In the Lake of the Woods: Hypothesis Chapters

This chapter briefly states about the disappearance of Kathy, and what she could have been thinking of when In her “dermatome” phase. It also briefly outlines possible roads she could have taken, let it be with another man or simply Just fed up of her own life with John. This hypothesis demonstrates how profoundly hurt she was by politics and Johns selfish ways. Hypothesis Chapter 2: In this chapter the truth about John in Vietnam has come out, and Kathy is wondering what is with all of these secrets? And she really is starting to reevaluate their marriage o see if it could work. UT as she keeps thinking she starts to realize that they together for all the wrong reasons. This chapter also indicates the severity of their marriage as In a sense John blackmails Kathy Into not bringing up past events, which then seems to the reader as a way of him standing over her and having power over her. The point of the hypothesis chapter Is to Illustrate key reasons for Kitty’s disappearance and to see how inauthentic their marriage was. Hypothesis Chapter 3: This chapter describes the possibility that Kathy took a boat ride to clear her mind, ND during that ride, hit a sandbar and drowned.

This is a key chapter as it hypothesis Kathy taking mental notes of what she felt needed to change, indicating she was ready to reform her relationship with John. Hypothesis Chapter 4: Chapter 18 suggests that Kathy disappearance Is one of human error. By miscalculating her trajectory, Kathy has lost hope of returning In the correct direction. It Is In this chapter that we discover more about Kathy sense of self- reliance as well as her affair with Harmon, her dentist, and the deep-seated guilt she till feels.

Hypothesis Chapter 5: Lost within the wilderness, Kathy travels on a boat away from the burning cottage. It is alluded to that she has set “the fire” alight and left to simply escape the life she has with John. Furthermore, inside the “glittery’ “luxury and bliss” of a casino, this chapter conveys Kathy prior experiences with Tony and her innermost feelings at that particular moment In time. It adds to our understanding of John and Kathy relationship, and the depth of Tony’s character and attitude. Hypothesis Chapter 6:

By illustrating Kitty’s personal conflicts, O’Brien explores her potential suicide. This values and “withheld intimacies”. Within her “decayed marriage” “the idea of happiness” is Kathy ultimate desire, as her suicide is expressed to be “a dark calm” from “the waning of energy’. Hypothesis Chapter 7: In chapter 27 it is hypothesized that John burnt Kathy with boiling water and then took her out on the boat on the lake and dumped her body in the lake. John then decides to “Join her for a while” as he feels “an underwater rush in his ears. He sakes up in bed and reaches “out for Kathy’ but she “wasn’t there. ” Hypothesis Chapter 8: In this chapter, it questions all the hypothesis and states that no one “will ever know. ” When John is mentioned, he switches out from John to Sorcerer and then back again. John does not know his true identity and he never did. Paragraph: O’Brien illustrates the inauthentic relationship of John and Kathy through his need for “absolute, unconditional love”. Their lack of communication led to the couple’s mistrust towards each other because “they never communicated, never made love”.

This was due to the fact John “was a dreamer” and constantly withdrawn from emotional situations. We see actions like these taken by John being attributed to this persona which demonstrates how separated John truly is from his physical presence in the world. His experiences with gliding and the “sorcerer” identity stay with him just like the mirror and the magic from his childhood and continue to shape his experiences with the world. Just like John’s mirrors, Kathy disappearances prove to be her way of escaping the controlling ways of John, as Kathy “… Get[s] this creepy leaning, like [his] always there”.

O’Brien does this as a way of displaying John’s uncanny need for affection. When John feels able enough to tell Kathy of his plans for the future, Kathy tells him that his plans feel calculated and manipulative, John is “assailed by the sudden fear of losing her, of bungling thing. ” John still views his relationship as things to be rigged rather than nurtured. This is how he attempts to retain power and control of the situation. Riddled with doubts and insecurities on the outside, strangled with shame and secrets on the inside, John was incapable of expressing himself to others.

O’Brien purposely added the scene where Kathy has an abortion as a metaphor for John denying Kathy needs throughout the course of the relationship. This is seen in parallel with John’s desire to be something more than he already is; a better lover and a more courageous man. When the illusion is shattered and he has lost everything, including his wife, John actually begins to find some clarity. He realizes that inventing a new self was impossible, that he “never should have given the bucking show in the first place. “