The Juggler
The Juggler
“I want to believe in faith and risk and a world where you can stand beneath the grey October sky and flash your own colours through the air like a magician” (218 -221, p. 6). These beautiful lines constitute the final conclusion of the short story, “The Juggler”, written by Ursula Hegi and published in 2001. The story deals with themes such as beauty, letting go and being stuck in the past.
The short story takes place in Coeur d’ Alene in the first weekend of October. An unnamed first person narrator tells the story of her daughter, Zoe and her boyfriend, Michael who have come to visit her. It is the first time she meets Michael, who is a counsellor at the school where her daughter teaches. They go to the cinema and on a beautiful canoe trip together. Michael seems to be a very nice guy and Zoe loves him. What separates Michael from the majority, however, is the fact that he is turning blind.
The mother seems to have a very difficult time handling this, which is seen in her inner monologue “I like him (Michael) – or, rather; I could like him, if only he were not turning blind. Or if he were not with my daughter. I want more for Zoe.” (ll. 115-117, p. 4). It also seems as if she has ambitions on behalf of her daughter “I want more for Zoe”. We are told that Zoe’s father left the family when she was very young. Perhaps the mother’s dreams and ambitions vanished with her housebound/boyfriend. Therefore, she now lives her life trough her daughter and has resigned and almost accepted that she is in the autumn of her life unable to see the colours of the world.
Another reason for her to dislike Michael is the obvious fact that he is stealing Zoe away. This seems to be her main issue with him. She thinks that he, due to his handicap, requires too much attention from Zoe, “He’ll need you far too much”(l. 177, p. 5). To this Zoe replies, “That should feel familiar, then” (l. 178, p. 5) as a reference to what leads to another important issue in
“I want to believe in faith and risk and a world where you can stand beneath the grey October sky and flash your own colours through the air like a magician” (218 -221, p. 6). These beautiful lines constitute the final conclusion of the short story, “The Juggler”, written by Ursula Hegi and published in 2001. The story deals with themes such as beauty, letting go and being stuck in the past.
The short story takes place in Coeur d’ Alene in the first weekend of October. An unnamed first person narrator tells the story of her daughter, Zoe and her boyfriend, Michael who have come to visit her. It is the first time she meets Michael, who is a counsellor at the school where her daughter teaches. They go to the cinema and on a beautiful canoe trip together. Michael seems to be a very nice guy and Zoe loves him. What separates Michael from the majority, however, is the fact that he is turning blind.
The mother seems to have a very difficult time handling this, which is seen in her inner monologue “I like him (Michael) – or, rather; I could like him, if only he were not turning blind. Or if he were not with my daughter. I want more for Zoe.” (ll. 115-117, p. 4). It also seems as if she has ambitions on behalf of her daughter “I want more for Zoe”. We are told that Zoe’s father left the family when she was very young. Perhaps the mother’s dreams and ambitions vanished with her housebound/boyfriend. Therefore, she now lives her life trough her daughter and has resigned and almost accepted that she is in the autumn of her life unable to see the colours of the world.
Another reason for her to dislike Michael is the obvious fact that he is stealing Zoe away. This seems to be her main issue with him. She thinks that he, due to his handicap, requires too much attention from Zoe, “He’ll need you far too much”(l. 177, p. 5). To this Zoe replies, “That should feel familiar, then” (l. 178, p. 5) as a reference to what leads to another important issue in