Bitter and sweet

[Front-Ranger]

I've always wondered why Ennis, when visiting the parents of his lifelong love Jack after Jack's death, said he could drink coffee but couldn't take any cherry cake. Did he refuse the cake, or was he saying he didn't deserve it? Did he turn down the cake because he couldn't or wouldn't eat it?

A clue lies in another tabletop tableau, this time when Alma had to face up to the hard truth about her husband after Jack showed up four years after their marriage. She is sitting at the kitchen table, teary eyed, between a sugar shaker and a cold cup of coffee. As Ennis comes up the stairs and into the apartment, she turns reluctantly from the sugar to the coffee.

And all because of Jack, with his "sweet, salty" smell, who doesn't drink coffee.

[jpwagoneer1964]

I always took it to mean that Ennis was still very upset over Jack's death and wasn't able to eat much. He said he "couldn't eat cherry cake  just yet".

[Amber]

I always took it to mean that Ennis was still very upset over Jack's death and wasn't able to eat much. He said he "couldn't eat cherry cake  just yet".

Exactly what I was thinking!

[Front-Ranger]

There are several references, particularly to salty things, that I never noticed before, Barbara! And jp, you know, Ennis's refusal of cake could mean all kinds of things. I read somewhere where Casey Cornelius talked about tempting the old gatekeeper with sweets in an old Greek fable. OMT (Old Man Twist) took the sweets and was lulled into a stupor, while the protagonist (Ennis) crossed the river (went up the stairs) and found what he was seeking (the shirts).

[Luvlylittlewing]

I always took it to mean that Ennis was still very upset over Jack's death and wasn't able to eat much. He said he "couldn't eat cherry cake  just yet".

This is how I see it.  Ennis is too upset, too bereaved to think about eating.    I'm the same way when I've lost someone - just the thought of putting something in my mouth is enough to make me vomit.  Besides, Ennis was probably nervous there with people he didn't know, and couldn't bring himself to eat.

[Front-Ranger]

Maybe so, but Ennis seems to show a preference for the bitter side of life throughout the whole story. When his children were infants, Ennis was reassured by the smell of sour milk (yuk!) that reminded him of fecundity and life's continuance. At the Motel Siesta, the smell of sour hay was one that accompanied Ennis. In contrast, his run-ins with sweets were sometimes disastrous. After eating Alma's Thanksgiving pie, he was subjected to a humiliating tongue lashing by Alma. Later, as he pushed a slice of apple pie around a plate at the bus station, Ennis was forced by Cassie to confront his lapse of ethics in leading her on.

[HerrKaiser]

I think that was an important scene, too. The cake was not just "cake"...it was "cherry cake". Cherry cake has an enhanced image of happiness, good times, welcoming; all in dire contrast to the state of emotion Ennis bore, and clearly not the mood of Jack's Dad.

by refusing the cake, Ennis confirms his demeanor, establishes his sense of deep mourning, and this allows Jack's Mom to seek another way to be gracious...offering Ennis the opportunity to view Jack's room.

[serious crayons]

by refusing the cake, Ennis confirms his demeanor, establishes his sense of deep mourning, and this allows Jack's Mom to seek another way to be gracious...offering Ennis the opportunity to view Jack's room.

Nicely put, HerrKaiser!

[Front-Ranger]

Listening to "Meet Me on the Mountain" today, there was a song sung by a woman that said "I wouldn't be bitter, if it wasn't so sweet."