In the short story ‘Lilies’ by Joan London, the reader is introduced to the character of Christine Hollins who is returning back home to her family after seven years. Her relationship with her family is very distant and the purpose of her return was to bring her family closer and to play the role of a missionary.
It is evident in the text that conflicts exists between Christine and her parents ‘…. she was going to talk properly, with her mother.’ She feels that she is almost unrecognizable to her parents when ‘…. she felt that she was another person approaching them.’ She believes that her return was like ‘…. stepping out of the air into a cage.’
Her unwelcoming return was further influenced by where her parents were staying. Their lifestyles have changed over the years and they are now living in a retirement home with ‘…. Tiny livin
‘…lured by the tiny pagan charm around one ankle that rocked across the other in some private rhythm.’
It is interesting to note that the name ‘Christine’ has similar wording to that of the religion ‘Christian’. This allows the reader to see Christine as the symbol of peace and love that the Christian religion promotes. She is seen as the only person in the family that understands about love and emotions. A family where the father is a priest, should model almost perfect communication. Obviously there have been problems in all Christian life.
Christine is finally left alone with her parents in the final paragraph. She becomes aware of the changing body features of her parents and realizes through all this change, there relationship has stayed the same. The writer gives the statement ‘…only the right forms are left, held together by
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