Mrs. Callahan's choice

[Lamarquise]

At the end of this story, Nita's mother refuses to do or let Nita do everything possible to halt the cancer that's killing her and thereby ensures her own death. She reasons that the Lone Power is simply trying to trick her into compromising herself. I'm not so sure her logic holds. Most of us believe that this mortal life is meant to be temporary, that it isn't good to overstay our welcome. But how does Mrs. Callahan know she's in any danger of doing that? Especially when there's a good chance that the Lone Power set her up and is deliberately killing her to try to get to Nita? What's wrong in being attached to life? How does she know it would be wrong to live at least a more normal lifetime, see her girls grow up? If she's making a decision, should she really be making it from fear of how she might change? She doesn't know that any of her fears would come to pass.

Anyone want to discuss this?

[Quill]

An interesting question (or series of them). The first thing off the top of my head is that Mrs. Callahan knows herself, and at that point in time--literally inside herself--she probably can see herself more clearly than ever before. If she thinks there's a danger, then she's probably right. Is it enough to justify her choice? There's no way to tell, really, without her making the other choice.

A dancer, a cook, someone who loves her children and dances around the house and who knows what it's like to get beat up, but can still laugh about it. She's someone who does love life. Perhaps she knows she'd cling too hard to it.

[talkingbeast]

I think there's a bit of a parallel to _The Magician's Nephew_ here-- Digory and his mother's illness.

[eveningstar]

Well, if I remember correctly, it says that Mrs. Callahan thought that, in the end, she would grasp to life and not let it go. She would make everyone miserable, but she would still die. I think it's logical but rather stupid nonetheless.

[FireWitch]

I think I understand where she's comming from...
By taking the thing that she wants most, she would sucumb to dark forces. Something that we want that badly....it's just feeding into our dark sides...She knows that she must give up and she'll get what she wants (immortality...she'll get it through timeheart)...and it will make what time she has left on earth even more precious...

[eveningstar]

FireWitch is right. If she keeps her life, she will want to do that again and again. In the end, she will die all unhappy. Yay! I finally figured out how to get an avatar and signature!

[Lamarquise]

[eveningstar]

Lamarquise: Did you read FireWitch's post? If she clings to life, she will always want to. Finally when she dies, she and everyone around her will be miserable. Mrs. Callahan doesn't think it's worth it.

[dmsherwood53]

I'm not a writer not even a boo hiss critic but I gotta say that there is something wrong with the way this passage is written. sorry if its blasphemy to some of you to suggest that Dianne can fail to carry something off but ...
I kinda see where the book is suposed to go. Acceptance of death when its time for you to go & all that. Not really my scene I'm more into 'Rage Rage against the dying of the Light' Dylan Thomas. But that's just me I guess.
It just comes out of left field. Any of you read Phillip Pullman's THE AMBER SPYGLASS there's a simular botched bit at the end where a magic rule is pulled outa thin air that people can't stay more than coupla months out of the Universe they were born in leading to a tragic parting forever of the main characters. Its just not carried off. That's all I gotta say.
Mrs Callahan is a very strong character I dunno I'd of liked her as a Mother-she'd not of let me get away with a thing!!- & its a powerful book more a book of character than the rest of the wizard books

[semiramis]

Okies, let me get this straight first... Sorry if I'm misinterpreting you, but this is what I got out of it: you're disappointed because there seemed to be a sudden change of theme, right? mmm, okay, I do admit it is a bit unexpected given just the individual book, but if you look back, a lot of the other books had the "acceptance of death/Lone One/change/moving on" thing going on, esp. if you look at the side works (BONWM, for an example). Biggest example of this (well, prior to this book, anyway) is the end of HW, in which Dairine had to convince the mobiles that you can't freeze the universe to stop death, and what... it's almost the same thing, what with all the philosophy about immortality... am I making any sense to any one but me here?? T.T

[Gryphon]

Okay, here's my opinion.

I completely agree with Lamarquise in a lot of things. I kinda doubt that Nita's mom's choice was the realistic one. Sure, sure, 'if she clings to life, she'll die unhappy.' I suppose part of that's true, but I might have something to say against that. It's natural that people try for survival. I couldn't see why she'd want to die now. Mrs. Callahan was perfectly happy, according to the book, how she lived now. And yeah, wouldn't she at least want to see her daughters grow up? You'd die and loose them (and they loose you) so that you wouldn't die unhappy. ... If you're worried about living longer and would sacrifice whatever to live just a bit longer, sure, you could look at that as selfish. But isn't 'dying happy because you aren't clinging to life' kinda selfish too? Look at who you're leaving behind! Oh, and about Timeheart, it's not exactly the real thing that's preserved. It's the loved person as they were seen by whoever loved them. It's more of a shadow of the real person. What's lost is lost.

FireWitch is right. If she keeps her life, she will want to do that again and again. In the end, she will die all unhappy.
-eveningstar

Well, I don't agree with the point. Read what I put above and this. Clinging to life? Okay, you survived once. Oh, and you were rescued again. And maybe one more time, even. What effect does that have on Nita's mom and the poeple around her? Nita will probably start to feel that her mom is a figure that will always be around. ALWAYS. And her mom might get used to the fact that she'll always survive, always make it. But what if you got weary of the fact? With all this happening, you will eventually realize, "What if next time I don't make it?" Brooding about the inevitable, eh? Sure, sure. So there's where the 'clinging to life' comes in. But then you'll come to meet old age and it might get to the point when the thrills of life start to wear off. Maybe Nita or Dairine or even both got killed off in some errantry. Likeyly. Then the 'happiness' of death, if you could call it that, would come back a bit.

Dairine had to convince the mobiles that you can't freeze the universe to stop death, and what... it's almost the same thing, what with all the philosophy about immortality
-Semiaris

That's something to think on, also. So what does everyone else have to say here?

[talkingbeast]

I was thinking about Mrs. C's choice this morning. I recently re-read Deep Wizardry, and I think that might be a good lens for looking at this. The way she dies, she's not buying into the fear of death; she's dying willingly. Her death is caused by the Lone Power, yes, but she's not letting it be a victory for him. The Silent Lord also died before her time, but it wasn't a victory for the Lone Power.

[Fox]

I think your right talkingbeast! If you acept death it makes the differance!! I think thats what DD was trying to get across! If you acept death it makes it that much less scary for others, I think you have to in a way acept it as a gift! If you do it does not make it a bad thing but a way for that person to progress! I mean I'm not scared of death at all, my mum and dad hate me talking about it and will tell me to shut up but talking about death etc etc does not scare me, if anything I'm more Curious about what happens! Is there an after life etc etc, I try and make other people see it my way but people just think I'm weird because I don't find it scary! Hopefully though peoples opions are changing towards deaths and more and more people are acepting it for what it is... a progression!
Fox

[Sohma Kodora]

I think that Mrs. Callahan knows that by being selfish, clinging to life, she would be making her daughters life a lot sadder. In deep wizardry, when Nita is going through the options, she is told that she'll loose her wizardry and that her life would be that much sadder. That there would be a peice of her heart gone. Yes, Mrs. Callahan probably does want to live her life, see her daughters grow up. I think she made the choice specificly so her daughter, while she would have a lot to deal with her mother dying, would have a happier life.

In the end, Nita would have had to deal with the death anyway. Just later.

[Lamarquise]