Kitchens of the Great Midwest

“The approach was wonderfully sweet, but not sugary or overpowering; there was a whisper of citric tartness. As he chewed the Moonglow’s firm fresh, he closed his eyes to concentrate on the vanishing sweetness in his mouth.”

Lars accompanies Eva to a farmer’s market in pursuit of moonglow tomatoes. Here, he articulates the flavor of the moonglow tomatoes, emphasizing the equilibrium between sweetness and tartness. The diction, separating sensations into a spectrum of flavors, mirrors Lars’s discerning and sensitive palate, a refined skill that he imparts to Eva.

“You are the best father the world has ever seen. But I wasn’t cut out to be a mother. The work of being a mom feels like prison to me. I know this might sound horribly selfish to you, but out here in California, I found a sense of happiness that I haven’t felt since before I was pregnant. If you truly want me to be happy, you must try to understand this. I will never be happy, you must try to understand this. I will never be happy being a mother. Having a child was the biggest mistake of my life and I honestly believe that our daughter will be better off having no mother instead of a bad one.”

Cynthia Hargreaves pens a letter to her husband, Lars, delivering the news that she has opted not to return from California and has decided to initiate divorce proceedings, leaving behind her daughter, Eva. The tone of the letter is one of sorrow. Cynthia acknowledges her mistake in embracing motherhood, likening it to being incarcerated, and Stradal uses the word “work” to relate Cynthia’s feelings to the examples of demands of female emotional labor throughout the text. She expresses a belief that her departure is in the best interest of Eva, as she fears her own remorse would taint and disrupt her daughter’s childhood. This sentiment persists years later, as Cynthia, unwilling to disclose her identity, refuses to confront Eva, dreading the resurgence of the emotional wounds associated with abandonment.