Introduction
Riikka Pulkkinen’s novel True deeply explores the role of relationships in shaping people’s present and past. The author takes the readers on the journey of a young girl named Anna, whose grandfather was involved in an affair with her nanny several years back. The repercussions of this affair surfaced when her grandmother told Anna about it while dying of cancer. As Anna gets to know more about her grandfather’s past, she begins to understand that the kind of secure communication that she had with him is almost impossible to have now that she is a woman with preoccupations and concerns of her own. The author expertly tells the tale of a broken family, and how memory can be deceiving, an occurrence that can sometimes be a merciful thing.
Part 1
“Anna remembered the little girl’s neck. She could almost see it, and the memory was so strong: Linda stretching out to take hold of her hand before they crossed the street. It was the first time she’d met Linda, who had just turned two at the time. Linda stretched out her hand, and Anna could see her neck, a gleaming white strip between the ends of her hair and her shirt collar. That kind of trust. Only someone who’s never yet lost anything can trust so unhesitatingly. Only someone who’s never been betrayed. (pg. 43)”
The narrator successfully employs the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique in the above quote. The method allows the readers to get inside the mind of the character and travel back and forth in time. The audience can follow the fluid mental state of the character and track the running monologue that is going on in their mind. The quote is significant because the novel is basically about betrayal, loss, and sadness. However, this one instance shows the reader that Anna, the main character, longs for the time when she could trust someone unreservedly. The theme of trust is present throughout the novel as the protagonist tries to make peace with her past and understand her grandparents’ past lives as well. One exciting aspect of the quote is that it shows just how much the protagonist yearns to trust people again. Her grandfather’s past infidelity with Eeva and the fact that it was kept secret for so long, combined with Anna’s unstable emotions, roll out the carpet for themes such as love, trust, and how the past influences the future. The quote paints the image of innocence; a state that Anna no longer experiences because she feels betrayed. Based on the quote, we learn that Anna longs for her childhood, a time before life robbed her of her innocence. The quote also shows us that she is desperately searching for a truth that will dig her out of her depressive sorrow. Through the quote, we see that she is reflecting on her childhood perception of life and how it has drastically changed now that she is a grown woman. The quote gives us a better understanding of the novel in that it provides us with an aspect of how relationships in the past have affected those in the present. For example, the story often refers back to Anna’s relationship with her grandfather and how they enjoyed the habit of travelling to different destinations on city buses. She enjoyed a kind of secure communication and unhinged trust with her grandfather during her childhood that she now finds it hard to replicate with others.
Part 2
Question 1
Eeva was Anna’s mother’s live-in nanny and her grandfather’s secret lover. Her role in the novel is notable because she had a life-changing effect on each member of the family. As her story emerges, the readers get to learn about each family member’s past lives and how the presence of Eeva effectively shaped them. After realizing that she is Anna’s artistic construction, my reading of Eeva changed in that I realized that she is Anna’s reflection of herself. Like Anna, Eeva experienced a great love with a man she was deeply enamoured by while she worked as a nanny. Because Anna’s mother was away for weeks on several occasions, Eeva spent most of her time taking care of the household and raising Anna’s sister, Eleonoora, as if she was her daughter.
Similarly, Anna fell in love with a man who had a daughter from a different relationship. She took the mantle of raising her as her child while being in a relationship with the man; a connection which in the end turned bitter. I realized just how vital Eeva was to the narrative after Elsa, Anna’s terminally ill grandmother explains that the dress that Anna found in the closet belonged to her. This was a significant turning point in the novel as it sets the tone for the rest of the narrative. My reading of the other characters in the book also changed after realizing that she is Anna’s artistic construction. Once Elsa revealed Eeva’s story, it was surprising to learn that all this time, Eleonoora had no recollection of Eeva even though she practically raised her. This again brings up the fact that sometimes, memories fail us to protect our fragile feelings. I think that Anna gives voice to Eeva, who is otherwise silenced in the narrative. Her discovery of the dress and the revelation of the secret affair that Eeva had with Anna’s grandfather also give a platform to other themes such as familial responsibility and unconditional love. By giving Eeva a voice, Anna discovers that she, too, had lived through a similar love life.
Question 2
Riikka Pulkkinen’s novel True is a love story with a distinct edge. The author tells the story of three generations of women who have each dealt with the complexities of being loved and loving others. The aspect of forbidden love stands out in the narrative with Martti, Anna’s grandfather, and Eeva, giving the readers an idealized picture of despair and ecstasy. Pulkkinen’s narrative differentiates itself from other novels, which focus on love as the central theme by painting the picture of how the idea of love can cause both pleasure and pain to the people involved. However, my most profound concern lies in the fact that even though Elsa is a well-known and respected psychologist, she still found it wise to share such personal information with her granddaughter, Anna, even though she must have known that it would profoundly affect her and other members of the family as well. Knowing how vulnerable her granddaughter was, Elsa should not have revealed all that information. I cannot get past the thought that in real life, sharing such information would have devastated an entire family. However, the author does a remarkable job of showing readers how giving one’s affection unreservedly to others can prove to be unfortunate.