Gladys and Marris were best friends. Who needed the other the most? Who gave the greatest purpose to their relationship?

Gladys and Marris were best friends. Who needed the other the most? Who gave the greatest purpose to their relationship?

Gladys needed Marris more than Marris needed Gladys. No one else would put up with Gladys and her angry ways. But Marris pushed through those to care for the woman underneath. She kept Gladys together, despite Gladys' protests. Marris understood what broke her friend and kept her secret, not even letting Gladys know she carried that knowledge. She was the one who held the relationship together and guided Gladys through life, encouraging her to go to church, care for Sadie and have faith that her house would hold up and life would go on.

Gladys needed the most care and looking after because of the hard life she has endured. Marris is a giver by nature so it is a good fit for both of them. The main complaint Gladys has about her cousin is that she doesn't want her sympathy, she wants empathy. What Gladys seems to forget is that Marris' life was no bed of roses either.

They needed each other equally but in very different ways. Gladys needed Marris for her gentleness and kindness and patience, even though she made fun of these qualities. Marris needed Gladys to satisfy her need to help. Both women grew up similarly. One lived with an abusive man, the other with a kind man. One experienced happiness throughout her life because she sought that happiness. The other experienced sadness and bitterness throughout her life because she only saw the unhappiness. They were two sides of a coin. Gladys really had no one other than Marris because she had closed herself off to everyone else. Marris had many people she cared for but had a special relationship with Gladys. Marris ignored Gladys' bitterness and stayed loyal to her friend.

These two women were foils for each other in this novel. Gladys was the negative side of the coin and Marris was the positive. I thought it interesting that through Marris, the author shared information with her readers about Mother Jones - and this seems to be almost what Marris was to Gladys, a mother figure. She was the strong, positive, active, outgoing one. Gladys looked at her life and experiences in a totally negative, weak, passive manner. She could not reach out to help but only to criticize or find fault with those who did help. She was reclusive in comparison to Marris - Marris brought life to her and thus had the greatest purpose in the relationship.

Gladys seemed annoyed by Marris most of the time, but she would have been a very lonely old woman without her. Gladys's dour disposition was a cover-up for the pain she had endured during her life, and Marris was the only person who knew the depth of that pain. Marris needed not only Gladys but all the others within her circle because she was a woman who needed to give of herself to others. It was her nature to share her kindliness with others, Gladys and Sadie Blue most of all.

Gladys would never admit it, but she needed Marris so much more. Marris knew that if she didn't look in on Gladys and also get her out of the house no one else would ever think about her.

The balance of need and support in their relationship seesawed back and forth...isn't that how most true long term relationships work?

This was typical of small town and single women. They needed each other. Gladys was not very personable and Marris could let that go and just be her support. On the other hand I think Marris needed to feel needed and Gladys was sort of her project. Not bosom buddies but rather co-dependent I think.

Gladys definitely needed Marris. She was bitter, angry most of the time, and even put out Sadie. She had her reasons, her life had been horrible and she couldn't bring herself to move away from her own anger. Marris needed Gladys because she needed to be needed, but she truly cared about Gladys knowing why she was the way she was. Marris certainly had many people to help, life on this mountain was not easy.

I think they needed each other in different ways and for different reasons. On the face of it Gladys seemed to need Marris more and was definitely the taker. Marris was more of a nurturing person and I believe needed to care for someone to be fulfilled.

Marris handled her own sadness by uplifting others. Her life had not been easy, but she chose to see the best in her friend Gladys, understood Gladys, and made Gladys's life a little easier. Marris could read her friend's moods and knew when to just be there for her. Marris is a giver and she needs a person that needs her. That is what feeds Marris's soul. I am not sure what Gladys would do without Marris. I think she loved being fussed over. Gladys knew Marris would be there no matter how crabby she became, a good sign of a great friendship and need for each other.

Gladys couldn't have survived without Marris - and down deep, she knew that but was too proud and suborn to admit it. Marris is definitely a caretaker but not nearly as needy as Gladys.

I think they needed each other in their own way. Their need went back and forth

I believe they needed each other. Gladys needed the care-giving that Marris provided. She also needed to feel controlling over someone and Marris was willing to be that person. However Marris needed to be told the truth of situations on occasion. She was overly optimistic from time to time.