Merci optom !
You say that they became harsh and brittle, and maybe that is part of life, in order to go to another stage of it ??
Is that so, too, in Annie's story, do you think... that harshness and brittleness ??
Au revoir,
hugs !
The harshness,brutality and raw reality of life in those times for that class of people and I don't just mean Jack and Ennis, is certainly evident in Proulxs' writing.In fact it is so raw and sparse it is almost stripped to the bone.
Brittleness I think comes to certain people,not all, as a result of life failing to live up to expectation.Even Jack with his forever,glass half full outlook,eventually becomes bitter and brittle.
It i salmost inevitable after a lifetime of let downs. You would have to be an eternal optimist,for it not to eventually take its toll.