In the novel Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, there is a strange disconnect in the
meaning of family. The Dolly family can be better defined as a clan. With an
absent father, an incompetent and mentally ill mother, and two young brothers
to look after, sixteen-year-old Ree is forced to grow up too fast and take on
the familial duties as the primary caretaker in her household. Although she
must take on these responsibilities alone, she is surrounded by relatives. “There
were two hundred Dollys, plus Lockrums, Boshells, Tankerslys, and Langans, who
were basically Dollys by marriage, living within thirty miles of this valley” (Woodrell
8). This network of kin is not the safest or most reliable support system,
however. A culture of violence and drug abuse permeates the Ozarks, creating a gang-like
drug ring with the Dollys right in the center of it. So not only must Ree take
on the responsibilities of the head of the household, but she must also navigate
the dangerous dynamics of a tight-knit, drug-addicted community.
Ree’s mature role in her family challenges
the stereotype of the male-dominated clan, where men hold all the power and
completely disregard what the women want or think. With no choice but to grow
up too fast in such an environment, Ree is rough around the edges with “a body
made for loping after needs” and she is fiercely loyal to her family members
(3). She encourages her brothers to adopt this sense of loyalty when she sends
them off to school saying, “‘Don’t fight if you can help it. But if one of you
gets whipped by somebody both of you
best come home bloody, understand?’” (48). Despite taking on this leadership role,
Ree is still mistreated by her male relatives simply because she is a girl. Like
any normal family, there does exist the “roughhousing, name-calling, and all
the rest” that is typical of young Dolly siblings, cousins, and other
relatives, but it is amped up to a whole new degree with the assault and abuse
that Ree endures from her older male relatives. Blond Milton hits her and
flings her into the snow with the warning “‘There’s people goin’ ‘round sayin’
you best shut up,” and Teardrop, who
is literally described as a snake, pulls her hair, jerks her around, and
nuzzles his melted, scarred face against hers in a gross expression of
dominance (26, 72). Little Arthur even rapes her after convincing her to eat a
handful of shrooms. Undoubtedly, the Dolly clan demonstrates a stark contrast
to the typical midwestern American family.
Nevertheless, the ideas of family
blood and shared heritage carry great weight for the Dollys. When pleading with
Thump Milton’s wife to let her speak with him, Ree exclaims, “‘I am a Dolly! Some of our blood at least
is the same. That’s s’posed to mean
somethin’ – ain’t that what is always said?’” (59). And, when Thump does not
honor her request, it is seen as a great disrespect to the family bloodline. “‘So,
come the nut-cuttin’, blood don’t truly mean shit to him…Blood don’t truly
count for diddly to the big man?’”
(63). Kin is supposed to be there for each other and help each other, but in Winter’s Bone, the Dollys act more like
a clan than a family. This negatively impacts Ree’s efforts to find her father
and bring him home.
I agree with your point that family blood is a key factor and carries great weight for Ree. I believe that a largest reason for this idea of loyalty and the importance of family blood comes from this community’s isolation. In Winter’s Bone, the characters are very cut off from the rest of the world, and readers see a lack of socialization with those outside of the clans. Woodrell generates this sense of isolation to create a need for loyalty and dependence on the clan. When Harold wants to ask Blond Milton to bring them meat to eat, Ree says, “Never. Never ask for what ought to be offered” (5). Even though Ree shows pride for not wanting to ask for help, she also shows how she depends on those in her community by suggesting that others should offer help to Ree and her family. If this novel was written in a city or public setting, Ree would be able to find help from others outside of her community through outsiders or a public welfare system; however, since the novel is set in such an isolated place separated from others, Ree has to rely on those near her. Therefore, the importance of family blood and loyalty to one’s clan is very important to Ree.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough almost all the Dolly family exemplifies clan culture, the surprising character of Uncle Teardrop is a counter point to the Dolly family norm. From the beginning of the novel, Uncle Teardrop is the only one of the Dolly men to still be in contact with Ree’s family. Even though he does warn Ree to not investigate her father’s whereabouts and he eerily “nuzzled his melt against her cheek”, Uncle Teardrop is the only one of the Dolly clan that is offering Ree any advice at all (Woodrell 26). Most of Ree’s interactions with the rest of the clan comes with threats and being “kicked into silence” (130). When Ree is beat by Thump Milton’s wife and taken to Thump Milton, Uncle Teardrop is the one to be “willin’ to stand for her” (137). By claiming responsibility for Ree’s actions and by being there to take her home, Uncle Teardrop betrays Dolly clan loyalty directly. Ree’s family is shunned by the rest of the clan because of her father snitching, which inherently makes Uncle Teardrop a traitor to the clan by interacting with the snitch’s family. This betrayal of the clan is fueled by Uncle Teardrop’s love of his late younger brother, who he still believes “wasn’t always a snitch” (149). His forgiveness and acceptance of his younger brother is what makes Uncle Teardrop such a complex character. He may be “like a serpent” and has “a savage melted scar down his neck”, but Uncle Teardrop is the only Dolly man that knows familial love (23,26). Perhaps through the love and loyalty of Uncle Teardrop, Woodrell is suggesting that not all the Dolly family, and not all poor meth-makers, are evil crank cooks.
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