2nd Reading Response "Stone Carvers"

Throughout the novel so far I remain perplexed at how the author is able to capture very fine details of character even when the scope of characters is large. On top of this she is able intertwine all of their pasts and personalities together to create a very effective story. During the second quarter of the novel we have moved past Father Gstir and have now turned to Klara Becker and her coming of age story and her influences from Eamon (boyfriend).

Although there are a variety of ways the author has captivated Klara's unique story there are a few that stood out to me. The first of these methods are how her grandfather notices a reflection of Klara's emotions through the abbess (superior of a convent of nuns) she is carving. In the novel he notes, "This abbess, he said, is too young. And far too cheerful. She looks as if she has spent most of her short life dreaming in a field of flowers. No man would accept advice from her. No pope would listen to her for one minute!" By doing this we see that her emotions are so passionate that they are reflecting into everything she does, whether it be a conscious action or not. However, this is not the only time her grandfather comments on the abbess. He also makes note of an anger in the abbess as well as her being too resolute. The authors subtly to convey this emotion based from her grandfathers observation I felt to be very effective. It helps you as a reader to grasp the magnitude of her emotions. The second method takes on a similar shape in the way that as news arrives that Eamon is MIA Klara pulls her hair back and takes on the attitude of a spinster. This metonymy the author used was helpful as it showed (without directly stating in the text) Klara's emotions and state of mind. The relation to spinster being that they often do not seek help and feel as though they can accomplish everything on their own, and refuse any outside help. Again this subtle step taken by the author really helps when in combination with everything else, to better connect with the characters and in this case Klara's emotions during her adolescence.