Today I am thinking about this quote from A Long Way Home. It is a conversation between Clara and Ruth that resonates with me deeply.
She asked Ruth. “How do your poems start out?”
“They start as a lump in the throat,” she said.”
From pain, from discomfort, from struggles, those places are sometimes, and oftentimes for me, the sources of new learning and growth. For new beginnings, for new appreciations, for new creations.
With Ruth, she creates her beautiful poetry that is admired and enjoyed by so many others. We know that in the books, she is celebrated, but also in reality, the poets who are credited for Ruth’s poetry have been sought out by Louise’s readers. We all love and appreciate Margaret Atwood, Marylyn Plessner, Leonard Cohen and all the other talented poets listed. What a gift they give to those who appreciate their work!
If we think about Ruth’s lump in her throat within the context of The Grey Wolf, would you think that Ruth fed her grey wolf whenever she felt that lump to enable her to create her art? I imagine that if she fed her black wolf, perhaps she would let herself get to a dark place and there would be no room for poetry.
I have no talent like the poets named above, but I believe that from the dark and difficult times, illumination and sometimes, something wonderful can result. And, as Nancy has posted many times, that light comes from friends around you. And as I mentioned before, you are all the type of friends I would want to surround myself with – thoughtful, kind, considerate, always trying to understand someone else’s perspective, always compassionate in your assessments, always looking for the best in others. I think that this is exactly why we love Three Pines and the people who embrace that spirit. I do see exactly that spirit in all of your comments in the discussions and posts. And I thank you all for sharing your light with me.
Don’t forget mei lan that you share your light, your kindness, your compassion, and your love of Three Pines with all of us . It’s a win- win for all of us that we have this place to come to for friendship.
I like the idea of Ruth feeding her Grey Wolf in order to write her poetry. One would not think that of her if we didn’t look deeper into who Ruth is and why she has become that person. Thanks for this interesting insight into Ruth.
That’s a lovely post, mei lan. I too, appreciate the inhabitants of this “neighborhood,” and the warmth, humor, poignancy and thoughtful insights like yours that they share with the community. It’s a place I look forward to visiting. My thanks to you, and the rest of you all out there!
And thank you too! I love these little spins on Three Pines content and exploration of how they might relate to us in our real world lives.
Interesting point about Ruth. I read somewhere that there’s speculation that she’s an alcoholic. I’m not convinced that’s true. But I could certainly see that if she fed her black wolf in times when she felt that lump in her throat, then creating art would possibly be more difficult. I know when I’m stewing in anger then it’s sometimes all engulfing. Definitely not a healthy state to be in, but it’s not always easy to avoid drama. And it’s not always easy to work through quickly. I think The Grey Wolf points to these moments, these choices. Of course, Gamache had big moments and big choices, the question regarding plot for example, but there are so many little moments too. And little moments of how people chose to react that are interesting. I think we might touch on this more in our discussion on January.
Lovely post! And Ruth…interesting. I could see why there would be some speculation regarding her alcohol intake, but I don’t think I would agree that she’s an alcoholic. I’ll think on why I’m leaning this way and get back. I might have to do some research to make sure my memory is correct!
Katherine and Susan
it was me (on the Facebook group) who suggested the interpretation that Ruth was an alcoholic who was only able to function because she was surrounded by a loving community. I was basing this on my knowledge of Al-Anon and alcoholism research. Many people responded with reasons why Ruth could not be an alcoholic (often repeating arguments that one hears from loved ones in Al Anon groups). However, one person convinced me that my interpretation might be wrong by pointing out that it was unlikely that Louise Penny would be making jokes about alcohol abuse. I have since read and re-read many passages in several books where she is dealing with addiction. None of them make jokes about the addict or treat addiction lightly. I have reluctantly concluded that LP is probably writing Ruth as playing “the drunk” more than actually being an alcoholic.
I didn’t see your post, but I do see the merit in your theory. Ruth has had traumas in her life that have affected her deeply and we see how she is with alcohol in the books. But you’re right that LP wouldn’t joke about alcohol abuse given her own personal history and how she’s treated addiction in her books.
Definitely an interesting thought, and well worth discussing, Angie. Thanks!
Interesting! Based on the content of the books alone, I think you’re could be right, but knowing LP’s history and also how she’s addressed addiction in other characters, I would tend to agree with your current conclusion.
The interesting thing about LP and the series is that we continue to see more character backstories revealed and more surprises in their histories and who they are. So we just never know what development we might see for any of the characters.
I think we learned new things and read quite a lot that surprised us about a number of characters in The Grey Wolf.