The story of the fight between the mist and the ghost becomes a kind of fable or magical tale depicting the troubles in a marriage. How well does this fantastical fight demonstrate their unhappiness? What happens to Meridia while she watches this?
For me, so far it demonstrates the unfathomable distance that has developed between Ravenna and Gabriel.They have imposed boundaries for each other which will not easily be breached by either of them. Poor Meridia is locked out of their realms as well, through no fault of her own unless it is her mere existence which has caused it.
As she struggles with her exile from them, she comes to a revelation that her father has a mistress. Right now, I am at a loss as to how she makes this discovery but I am hoping the book will reveal more details as I read. Perhaps that is the secret that the nurse would have told had she not disappeared.
Talk about dysfunctional families..., there is so much resentment, secrecy, abuse and negligence it baffles the mind. I was going to say it defies reality but the book is definitely not about reality. All of the events have an other worldly quality which I cannot yet draw parallels to or fathom.
Odd events seem to often simply drop in and out of the story which make me more aware of its enchantment and immersion into the realm of fantasy. It requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief as one reads. I know that I keep trying to place the setting and several times I have gone back to the beginning to reread parts to see if I missed something like a date or the name of a place but so far no success. The only answer is to read on and make some discoveries,
I wrote in another post that I felt that I had been drawn onto the stage, watching the characters from behind the scenes rather than in the audience but I think I will have to retract that view since I now feel that I am looking from behind a curtain I cannot pierce. I am trying to identify with an event or empathize with a character but so far, no success.
