A Journey Colm Toibin Analysis

In “A Journey” Colm Toibin discusses the lonely heart of a mother and wife. Mary is trying to make a connection with both her husband and son, yet they seem unwilling and secluded. The family in general is dysfunctional because not only do they lack communication, but they’re also not family oriented. It is unusual for husband and wife to reside in the same home but rarely speak. Sometimes people give up on the things they anguish without even realizing the affects it has on their loved ones. Sad to say it is a common thing, the loss of affection. When someone goes into deep depression, it not only affects their emotional state, but their mental state as well. Consequently, they can lose hopelessness and with that their selves. “It seemed to her like something David would not give up, a special dark gift he had been offered” (Toibin 5). To the mother it is almost as if her son just decided to silence himself. What I find interesting is Mary’s constant want to relive the past, as if she wants to go back in time to a place before this great depression. “She remembered, of him asking questions and wanting to know how everything worked and why” (1). With Toibin starting the story off with the memory of David asking a question, it symbolizes Mary internal regret for not appreciating his curiosity. Now she can barely get her son to
Nothing more than a vesicle searching for belonging. “The Journey” sublimely seizes that moment in a woman’s life where things do not go as planned. The journey is that of an unexpected struggle that impairs your future. Is it fair? No it is not, but it is reality. What we choose to do with this reality is up to us. Mary chose to try to fix her relationship with her son despite how ignorant he has become. The title symbolizes not so much of her past life to now, but what she is trying to make in the present