Jack has spent nearly every second of his life within 11 feet of his mother. Throughout the story, we've seen this separation anxiety from Jack. For example, when Ma is having her first shower, Jack is with her. At first, Jack doesn't want to get in the shower (an example of his disposition against change). When Ma gives up on getting Jack into the shower, she shuts the door so that the water doesn't leak out. Unable to see his mother, Jack panics and hits the door to get it open. In addition, he's also crying, showing the emotional turmoil he is going through (Donoghue 172).
This separation anxiety will be something Jack needs to overcome in the future (ex. when he leaves for school, etc.).
What's less obvious though, is Ma's separation anxiety from Jack. Although it isn't as obvious, there are some signs that Ma is extremely attached to Jack and worried about him. When they first arrive at the precinct, Ma asks for Jack to stay by her side the whole time. When her parenting is questioned, she gets defensive. When talking to her father, she says that "He's [Jack] the world to me," (Donoghue 226).
Sure, Ma's separation anxiety isn't as bad as Jack's, but I believe it'll take time for her to become comfortable with Jack being independent. Up to the point we're at in the story, Ma has literally spent 5 years of her life taking care of Jack, and most importantly, protecting him from Old Nick. We see her become super protective of Jack whenever Old Nick is around, telling him not to touch Jack or look at Jack. She will almost certainly carry these protective instincts with her on her return home.
Ma even explicitly states that she needs to work on being herself again, instead of being Jack's ma.
I think the level of separation anxiety they have is totally natural, given that, as you say, they've been each others' one-and-only for so long. The challenge for Jack, I think, is going to be understanding why independence is even necessary, similarly to how he had to learn that Room is bad in order for him to want to escape. Unfortunately, Jack adjusting to the outside world may mean coming to terms with just how terrible the conditions in Room were, which is traumatizing on a whole different level. Ma has both an easier and harder journey: she already knows she must change and is better equipped with the tools to do so, but had to suffer much greater trauma during their time in Room.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I always thought about Jack's separation anxiety, but never noticed Ma's. In some sense, I think Ma's separation anxiety is less severe than Jack's because she understands object permanence so even if she cannot see him, she knows he still exists and doesn't freak out as long as he's within a general vicinity of her. However, Jack usually freaks out when he can no longer see Ma because in his mind things he cannot see no longer exist.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting point. I assumed that, as Ma explained it, Jack was the one thing that gave her purpose in Room, and he was extremely important to her there. However, I also assumed that she would begin to feel less attached to him once they escaped, since she doesn't need him for her sanity anymore. From what we've read so far, as you point out, the opposite appears to be happening, as she gets more defensive of him and her parenting. It will be interesting to see how this progresses as we continue.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post. I think I assumed that Jack would have separation anxiety, but Ma also would. For the last five-six years, she was living for and to protect Jack. Who's to say how things would be without Jack? Now, Ma has an opportunity to be away from Jack and find how things would, given their previous ordeal and her other residual traumas, Ma would most definitely also develop anxiety. Great post, David!
ReplyDeleteThis post brought up some really interesting ideas! I never really thought Ma's separation anxiety because it never manifested in the same obvious way as Jack's. It makes sense, however, seeing as Jack was her rock for so long. They have been together very single day for the past 5 years, and it's normal for people to latch onto and find comfort in what is familiar to them. Still, sometimes it seems like Ma is a little frustrated at Jack's hesitance to go outside or embrace their new surroundings and seems to want space, so I'm curious to see how her separation anxiety will play into that later in the book.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I have no doubt that Jack will suffer from separation anxiety when he's away from Ma. Kids not in Jack's horrific situation already suffer from separation anxiety when they're away from their parents. Jack's anxiety will simply be dialed up by 1,000,000,000 times.
ReplyDeleteBut I hadn't thought too much about Ma's side of the coin in this entire field of "separation anxiety". Jack will most certainly take separation harder than Ma will. Ma has the concept of "object permanence" and knows that unless yet another catastrophic event happens, she'll be able to see him at the end of the day.
Nice post. If I was gonna write an essay about Room, I would definitely write it on this topic. Even before they escaped Room, I was more worried for Ma's sanity than Jack's. I think that the effects of Room could be felt more profoundly to a fully developed adult than a young child. Although it wasn't great reading Ma's failed suicide attempt, I can't really say I'm surprised (as morbid as that sounds).
ReplyDeleteI think it's possible that Ma will be a little more protective than the average parent throughout Jack's whole life just because of her first-hand experience with how messed up and dangerous people in the world can be. That being said, I agree that in order to live in the outside world Ma and Jack will have to adjust to not being with each other all the time. I think Jack starts getting more used to this when he spends time with Grandma and Steppa, who he grows to love and trust, so he knows he has more in the world than just Ma.
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