We Were The Mulvaneys Essay Questions

Two probing questions that you have as a result of your reading:
1. Family, as well as the significance of names, is at the heart of We Were the Mulvaneys. How does this affect each character’s identity? Does this theme connect to Oates’ other books?
2. God and religion are mentioned a lot, particularly in situations involving the two female Mulvaneys. How do each of the characters define religion? Is religion just something inserted into the plot for structure to the women’s lives?

We Were the Mulvaneys does not belong to a particular literary genre and appears very realistic in the events and reactions of the characters. It puts forth dark themes, such as violence and revenge, as well as themes shaped by religious undertones. Much of

her work also contains powerful men who cause weaker women to experience shame and alienation.
The point of view of We Were the Mulvaneys switches between a seemingly-biased narrator (Judd, the youngest son) to an omniscient third-person narrator depending on the focus of the chapter. The omniscient narrator also seems to share Judd’s values.
This novel can be analyzed through a feminist critical lens because of the focus on Marianne Mulvaney and the way in which her family follows a patriarchal set-up. Besides her mother Corinne, she is the only major female character thus far. When she is raped, every member of her family, particularly the males, has something to say about it and what should be done about the situation. However, no one takes Marianne’s feelings into account except her mother. Overall, Oates portrays the women as weak and almost unable to cope with the trauma. However, religion guides both the women and helps them manage some of their pain.
Much of We Were the Mulvaneys focuses on the theme of family dynamics coupled with deep detail of the house and the farm. Oates focuses on the animals as well in great detail and reflects on the relationship between various animals and significant characters in the novel. The family symbolically uses animals to speak to each other and give orders as a way to avoid conflict. When Marianne is sent away from home, she takes the cat Muffin with her and the house begins to fall into disrepair.
We Were the Mulvaneys focuses on the differences between appearances versus reality. The Mulvaneys seem to be a perfect family but, in reality, they are faced with turmoil beyond what their Mt. Ephraim neighbors can imagine. While most of the characters seem to be very close to one another, each one experiences alienation at some point.

Analysis of three or more passages noted or underlined this week:
1. “When the code was broken the effect was like a slap in the face...She said, so softly ‘I-I think it’s cruel for that poor bird to be caged his entire life so that selfish human beings like us can be entertained by him. I think it’s a sin.’ Mom was so surprised, the shears slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Not just that Marianne of all her children had spoken these harsh words but that Marianne had broken the code. When Mom or Dad addressed you by way of an animal, you always replied the same way. Yet, suddenly, Marianne had not.” (We Were the Mulvaneys 46)

This passage comes after Zachary rapes Marianne and she has not yet told her family. Her mother attempts to speak to her through the family’s pet bird, as customary in the Mulvaney family. This represents the family’s closeness and connects to the novel’s overall theme of family. The “code” they speak in is a constant in their lives. However, the words Marianne says are grating and catch her mother off guard. Marianne’s usage of the words “selfish” and “sin” demonstrate how grounded she has become in religion. This religion makes her see the world differently and she recognizes the pain in it, rather than the good she once did. Moreover, Marianne’s rape breaks the consistency in the lives of the Mulvaneys. This quote foreshadows things “suddenly” no longer being the same in the Mulvaney family, just as things are no longer the same with Marianne replying “by way of an animal.” Just as Mariane broke the code, the family is broken as well.

2. “If you blunder by accident into a secret it’s like you’ve pushed open a door where you thought there was a wall. You can look through, if you’re brave or reckless enough you can even step inside - taking a chance what you’ll learn is worth what it costs.” (We Were the Mulvaneys 94)

This passage occurs in the novel just before the secret of Marianne’s rape comes out. Judd, as an omniscient narrator, hints at this with two other “secrets” he “blunder[ed] by accident into:” his parents having sex and his father lecturing his brothers about respecting women. At this point, Marianne seems as closed off as a “wall” to Judd because she will not tell her family about being raped. This quote foreshadows the “door” that will open when Judd and the rest of the Mulvaneys find out what happened their beloved Marianne. What they will learn is not “worth what it costs” because it causes the break up of their family. This connects to the novels theme of secrets, all of which come into the open because characters, particularly Judd and Patrick, believe they are “brave” and “reckless” enough to know.

3. “As if this litany were the most basic, the most irreducible of knowable fact. As if it were all that might be granted her by way of understanding. As if, wakened from a cruel enchantment, she’d discovered in her hands a wide, ragged rotted net, a net with enormous tears and holes, yet her sole solace, her sole hope, was to cast this rotted net out again, again, again and draw it in breathless and trembling to discover what truths it might contain. But they were always the same truths. I was drinking. I was to blame. I don’t remember. How can I give testimony against him!” (We Were the Mulvaneys 143)

Here, the omniscient Judd reflects on Marianne’s feelings after the Mulvaneys want Marianne to testify against her rapist, Zachary. Overwhelmed with guilt, she does not want to do it and she turns to religion as her guide. By repeating the italicized “litany” she is professing her faith in those “truths,” that is, what she believes to be true about what happened to her. In order to catch those truths, Oates employs the symbolism of a “ragged rotted net” showing how broken and imperfect Marianne has become because of the trauma she experienced. This net is a reflection of Marianne herself and brings her no real “solace” because her litany does not bring her certainty. The idea of rape culture traps her because the “same truths” she “draws in” all blame her as the victim. Her “net” is unable to catch different truths because it is as broken as her life has become. This quote represents the theme of violence that tears not only Marianne apart to an unrecognizable form like the net, but also the Mulvaney family as well.

4. Fascinating: how people who’d known Corinne and Michael Mulvaney for twenty years seemed now not to see them, or, unable to reasonably not see them, smiled vaguely, with a pretense of enthusiasm, then turned away to greet others, shaking hands and embracing others...Yes we feel sorry for you Mulvaneys but no, no! - don’t come talk to us, don’t spoil this happy occasion for us, please.” (We Were the Mulvaneys 198)

As Patrick, valedictorian and the second oldest Mulvaney is graduating high school, the “happy occasion,” the families of his classmates barely acknowledge the Mulvaney family because they brought gloom to Mt.

Ephraim. This gloom, brought on by the aftermath of Marianne’s rape, surrounds the family with negativity and causes those around them to “turn away” from the family altogether. Judd expresses his feelings in the quote in a sarcastic tone, demonstrating the disdain he has for the people who had known the Mulvaneys essentially forever, but seemed “not to see them.” No one in the town is able to look beyond the stigma that comes with the Mulvaney family because they will “spoil the happy occasion” with their presence. This connects to the theme of alienation which affects every member of the family.

5. “Yet he believed he scarcely knew Marianne at all. He loved her, but scarcely knew her. Members of a family who’ve lived together in the heated intensity of family life scarcely know one another. Life is too head-on, too close-up. That was the paradox. That was the bent, perplexing thing. Exactly the opposite of what you’d expect. For of course you never give such relationships a thought, living them. To give a thought - to take thought - is a function of dissociation, distance. You can’t exercise memory until you’ve removed yourself from memory’s source.” (We Were the Mulvaneys

230)

After Patrick settles into college, Marianne comes to visit him. She has changed a lot, both in her appearance and the way she acts. Patrick “scarcely knows her” because she hid so many secrets and has been completely absent. She appears to be a stranger because life tore them away from each other, something that becomes a “paradox.” This quote resonates the theme of family because it demonstrates that even though the Mulvaneys had “the heated intensity of family life,” they dissociate from each other. Because Patrick has been “removed from memory’s source,” that is, away from Marianne for so long, he now realizes how overwhelming the experience of the aftermath of his sister’s rape was for him. He does not recognize her because he is no longer living in the heat of the moment and is able to feel with emotion that is less intense.

Evolution of Argument –

Characters – What is the role of each?
Judd Mulvaney: the youngest of the Mulvaney clan. He seems like a bystander to the events of the novel at this point, even the ones that he was not “present” for because he was not yet born. He is the narrator and may be an unreliable one. He provides deep descriptions to the reader causing the reader to feel as if they were in the scene. He has compassion for Marianne
Michael John Mulvaney, Sr.: father and owner of the Mulvaney farm. He owns a roofing company that has a good reputation. He is volatile and protective, particularly of Marianne even though he alienates her after she is raped. He serves as the head of household, but is an alcoholic, which leads to the breakup of parts of the family.
Corinne Mulvaney: mother of the Mulvaneys. She serves as a peacemaker between the members of the Mulvaney family. Her faith matters a lot to her and she makes it a large part of her family’s life, not always to the family’s liking. She cares deeply about Marianne and wants to heal her pain, but does not know how.
Mike Mulvaney Jr.: the oldest of the Mulvaney children. He works for his father’s roofing company but escapes home as soon as he can. He is absent from most of the novel, due to his distance in age from Judd.
Patrick Mulvaney: the second oldest of the Mulvaney children. Those around him consider him a genius, putting a lot of pressure on him. He is shaken and hurt by Marianne not telling him about being raped but still cares about her a lot. He leaves the family to attend Cornell. Him and Judd have a good relationship, but are still far in age from each other. He wants to get revenge on Zachary Lundt.
Marianne Mulvaney: the youngest girl of the Mulvaney family who was raped. While the entire story centers around her in this part, she does not seem to be the protagonist. She may be symbolic of something bigger and may play a similar role to other females in Oates’ novels. She seems to lose all sense of self after her rape and becomes unrecognizable.
Zachary Lundt: the boy who raped Marianne. He symbolizes evil and “it” (Marianne’s rape). Each member of the family feels animosity toward him in different ways and acts upon it differently. He does not lose any social standing after the rape and is not brought to justice.