The Dispatcher - Borden

[dhaupt]

Some of you brought up Borden in the discussion so let's take a moment and discuss him.

Do you think Maggie made him up for company, for support

Why do you think she based him on someone she met the day she was kidnapped

Why is he half/boy, half/horse

[Catherine111]

---

dhaupt wrote:

Some of you brought up Borden in the discussion so let's take a moment and discuss him.

Do you think Maggie made him up for company, for support

Why do you think she based him on someone she met the day she was kidnapped

Why is he half/boy, half/horse

---

He doesn't seem to be very supportive.  He seems to confirm all of Maggie's negative thoughts.  He doesn't support her escape.

Maybe he is based on the boy at the zoo because that was her last day of a happy life?

I don't know why he is half boy/half horse.  It reminds me of the play Equus, though, and the psychological trauma in that story. 

[elaine_hf]

---

Catherine111 wrote:

---

dhaupt wrote:

Some of you brought up Borden in the discussion so let's take a moment and discuss him.

Do you think Maggie made him up for company, for support

Why do you think she based him on someone she met the day she was kidnapped

Why is he half/boy, half/horse

---

He doesn't seem to be very supportive.  He seems to confirm all of Maggie's negative thoughts.  He doesn't support her escape.

Maybe he is based on the boy at the zoo because that was her last day of a happy life?

I don't know why he is half boy/half horse.  It reminds me of the play Equus, though, and the psychological trauma in that story. 

---

Catherine, I agree. Even thought it's literally been decades since I saw Equus on stage, the horse scene is still chilling to me. Interesting analogy between those horses and Borden. 

Borden is maybe her alter ego, the voice that is keeping her in check if her mind starts to consider risky things. I get the feeling that he was supportive until she started thinking about escape, and he doesn't want to be dismissed. Very reminiscent of the split personality mania, and even though it's been proven to be largely a scam (not to belittle those with true psychological disorders, but read 'Sybil Exposed' by Debbie Nathan for a very interesting insight into that issue) it seems like Maggie's survival technique is to compartmentalize some of her feelings in that same way. In the way this book is written, it's easy to overlook the trauma that Maggie faced initially, as a 7 year old, and through time until the present. Remembering her parents, not able to reach them, locked in a basement. No real human kindness or interaction on that level, for over 7 years. The author doesn't dwell on Maggie growing up, at least not up to this point, and I feel like that is in part due to the fact that the story is really focusing on her rescue. I hope!

As to why he is half boy/half horse - hmm, tricky... Thinking about my daughters at that age, they didn't have a clear vision as to some aspects of reality, as I guess is the case for most children. What is living, what is a real possibility (i.e. my older daughter made a strong case for curtains being alive, as they can go back and forth, that sort of thing). Maggie's last trip was to a petting zoo, and from her arguments for going it was apparent that she loved animals. That may have played a role in Borden's appearance - she loves him, he's part of her, so he has to be at least part human...

Elaine

[aprilh]

I think originally Maggie did invent Borden as a support system for herself. I think it helped her face all the abuse she had to endure throughout the years. With Borden around, she knew she was not alone. It seemed once she had escaped and made the decision to do so again that Borden began to turn on her. I think he became more of Maggie's own thoughts playing out before her than the friend he was to her earlier. The new Borden was warning her of what would happen to her if she got caught while escaping. He thought it to be safer if she just stayed put and even threatened to tell Henry what her plans were. I believe these conversations to be Maggie's own worries about what might happen if she did try to escape.

Some of Maggie's last happy memories before she was kidnapped happened at the petting zoo. I think she thought the boy at the petting zoo was kind to her for giving her a piece of celery and since she didn't know him, it was easy for her to invent a personality for him.

I thought the reason Borden was half horse, half boy was because when the real Danny Borden offered her a piece of celery at the petting zoo, she used it to feed a miniature horse. I think maybe she morphed the two images in her mind and they became one imaginary person.

[dhaupt]

---

aprilh wrote:

I think originally Maggie did invent Borden as a support system for herself. I think it helped her face all the abuse she had to endure throughout the years. With Borden around, she knew she was not alone. It seemed once she had escaped and made the decision to do so again that Borden began to turn on her. I think he became more of Maggie's own thoughts playing out before her than the friend he was to her earlier. The new Borden was warning her of what would happen to her if she got caught while escaping. He thought it to be safer if she just stayed put and even threatened to tell Henry what her plans were. I believe these conversations to be Maggie's own worries about what might happen if she did try to escape.

Some of Maggie's last happy memories before she was kidnapped happened at the petting zoo. I think she thought the boy at the petting zoo was kind to her for giving her a piece of celery and since she didn't know him, it was easy for her to invent a personality for him.

I thought the reason Borden was half horse, half boy was because when the real Danny Borden offered her a piece of celery at the petting zoo, she used it to feed a miniature horse. I think maybe she morphed the two images in her mind and they became one imaginary person.

---

Thanks April, so you think that Maggie used Borden's defensiveness as  devil's advocate, do you think she was actually trying to talk herself out of escaping

[TarHeelGirl00]

I think Borden starts out as Maggie's secuity blanket.  He is an imaginary friend based on a real acquaintance that helps her deal with her situation at an early age.  As the years pass by, he really becomes all she has and although she possibly uses him as a crutch, she has had a lot of time with just her own thoughts over seven years.  After her attempt at escape, I think her renewed sense of hope helps her to convince herself of something she knew all along---Borden is not real.  Just like that little voice we all hear from time to time that keeps us from doing certain things, Borden is the voice that tells her she can't leave.  I think admitting he is not real is her first step towards freedom.

[dhaupt]

Great thoughts about this everyone

I love hearing all your thoughts on this

[aprilh]

---

dhaupt wrote:

---

aprilh wrote:

I think originally Maggie did invent Borden as a support system for herself. I think it helped her face all the abuse she had to endure throughout the years. With Borden around, she knew she was not alone. It seemed once she had escaped and made the decision to do so again that Borden began to turn on her. I think he became more of Maggie's own thoughts playing out before her than the friend he was to her earlier. The new Borden was warning her of what would happen to her if she got caught while escaping. He thought it to be safer if she just stayed put and even threatened to tell Henry what her plans were. I believe these conversations to be Maggie's own worries about what might happen if she did try to escape.

Some of Maggie's last happy memories before she was kidnapped happened at the petting zoo. I think she thought the boy at the petting zoo was kind to her for giving her a piece of celery and since she didn't know him, it was easy for her to invent a personality for him.

I thought the reason Borden was half horse, half boy was because when the real Danny Borden offered her a piece of celery at the petting zoo, she used it to feed a miniature horse. I think maybe she morphed the two images in her mind and they became one imaginary person.

---

Thanks April, so you think that Maggie used Borden's defensiveness as  devil's advocate, do you think she was actually trying to talk herself out of escaping

---

I don't think Maggie was trying to talk herself out of escaping. I think she may have been using Borden's defensiveness as a way of exploring all her options. She hadn't had anyone to talk to in seven years, with the exception of Henry, Beatrice and possibly Donald, so I think she used Borden to bounce her ideas off of. I believe she thought Borden would be onboard with her plan to escape and when he said he was staying and wanted her to stay with him, she realized she was truly alone and could only rely on herself if she wanted a chance at freedom. It seemed to me that the more Borden insisted she stay in the Nightmare World with him, threatening her with telling Henry and running through the consequences if she was caught, that the more definitive she became in her decision to escape. The chance of gaining her freedom back and getting to be reunited with her family again far outweighed the risk of getting caught and facing punishment.

[ryandavidjahn]

---

TarHeelGirl00 wrote:

I think Borden starts out as Maggie's secuity blanket.  He is an imaginary friend based on a real acquaintance that helps her deal with her situation at an early age.  As the years pass by, he really becomes all she has and although she possibly uses him as a crutch, she has had a lot of time with just her own thoughts over seven years.  After her attempt at escape, I think her renewed sense of hope helps her to convince herself of something she knew all along---Borden is not real.  Just like that little voice we all hear from time to time that keeps us from doing certain things, Borden is the voice that tells her she can't leave.  I think admitting he is not real is her first step towards freedom.

---

Thanks for the comment, TarHeelGirl.

I don't think I've ever looked at Borden in quite this way, but I really like your interpretation. I think it's at least as correct as anything I would say.

In fact, I like a lot of what is said in this thread. I find it interesting because Borden was a happy discovery for me, completely unplanned, and I've never really analyzed him myself. He just came with Maggie when I began writing about her.

I think everyone has some valid things to say, and while if I thought about it I could make something up that sounded good the truth is: when it comes to Borden, you guys all know as much as I do.