Alex Podlasinska

Throughout Daniel Woodrell’s novel Winter’s Bone, the protagonist, Ree Dolly, is frequently portrayed in a manner which embodies both femininity and masculinity. These seemingly juxtaposing descriptions serve to highlight Ree’s position within her family, in which she acts as the single parent of her two younger brothers.

Setting up the story, Woodrell describes Ree as wearing a sundress with combat boots, having a figure which is thin in the waist but nevertheless sturdy, and performing the respectively feminine and masculine acts of worrying about putting food on the table for her brothers while chopping wood (3). These descriptions all occur within the first chapter of the novel, establishing this dichotomy early in the story. As the novel progresses, imagery of this sort persists. An example of such an instance is when Ree and Gail are walking to Gail’s truck, and “Ree carried the shotgun, Gail carried the baby” (154). This description of the two women includes Gail performing a traditionally feminine act while Ree performs a traditionally masculine act. This provides a direct contrast between the average woman and Ree, emphasizing Ree’s stray from expectations.

Initially in the novel, Ree expresses a desire to leave her life behind and join the army (26). The military is generally associated with traditionally male attributes, and Ree’s inclination to join the army is therefore yet another way in which she expresses masculine qualities. By the end of the novel, however, Ree chooses to stay with her family despite being given the opportunity to escape (193). This decision brings attention to Ree’s fluctuation between fulfilling feminine and masculine roles.

Ree’s undefined relationship with gender also prevails when she interacts with older men, including Blond Milton and Little Arthur. All of these men dismiss Ree’s efforts to find her father, instead belittling her and not taking her seriously. While interacting with both men, the idea of sex comes up to some degree, though the severity ranges from commentary by Blonde Milton to assault by Little Arthur. Through these interactions it can be seen that due to her gender, Ree has little power, despite being the head of her household. The gender under which Ree’s actions could traditionally be classified depends on her situation, but it is clear that throughout the novel she exhibits traits that are both feminine and masculine.

The ironic role of drugs in Winter's Bone

Over the course of Winter’s bone, mind altering substances such as marijuana, methamphetamine, pain killers, and “crank” serve an ironic role in the sense that the are what enable the Dolly family to live through selling methamphetamine but they are also responsible for tearing the family apart.

The Dolly family is able to survive in the Ozarks by manufacturing and selling crank, an alternative word for methamphetamine. While this lifestyle is what allows the family to survive, it is also what tears them down. The use of drugs throughout the novel has terrible consequences for the family. First of all, the manufacturing of Methamphetamine is what gets Ree’s father Jessup into trouble with the law in the first place and eventually leads to his death. The book notes that this is not the first time that Jessup has been caught by the law and makes it obvious that it is unlikely for Jessup to show up to his hearing, resulting in the loss of the house that Ree is living in with her brothers and mother. In addition to almost losing the house and property, Jessup’s meth manufacturing leads him directly to his death. Jessup tries to cut a deal with the law by snitching on other members of the meth empire, which results in his murder as he is labeled a “snitch” by his own blood, again contributing to the destruction of the family.

In addition to Jessup’s life, the life of Ree’s mother is also destroyed by her use of drugs. Throughout the novel, Ree’s mother is referred to as sick by her family but in reality, she is constantly high off of pain killers and anti depressants that she is using to treat her mental illness. As a result of constantly needing to be under the influence of drugs in order to deal with her illness, it is necessary for Ree to have to care for her at all times as she is the oldest women within the patriarchal house. Not only do the drugs have a negative effect on the mother, but they also contribute to the destruction of Ree’s life in a sense as she has to care for herself, her younger siblings, and her mother, not allowing Ree to live a normal life and have a normal childhood.

The destruction of the family through drugs can also be seen through Uncle Teardrop. Having been in and out of jail for drug related offenses, Teardrop obviously has been torn down by drugs. This is explicitly shown when Ree first visits Teardrop and notes that there is a bag of weed, another bag of crank, and vividly describes the scars and damage to Teardrop as a result of a mistaken Methamphetamine cook. These three examples show how the use of drugs destroy the Dolly family and exemplify the ironic role that they play within the novel as they tear the family down but are simultaneously needed in order for the family to live.

Loyalty in the Dollys

            Ree Dolly is introduced to readers as a bold 16-year-old with high hopes to escape to the “U.S. Army, where you got to travel with a gun and they made everybody help keep things clean” (15). Her willpower and bravery throughout her journey to find her father are her attributes that struck me as most compelling, so the army seems like a perfect path for her to escape the toxicity of the clan-like Dolly family. However, upon finding her father’s dead body and receiving a sack “fat with crinkled bills,” she abandons her aspirations to enlist (191). This change was inspired by an increased sense of loyalty for her family, one that ties her more closely to her mother and little brothers.

            Throughout the novel, Ree teaches Harold and Sonny skills essential to their livelihood and the care of their mother, skills that would be necessary if Ree were to leave. She taught them to wash and condition their mother’s hair with vinegar, to cook, to shoot, and finally to fight. Although the boys still have much to learn, Ree realizes the boys’ potential to adopt her responsibilities, responsibilities that she had shouldered at a young age. In teaching them these things, Ree evidences every intention of leaving at her “next birthday” (26). However, in pursuit of her father Ree demonstrates her unfailing loyalty to her family by persisting to ensure that they would keep their home and land, even enduring being “kicked into silence” (130). When anything is said about her father, a man she knows to offer nothing but empty promises, she consistently defends his name. She ensures others that he is not a snitch and is the best of the “crank chefs,” refuting the idea that he would blow up a lab. Furthermore, the loyalty between Teardrop and Ree is strengthened as well. He originally assaults her when she asks too many questions, but later shows up to her rescue at Thump Milton’s. He takes responsibility for her actions, and threatens to kill anyone who ever touches her again. Yes, defending a niece from flagrant beatings and potentially death seems to be the bare minimum, but Teardrop’s gesture puts himself at risk. This enhances Ree’s sense of loyalty to the Dolly family outside of her immediate relatives, providing her with sufficient reason to stay in the Ozarks.

Unexpected Joys in Ree’s Overturned World

Perhaps the most obvious observation about Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone is that Ree Dolly is constantly bombarded by hardship in the form of poverty, unwanted responsibilities, physical violence, and uncertainty about the future of her loved ones. Given these struggles, it is natural that she would long for an escape; however, what she desires is not fundamentally an escape from her physical environment, but from what she feels is an inevitable highway leading to the Dolly destiny: a life of anger, hardness and cruelty. This desire centers around saving her little brothers, and Ree’s “grand hope was that these boys would not be dead to wonder by age twelve, dulled to life, empty of kindness, boiling with mean” (8). She also wants change for herself, but again, this is not fundamentally a need to leave her home--when she listens to peaceful sounds, she does not imagine how she would actually travel to a tropical island, but simply wants an escape from “the constant screeching, squalling hubbub regular life raised inside her spirit” and calmness “down deep where her jittering soul paced on a stone slab in a gray room, agitated and endlessly provoked but yearning to hear something that might bring a moment’s rest” (10). Ree wants herself and her brothers to escape emotional turmoil and the family legacy; like in The Sport of Kings, she wants to see how far from her father she can run. However, her experience looking for Jessup shows her that she has the freedom to make her own choices and helps her accept the positive side of being a Dolly, at least partly soothing her “jittering soul” and reassuring her that there is hope for her and her brothers. For example, Ree continuously defies other members of her family and community, from her father’s warning not to look for him to Merab’s threats, so although the culture of which she is wary still surrounds her, she is careful not to let it control her. Clearing her house of family objects when she thinks she will lose the house is also a way of purging her life of unnecessary ancestral influences. However, she also realizes not all of these family influences are bad: Teardrop, for instance, changes from a feared and uncooperative character to a supportive and beloved family member; even the horrible Thump sisters come through for family in the end. There’s a definite upside to the dysfunctional level of clan loyalty, and when it comes to the responsibilities in her nuclear family that Ree once wanted to leave behind, she realizes at the end (perhaps because of the temporary threat of losing them) that caring for her brothers is part of who she is, and tells them “I’d get lost without the weight of you two on my back” (193). And of course, the first thing she plans to buy after her unexpected windfall is “wheels” (193), extending her freedom and perhaps allowing her to travel to a few of those faraway places. It seems that with the newfound freedom to choose which parts of her family’s destiny to accept and which to reject, Ree finds life more bearable and embraces the responsibility of raising her brothers, so her decision not to join the army is not so much a sacrifice as a result of her life improving.

I Ain’t Never Goin’ to be Crazy!

Many mental illnesses are hereditary. With Ree’s mother suffering from a mental illness, Ree does not want to end up like her mother. However, some of Ree’s thought suggest a path she fears.

Ree’s mother is very aloof from her family and the world. Ree describes her as “a cat, a breathing thing that sat near heat and occasionally made sound…Long, dark, and lovely she had been, in those days before her mind broke and the parts scattered and she let them go” (6). Her mother just keeps to herself, rarely coherently to people, and does not help at all with running the household. In society, everyone knows how Ree’s mother’s behavior changed, and they call her crazy.

As stated before, mental illnesses are for the most part hereditary. This prompts people to think that “her momma’s crazy, so there’s a good shot of [Ree] bein’ crazy, too” (131).  Throughout the novel, it seems like Ree has a mental illness because some thoughts indicate symptoms that are present when having a mental illness. For example, when Ree learns she has thirty days in the house, “the creek shifted heights in her eyes and swayed overhead floppy as snapped string, the houses beyond warped skinny as ribs and knotted together in bows, the sky spun upright like a blue plate set on edge to dry” (126). She experiences a sense of unreality with her surroundings, which is a symptom of having a mental illness. Some other situations where her mood rapidly changes or she gets an increase in sensitivity indicates having a mental illness.

Ree, however, actively tries to make sure she does not end up like her mother and is also is not perceived to be similar to her mother. Nonetheless, when recovering from getting beaten up, she sits in her mother’s chair and is “snapped to a vision of herself idled by morning pills, beside the potbelly, humming along with unseen fiddlers, and instantly [begins] to shake in [her mother’s] rocker, shake and feel weak in her every part” (152). Even though Ree tries to deny being similar to her mother on many occasions, this scene depicts how she ends up in a similar situation she’s seen her mother in almost daily. This terrifies her because she causally ended up how she sees her mother daily. While she may not be heading towards the high level of the state her mother is in, Ree’s tendencies showing signs of a mental illness could possibly develop further if she does not recognize her situation and take actions to prevent from becoming her mother.

Silence and Change

            Throughout Daniel Woodrell’s novel Winter Bone, silence is an important theme that constantly pops up within the story.  In fact, it could be seen as one of the driving plot points/themes of the novel due to the fact that Ree is constantly up against the secrets and silence of her family in regards to her father’s whereabouts.  From Thump Milton’s wife Merab, who states “Talkin’ just causes witnesses” (61), to Uncle Teardrop stating he knows who killed Jessup, but not revealing the name (192), the plot is shrouded in silence and mystery.  In fact, it is because of Jessup breaking his silence on the illegal activity occurring within the family and community that he gets killed.  On top of that, no one is willing to talk to Ree about her father and his whereabouts because it is either dangerous and/or incriminating to do so.  Not snitching and staying quiet is the Dolly family code, and anyone who goes against that paints a giant target on their back.  Through this theme of silence, though, one of the main arguments/ideas of the novel is revealed, and that is that change comes from unexpected places.

            Ree is a very strong protagonist.  She is physically and mentally tough, takes care of/supports her family more than her own mother and father and has a drive unlike any other character in the novel.  She refuses to give up, even when it means putting her life in danger.  But while this may be the case, she is in one of the lowest positions of power within her family.  This is reflected in the way she is treated by everyone and how she is kept out of the loop on important matters, such as what happened to her father.  While this is true, though, her drive and relentless pursuit of the truth scare the rest of the family.  They realize how dedicated she is to finding out what happened to her father that they ultimately give in to helping her out.  Not only that, but her outspokenness and dedication seem to change Uncle Teardrop (and potentially the way the rest of the family operates) for the better.  He stands up against Thump Milton to protect her, even though it puts him in harm’s way (137).  This goes to show that speaking out and doing what you believe in, no matter how much power you feel like you have, can lead to major change.  This idea applies to so many different areas of life and society.  You never know where change can come from.  It also goes to show that sometimes being silent and secretive can be more damaging to those around you than being vocal and outspoken. 

Lack and Longing vs. The Way Things Are

            Throughout Winter’s Bone, the characters, particularly Ree, are bogged down by the intensity of lack dominating their lives. This lack is presented in the dialogue between characters, the actions of the characters individually, as well as through the harsh wintry setting. Ree and her siblings lack a father and caretakers, their mother lacks a husband, they all lack sufficient food, and throughout the novel, Ree’s journey and encounters with her relatives suggest that they also lack the protection of family that was once thought to be provided because of having the Dolly name.  One of the major ways in which this lack can be seen is in Ree’s mostly unspoken and hushed longing for some type of paradise or other world beyond the one that she knows. One of her means of escaping from reality for a bit is through listening to The Sounds of Tranquil Shores, The Sounds of Tranquil Streams, The Sounds of Tropical Dawn, and Alpine Dusk in which her “jittering soul” could finally experience “a moment’s rest” (10). These sounds offer her the chance to pretend she is in another place, a world that she wants to be in. In a conversation with one of her younger brothers, her depiction of heaven evokes similar imagery to what the sounds would evoke, describing heaven as “Sandy. Lots of fun birds. Always sunny but never way hot” (188).

Ree’s lack is felt the strongest throughout the novel as she not only longs for better things for herself throughout the novel but also often captures the reader’s attention by making remarks about the lack and longing of others. From worrying that her little brothers will become “wailing little cyclones of want and need” who will “[eat] all there was while crying for all there could be” (8) to her best friend’s little baby who she already sees as possessing “wants he’d been born bawling for but might never be able to name or get for himself” (32), it seems that Ree has a pretty negative outlook on the future and on the ability for life to properly satisfy any individual’s needs, let alone one’s wants.

Though the majority of the book is dominated by this overwhelmingly bleak and scarce feeling, the concluding lines suggest somewhat of a more positive and hopeful outlook for Ree and her family moving forward. In the end, though she decides she will not join the army like she had hoped, she does receive a lot of cash which can, at least temporary, alleviate some of her and her family’s struggles and unfulfilled needs. Additionally, the book ends with Ree telling her brothers that they will buy some “wheels” with the money (193), implying that they will get a car, which suggests a sort of optimism and means of escaping to something better, perhaps to  a life that isn’t so worn down by lack and longing.