Thinking about life's implications.

Maybe the Sardinian writer Grazia Deledda is toying with us. The reader. In a fun way. With surprise endings. Another O. Henry. Who loved surprise endings. She did it in her novel, ‘The Mother.’ Killing off the mother at the end. In a surprise way. The mother just drops dead in church. At the end of Mass. Presided over by her son, Paul, a priest. Who really shouldn’t be a priest. Instead, he should run off with his true love. Agnes. But he doesn’t. I suspect because of the influence of his overbearing mother. Who would much rather that he be a priest. And that he love god. Rather than Agnes. When really, he should have followed his inclination. And run away with Agnes. And say to hell with the life of a priest. After all, god is an abstract. Agnes is real. Physical. Present. And his real source of spiritual fulfillment. We think that Agnes is gonna get up on the pulpit. At the end of Mass. And denounce Paul. For living a double life. For toying with her. And living a secret life. That he’s really afraid to pursue to fulfillment. Because of the influence of his mother. But Agnes decides at the last minute not to publicly denounce Paul. But at that same moment. The mother drops dead. Maybe from the anguish and fright of thinking that Agnes is about to denounce her son. In public. And we have to wonder if the mother’s death is what will finally free Paul. And maybe he’ll do what he really should do. Run off with Agnes. And live happily ever after. Like a true romantic. Maybe I’m reading something into this. Writing my own ending. But I have that right. And maybe that’s what Deledda wants. To allow the individual reader to write his/her own ending. Maybe god did Paul a favor. Knocking off his mother. Making him a free man. Truly free. No longer shackled by his mother. Maybe some sons are bonded far too much to their mothers. Maybe we have to cut ties with our parents. Our mothers. Our fathers. It’s an interesting thought to pursue. Not necessarily a sacrilegious thought. It’s just a fact of life. One must find a way to become one’s own being. And some mothers try to prevent that in their sons, and even in their daughters. Think about it. Maybe that’s what Deledda wants us to do. Think about life. And all the implications. --Jim Broede