Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it implied that she is dying?

I definitely thought she was dying and that the phone call was a dream.

+1 because she didn't have an orange with her (don't recall but easy to backtrack to see if she had her purse with her) and it's a little odd that the daughters were together on the phone as they are adults and I think didn't she say in different places?

A couple of things to comment, don't know where they fit:

Last scene she's on the phone with her daughters, in likely a hallucination while she is dying, and she said earlier that she hated talking on the phone with her daughters. So is it that in her last moments of life, she is finally enjoying talking to her daughters on the phone, or *still* trying to patiently "be a good mom" by doing something she expressly hates doing?

I think it's significant that the young mom stabs her in the uterine area...or the belly-button area (basically the motherhood area)...and also significant she did this while calling her the C word. Also significant she references Leda's own mother as she stabs her, and stabs her with the hat-pin which is given to her by Leda based on Leda's mom's advice.

I think the large family was definitely mob-oriented, as referenced by (young man) when he says, "not good people." Taken in context, that was code for non-law-abiding or dangerous people

Anonymous wrote:Also, Leda tells Nina (she tells somebody, I think it's Nina) that Leda is a selfish person, and I think that is true.

Yes of course it's obvious that she's selfish as she hangs onto the doll while watching--and creating the conditions for--Nina's suffering. I guess so she can watch and relive her own parental suffering, and in her mind connect with Nina. She likes watching the girl cling to Nina or whine, and Nina suffers and turns and looks at Leda--they bond over that look of "this is hell" or "I'm suffocating"

But, what I want to say here is, it's also so selfish of Leda to TELL Nina that she hung on to the doll, just to play with. Why not just let Nina continue assuming that Leda found the doll, and let Nina experience some joy and relief? Leda cuts off Nina's joy/relief with the truth.

I think it's because Leda wanted to use that moment to explain herself, or show her true self, to Nina, who she identifies with. To connect with Nina.

But Leda is so wrapped up in herself that she doesn't even see the obvious, which is how this news will affect Nina. Leda is so self-absorbed and selfish that she tells Nina the truth about Leda's stealing of the doll.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it implied that she is dying?

I definitely thought she was dying and that the phone call was a dream.

+1 because she didn't have an orange with her (don't recall but easy to backtrack to see if she had her purse with her) and it's a little odd that the daughters were together on the phone as they are adults and I think didn't she say in different places?

A couple of things to comment, don't know where they fit:

Last scene she's on the phone with her daughters, in likely a hallucination while she is dying, and she said earlier that she hated talking on the phone with her daughters. So is it that in her last moments of life, she is finally enjoying talking to her daughters on the phone, or *still* trying to patiently "be a good mom" by doing something she expressly hates doing?

I think it's significant that the young mom stabs her in the uterine area...or the belly-button area (basically the motherhood area)...and also significant she did this while calling her the C word. Also significant she references Leda's own mother as she stabs her, and stabs her with the hat-pin which is given to her by Leda based on Leda's mom's advice.

I think the large family was definitely mob-oriented, as referenced by (young man) when he says, "not good people." Taken in context, that was code for non-law-abiding or dangerous people

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it implied that she is dying?

I definitely thought she was dying and that the phone call was a dream.

Anonymous wrote:Could Callie be Nina's husband's sister, so sister in law? Or some blood relation to Nina's husband, anyway. I didn't read the book thought.