Helen describers herself as 'a watcher' (p68): a characteristic she says has both positive and negative aspects. How does being visible or invisible change in significance as Helen trains Mabel?
Created: 03/20/16
Replies: 8
Join Date: 10/15/10
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Join Date: 09/11/11
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Initially, Helen has to be invisible. Mabel needs to feel comfortable with her environment and not be startled or aware of Helen. As the bird become more aware of Helen, she needs to have Mabel recognize and be dependent on her for food and sustenance. She goes from an invisible 'watcher' to a necessary part of Mabel's world, one that Mabel recognizes and seeks out.
Join Date: 10/10/14
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Join Date: 12/06/12
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Training Mabel requires Mabel to be independent(invisible) and the dependent(visible) on Helen. This also goes to Helen being invisible to the world dealing with losing her father and then coming to terms (visible to the world with accepting her loss of her father. Great comparison in this book.
Join Date: 02/11/16
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Join Date: 10/20/10
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When Helen becomes invisible to Mabel in order to gain her trust, she can also be invisible to herself in order to keep her overwhelming grief from consuming her. When she becomes visible to Mabel in order to train her, Helen has to go beyond her grief to trust Mabel. In the process, Helen goes a long way toward recovering from her grief.
Join Date: 10/20/10
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When Helen becomes invisible to Mabel in order to gain her trust, she can also be invisible to herself in order to keep her overwhelming grief from consuming her. When she becomes visible to Mabel in order to train her, Helen has to go beyond her grief to trust Mabel. In the process, Helen goes a long way toward recovering from her grief.
Join Date: 06/13/11
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I don't think she was invisible to Maria. She was really acclimating the bird to a new environment inside with a very still human. She was combatting the birds instinct to fly from danger. Gradually , Maria became accustomed to Helen being there and then depended on her for sustenance.
Join Date: 10/14/11
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What a great parallel in this part of the story. Helen in her grief - her need to withdraw from life - and the need to be invisible in order to gain the Hawk's trust. Helen turned to what could sustain her through this dark period in her life. As with the training of Mabel - gaining her trust, confidence, ability to move through the world, so does Helen with the progression of her hawk. Through the training of Mabel & White's stories of his life/failures/success Helen is able to recover.
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