A Prayer for Owen Meany Blog #1

        

            John Irving's book, A Prayer for Owen Meany, is narrated in the first person by Johnny Wheelwright, a current resident of Canada, as he reflects on his childhood in Gravesend, New Hampshire, a childhood full of friendship, loss, and religious discovery. Johnny's best friend Owen Meany, an abnormally small boy with eerie porcelain skin and a voice so quiet that "to be heard at all, Owen had to shout through his nose" is the son of the poor owner of a granite quarry (3). Johnny, on the other hand, is the grandson of the matriarch of Gravesend and has family ties to John Adams and the founder of Gravesend. The families of the two boys could not be more different. What makes their friendship even more strange is the fact that Owen Meany accidentally killed Johnny's mother and yet, the boys are still best friends.

            While the fact that Johnny is best friends with the boy that killed his mother is puzzling to me, I have decided to focus more on the role and portrayal of women in A Prayer for Owen Meany. For example, Johnny's grandmother is the matriarch of Gravesend. Everybody looks to her to see reacts to events in the town and to see what she is doing on any given day. Johnny's mother is also a very important figure in the novel and someone that each character seems to be effected by, especially Owen. Owen is impressed by John's mother because she "HAS THE BEST BREASTS OF ALL THE MOTHERS"  but she has an effect on Owen that goes deeper than her beauty (39). This is evident when, after Tabby Wheelwright's death, Owen keeps her dummy that reminds him so much of her and "apparently it was good for him- for there she was, standing over him" at the head of his bed" (183). Mrs. Wheelwright had a positive effect on Owen's life and somehow managed to do so even after her murder. Even Owen's mother, though she is not a significant character, has significant role in Irving's portrayal of women. The fact that "not only did Mrs. Meany not go outdoors; she refused to look outdoors" and "Mrs. Meany never spoke to me, or took any notice of me at all" shows how strangely disconnected Mrs. Meany is from the world. While her refusal to leave the house gives the impression of a lack of power of Mrs. Meany's part, I wonder if it is the opposite. I wonder if there is a reason that she doesn't talk or leave the house that will be revealed as the story unfolds.

            Each of these women are significant in the lives of Owen and Johnny for their own reasons. Especially in the case of Johnny's mother and grandmother, the women are significant in areas that interestingly enough, men are absent. I believe that there is a reason Irving has chosen to have the women in his novel play such interesting yet significant roles in areas where men are insignificant, like Johnny's father. It is too soon to tell, however, what exactly this reason is. In his narration, Johnny touches on the religious aspect of Owen in that he seemed to have a knowledge of God's future that nobody else had. For example, Johnny states that "God would tell me who my father was, Owen Meany had assured me" (200). Johnny also states, "Owen must have known the dummy was important; he must have foreseen that even that unwanted dress would have a use-that it had a purpose." (142). It is too soon to tell what exactly that purpose is, or what the significance of the women is in this novel. Perhaps it could be biblically related. Could the presence of women in Owen's life be related to the presence of Mary in Jesus' life? We will find out in the chapters to come.