The Image of Home and Its Impact on The Fate of Main Characters in Robinson’s Housekeeping

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson portrays the life of its narrator, Ruthie, alongside her sister Lucille as the two grow from mere children to young women while being surrounded by the confusion of shifting guardians, as well as the influence of transiency. Once the final guardian the girls will encounter together, Sylvie, enters the home Robinson begins to render an increasingly strained relationship between the sisters as Sylvie’s transiency forces a wedge between the two. Ultimately, when Lucille moves out, the ever-so-similar Ruthie and Sylvie are left to be together in a house consumed by the hoarding of everything from newspapers to cats, as the two essentially give up on what most perceive as the normal life. When skipping school and opting for adventure, Ruthie is taken by Sylvie to a secluded area across Fingerbone Lake, where they encounter what is perhaps Robinson’s most powerful symbol, a fallen home in disrepair. This fallen home, along with the thoughts and actions of Ruthie during the scene, emphasize the intricacies of the human relationship as well as the complexities concerning the notion of home when the power of transiency looms ever present.

Upon arrival with Sylvie, Ruthie thinks little of the fallen home simply explaining, “… we came upon the place Sylvie had told me about, stunted orchard and lilacs and stone doorstep and fallen house, all white with a brine of frost” (150). But once left alone, Ruthie begins to reflect the emotions the setting inspires, as she states, “Having a sister or a friend is like sitting at night in a lighted house. Those outside can watch you if you want, but you need not see them… Anyone with one solid human bond is that smug, and it is the smugness as much as the comfort and safety that lonely people covet and admire. I had been, so to speak, turned out of the house now long enough to have observed this in myself” (154). Being in the midst of the fallen home and seeing the abandonment, Ruthie cannot help but reflect upon the loneliness transiency has brought upon her life. This applies specifically to Lucille moving out. Without Lucille, Ruthie is not whole as she no longer contains the comfort and safety she once had prior to Lucille’s exit from the home. Thus, due to the realization initially inspired by the fallen home that loneliness is a feature of transiency, Ruthie has lost the one human relationship she coveted and relied upon most, sisterhood.

Soon after, Ruthie has a riveting moment of rumination, disclosing that, “The stone step was too cold to be sat upon. It seemed at first that there was no comfort for me here at all, so I jammed my hands in my pockets, pressed my elbows to my sides, and cursed Sylvie in my heart, and that was a relief…” (155). With only the stone step remaining intact the fallen home’s portrayal of abandonment leaves Ruthie failing to find comfort in what she has now discovered is the loneliness associated with transiency. In every other case (hoarding, sleeping on the lawn, etc.) Sylvie has been present to essentially justify the transient behavior. Without such influence, Ruthie is lost. However, as Ruthie’s time in the presence of the fallen home continues, and night begins to fall she construes, “I thought, Sylvie is nowhere, and sometime it will be dark. I thought, let them come unhouse me of this flesh… It was no shelter now, it only kept me here alone…” (159). At last, the reality and allure of independence within transiency has finally overcome Ruthie. She accepts herself as no longer having anything but her independence, with Sylvie as her guide. In her eyes, she is the fallen house, abandoned by the people who once cared for her and left to become ruin. Upon Sylvie’s return, Ruthie explains the comfort she felt recalling: “… more than once she stooped to look into my face. Her expression was intent and absorbed. There was nothing of distance or civility in it. It was as if she was studying her own face in a mirror. I was angry that she had left me for so long… and that by abandoning me she had assumed the power to bestow such a richness of grace. For in fact I wore her coat like beatitude, and her arms around me were as heartening as mercy, and I would say nothing that might make her loosen her grasp or take one step away” (161). Ruthie’s time with the fallen home began with regret and loneliness that her transient tendencies had ruined the only meaningful human relationship she had. Yet this all changes as the day drags on and Robinson begins to subtly hint at the deeper meaning of the fallen home via Ruthie’s enlightenment. Instead of making Ruthie skeptical of her transience, the fallen home becomes an all-encompassing symbol of Ruthie’s lack of necessity for human relationships and thus future transience. Although Ruthie does hold a sense of emptiness without Lucille her relation to the fallen home concerning abandonment leads to the acceptance of both independence as well as transience. Therefore, when Sylvie arrives again, Ruthie has become essentially a new person very alike to Sylvie, finding comfort in her guidance of what will be their new life.

For the girls, as the guardians change the notion of home changes in unison. This is incredibly apparent as Sylvie’s transience leaves much to be desired in terms of the stereotypical home. Ultimately, as explained previously, the sum of Sylvie’s odd behaviors lead to Lucille’s departure in search of what most would deem a normal living situation, leaving Ruthie’s notion of home completely muddled. Again the fallen home is used by Robinson in order to allow Ruthie to clarify a significant aspect of her life. Ruthie begins to dig through the debris of the fallen home because, “When one is idle and alone, the embarrassments of loneliness are almost endlessly compounded” (158). She goes on to explain, “So I worked till my hair was damp and my hands were galled and tender, with what must have seemed wild hope, or desperation. I began to imagine myself a rescuer… Soon I would uncover the rain-stiffened hems of their nightshirts, and their small, bone feet…” (158). Ruthie’s passionate digging is Robinson portraying Ruthie’s utmost desire to find some form of family within the fallen home. Ruthie’s life has been a conglomerate of differing guardians, abandonment by her mother and sister, and in this particular portion of the novel, the summation of her realizing her transient future. Overall this is not a typical notion of the home, as confirmed by Ruthie, delineating, “… the appearance of relative solidity in my grandmother’s house was deceptive… For all the appearance… things gave of substance and solidity, they might be considered a dangerous weight on a frail structure” (159). Although in the literal sense it would be obvious Ruthie is depicting the falling down of her home, this selection has a clear emotional undertone. Just like the fallen home, any home can be destroyed. In Ruthie’s case, “the appearance of solidity” is the perception anyone outside the home may have that the home is emotionally stable. Therefore, such an appearance is “a dangerous weight on a frail structure” due to the fact that Ruthie’s home crumbled around her with every instance of abandonment, change, etc. all contributing to her future transience. As Ruthie concludes, “And despite the stories I made up to myself, I knew there were no children trapped in this meager ruin” (159). By this point, Ruthie has accepted her future transience for what it is. The notion of home will essentially cease to exist, no matter what illusions or fantasies she begins to create.

With all that has happened paired with her general attitude and actions, transience alongside Sylvie is an imminent path for Ruthie. The pairs trip to the fallen home could be seen as the most significant turning point in the novel, Robinson’s tip of the iceberg so to speak. Within the scene, human relationships with regard to transiency are construed in more than one way. On one hand, the fallen home has reminded Ruthie of her loneliness and desire for the sisterhood that she once held near to her heart. On the other hand, as time passes, Ruthie begins to accept her transiency and see herself as the fallen home, an independent being that has been betrayed and forgotten, and in turn, accept transiency as well as Sylvie as a mentor of sorts. Furthermore, the fallen home symbolizes the notion of home within the transients life. Initially, Ruthie digs through the debris, searching for any sign of hope that even when a home has fallen, it can be reconstructed. Ultimately, Ruthie recognizes this as an imaginary narrative, she is becoming transient and the notion of the typical home must cease to be pondered. The fallen home is not simply a ruin on the outskirts of Fingerbone, rather it is a symbol of Ruthie’s awakening.