DISCUSSION
1. What do you think motivates Muriel to identify June as Edna? Does she act on the spur of the moment when she sees June at the water’s edge, or has she been searching for some time for someone who can solve her problems for her? Do you think she really believes that June is Edna?
Muriel has been searching for some time for someone who can solve her problems for her because she was at her wits´ end, but when June appeared Muriel understood that June was the perfect person to take care her family members who were mentally ill. To illustrate, her brother was a violent alcoholic, her niece was a mentally ill girl and her mother had Alzheimer´s.
There are many facts to support that supposition. First, June was left with nothing by Alastair´s wife, and then when she was on the train on her way to the place where she had once been happy with her father, a friendly youth had stolen her handbag with all her belongings, so June did not have any documents which would identify her. This suspicious fact I think was prepared by Muriel. Second, perhaps Muriel had been following her because she knew that June was homeless without money and hopes. Coincidently, June was going to commit suicide when Muriel suddenly had appeared like her rescuer to offer June her help, and also she told her that she was Edna who had been in America. Third, in Muriel´s house June was introduced to Ted, Muriel´s husband, who studied June seriously and closely as if she was an examination paper before giving his acceptance to Muriel about June. Fourth, Muriel had convinced June to revert her new style to the old style which includes her hair and clothes because that is how Edna had dressed before. Fifth, also to convince June more easily that she was Edna, Muriel told June that her mother had passed on, but she had left a bit of money and a house for her. Finally, when Muriel gave June Edna´s handbag, she found a snapshot, which showed June that she had also had a husband and a little daughter. All these facts were used by Muriel to convince June to accept that she is Edna and not June, but really Muriel knew that June is not Edna.
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