Crow Lake Empathy Essay

In Mary Lawsons bragging Lake, Kate Morrison is leave emotion onlyy stunted later a series of events leave her disappointed and grieving. When Kate is only seven, her p bents argon killed in a tragic car accident. Luckily for Kate, she could find condolence in her older brother flat and the pond, a bond dual-lane between the two. Kate idolizes Matt so it crushes her when he impregnates their neighbour and can no longer continue with his education. Kate sees this as a huge disappointment. Shes afraid of love and emotion due to her unresolved conflicts in the past. Kate has been left incap fitting of empathy in fear of becoming close to anyone again.From a young age Kate has been unfamiliar with others and her bear emotions. The Morrison household preferred to keep drama to a minimum. Kate refers to this as the Eleventh Commandment Understatement was the rule in our house. Emotions, even positive ones, were kept firmly under control. It was the Eleventh Commandment, carved on it s very consume tablet of stone and presented specifically to those of Presbyterian persuasion Thou Shall Not Emote (p. 9). Being a singular to emotion, Kate finds it difficult to identify and feel what another person is feeling.Exposure to emotional outbursts makes Kate anxious as she cannot find a proper way to deal with others due to her inability to fully understand and empathize. When Kate is approached by one of her students by and by class she assumes it is because of reasons related to her studies. I guess Im not the sympathetic type she admits, sympathy and empathy are linked, after all (p. 236). The student is struggling to find words when Kate suggests that if it isnt connected to your work, then I may not be the best person (p. 237).When her student confirms its about her studies Kate begins with a generic wine authoritive response to Fionas problem, encouraging her to go on with her work rather than leave university but when she is face up with the raw emotion of Fionas tears Kate shys away, reminding herself that despite both growing up in a rural area, their situations were nothing alike. Rather than trying to relate, Kate pushes herself away. The Eleventh Commandment sticks with her throughout her flavor The return to Crow Lake unearthed feelings that had been buried for too long.For Matts wife, Marie, these feelings were frustration with Kates attitude toward Matt. Marie quite clearly sees how Kates judgements negatively affect him and finally decides to lecture Kate on her blindness to Matts satisfaction with his life and her lack of forgiveness towards him. Kate was completely stunned by Maries words of how her disappointment is the heaviest weight on his shoulders to Kate it seemed that her accusations made no sense (p. 279). Kate, unable to see things from Maries eyes, is unnerved and puzzled by what happened. She was convinced that she had been protecting Matt. Here am I, with my wonderful career, and here is my boyfriend with his wonderful career, and look at all of you (p. 260). She felt as if she would befool been bragging to talk about anything in her current life, rubbing Matts face in her big city endeavours. Her lack of empathy made her blind towards Maries taste at displaying Matts want to regain the bond they had once had. If Kate was able to empathize, she would have been able to forgive Matt. Matt was only seventeen when he had to give up life as a normal teenage boy to be a guardian to his younger sisters.Not only did he have school to worry about but also the well being of his siblings and financial stability. For a act Kate is almost able to empathize with Matt on why he became close with Marie. She excuses Matt because he was eighteen, and when he put his arms around her he would have felt how soft she was (p. 248). But she right away refuses to accept what Matt had done, unable to completely understand why he threw away what meant so a great deal to him. Kate feels as though Matt is still grieving over his loss of opportunity when in populace he moved on. If Kate could only see things through Matts eyes she would know.Her incapability of allow go obstructs her empathy skills and vice versa. Kates inability to empathize stems from the fear of being left disappointed. After the happening with Matt she doesnt allow herself to become close. Empathizing requires undecidedness, expression and a certain degree of intimacy, all of which are foreign to Kate. Although Kate is incapable of empathy, that doesnt mean she doesnt have room to grow. Lawson leaves the ending quite open but hints at Kates readiness to finally let go. Works Cited Lawson, Mary. Crow Lake. Toronto Vintage Canada, 2002.