as “voodoo.” Despite all having come from the
foster system and being around the same age, Blandine is unable to have
conversations with Jack, Malik, and Todd and finds herself in admittedly weird and
random situations. Beyond this, Blandine is borderline obsessed with stopping
the renovation of Vacca Vale and goes to great lengths, like ambushing the
investors dinner or planning the attack on Pinky’s apartment. While she is
devoted and seems to be championing an environmental and social issue, no one
else is opposed to the renovation plan. Therefore, she feels like she alone
must be the one to stop the plan and save Vacca Vale. While speaking to Jack in
Pinky’s apartment she states, “’We can’t leave Vacca Vale,’ she finally
murmurs, eyes on the fishbowl of political pins. We’re the only ones who can save
it’” (Gunty 219). It may seem that once Vacca Vale is saved Blandine will
escape her loneliness, but Gunty shows that Vacca Vale will not be saved and
that Blandine will never leave. This is interesting as her devotion to the town
has gone unexplained and Gunty makes it clear that Blandine was a smart girl
with opportunities. It seems that she may have isolated herself within Vacca
Vale and now will no longer be able to escape it. On the other hand, Hope, the
mother of a newborn baby, experiences a different kind of loneliness that leaves
her isolated. In the beginning chapters of the novel, it is revealed that Hope
is unable to look into the eyes of her baby, calling it a “morta[l] fear” and
its eyes “terrifying.” Hope describes the measures she takes, such as trying to
entertain the baby and dressing it in new colors, but nothing seems to shake
the fear she feels. She plays with the idea of admitting this to her husband, but
ultimately keeps it to herself. Due to this, Hope is alone with the fear of her
baby’s eyes, which only allows it to manifest and deepen within her. If she is unable
to tell her husband, the man who she has committed her life to and shares a
child with, then it seems that she will not be able to tell anyone else. Both
Blandine’s and Hope’s condition paints a picture that life in Vacca Vale is isolating
and lonely and does not provide an optimistic outlook for them. It appears that
without outside help, they will be unable to overcome their isolation.
I love the way you described Vacca Vale as a black hole. The city brings out people's faults, fears, and loneliness. As you pointed out, both Blandine and Hope are perfect examples. Blandine is a foster child who experienced a very difficult life. Vacca Vale exploits these faults in Blandine, making it impossible for her to leave the town. Hope is an anxious mother experiencing postpartum depression. Vacca Vale makes her even more isolated in these difficult times. Another example I noticed is Joan. She almost seems the loneliest, as her parents are dead, she lives alone, and has no significant other. A great example of her isolation is how she spends her Thursday nights. Gunty writes, "Joan turns to go, awash in relief and still more guilt, eager to purchase a jar of maraschino cherries and eat them in bed" (288). As shown, she spends many of her nights alone. Additionally, Vacca Vale brings out anxiety and negativity in Joan. On a train back from her Aunt's, she feels so much built of anger and annoyance. She takes this anger out on an innocent man snoring on a train, "She stood from her seat to confront the snoring man, shaking from the fear of confrontation and the anger at having to confront" (84). Her anger, anxiety, and loneliness all ties back to her upbringing and the isolation of Vacca Vale.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the sentiment that Vacca Vale has a way of isolating its residents from those around them, despite their physically close proximity to each other while living in the Rabbit Hutch. This isolation robs characters of their identity, and the characters dissociate from their sense of reality as a result. Moses finds it difficult for himself to connect to the people in his real life, while interacting with people online comes seamlessly to him. He refers to his real life as “so-called reality” (Gunty 173). Blandine constantly speaks of her desire to “exit her body” and “get outside of herself.” Later on in the novel, Blandine explains that “the only way to get out of the system is to exit the body” (323). These moments of disconnect are only solved by experiences of intense trauma in the novel. When Meg speaks to James on the phone regarding Blandine’s stabbing, she comments on how surreal the story seems, and asks “doesn’t it feel real?” (381) While recalling the story of Blandine’s stabbing, Jack explains how “everything was real” after Blandine was stabbed. In the hospital, Blandine speaks with Joan about feeling as if she has just “woken up” (390). In these ways, the characters in the novel are only able to truly experience reality when they experience trauma that forces them to comprehend their lives.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that you describe Vacca Vale and its residents, as a place that they cannot get out of despite their efforts to make things better. The way that Gunty uses her descriptions of the Rabbit Hutch to create a sense of isolation is very effective. While they may be in close proximity with each other, the overall feeling of isolation is greatly present. Also, there is a sense of being trapped being portrayed in the story, and the quote that you use does a good job at encompassing it. Although Blandine feels like she has to stay and save Vacca Vale to make things better, ultimately things won’t get better and she will be there forever. I see Hope’s name as a form of irony because through all of her attempts at fixing her fear of her baby’s eyes, she can never truly fix it. Because she can not fix it, I see her as hopeless. Another thing that makes her hopeless is the fact that she feels like she is unable to tell her husband about her fear, but with the person you spend the rest of your life with, you should be able to tell them these things, further making her hopeless. Overall, I like what you did with pointing out the isolation in the story, as I feel like it is very important.
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