Discuss the impact that Franny and Niall's stillborn daughter had on them as individuals and as a couple.

Discuss the impact that Franny and Niall's stillborn daughter had on them as individuals and as a couple.

The stillborn daughter represented a loss and particularly for Franny a loss of something that she never really thought she wanted. As it turned out, wanting a child did unite Franny and Niall, grounded them. It also foreshadows loss to come.

I believe the loss of her daughter destroyed everything she had gained by being with Niall. To her it was proof that nothing would thrive around her. Niall was less damaged than Franny and had a better ability to recover and move forward. Because of this, the marriage was doomed.

I agree, I think this was 'confirmation' for Franny that she was never going to have a sustainable, healthy family unit, and that knowledge destroyed her marriage but also herself.

For me, this is where Franny's low self-esteem, her self-loathing, and her "differentness" are really evident. Franny took responsibility for what happened- -the loss reinforcing that people she loved left her, that somehow, she was not worthy of their staying. She stayed gone longer than she ever had before. Niall, a scientist, knew that it was not her fault, that "sometimes babies die before they are born".

I think Franny and Niall were the most honest with each other they had ever been with one another after Franny returned from Yellowstone. She admitted things to him that she had never said out loud before. I think for the very first time in their relationship she considered his feelings- -realizing that she left him alone to grieve. Looking outside of herself, she wanted to trust the relationship and the life she had with Niall. She no longer wanted a life ruled by fear.

There were several tragedies the night of the car crash. Franny lost the person who loved her unconditionally and accepted her just as she was. She lost him believing, however, that he no longer wanted her with him- -it wasn't the going or the staying- -it was Franny.

After experiencing abandonment throughout her life, Franny is convinced that she is unworthy of sustained love and commitment. Loss of her baby reinforces this--if she loves something, she will lose it. Her wanderings are an escape from rejection, especially her rejection of herself.

I thought that on the car ride home from the party, Franny was about to ask Niall about trying for a second child, which she knew would tie her more firmly to being a wife and mother, to a time and a place to be with the people she loved, sacrificing her need to wander on the alter of her love for Niall. But before she can suggest it, Niall presents her with his own proposal, involving its own sacrifices. I thought that Franny was thrilled that the person who loved and understood her the best was offering her the one thing she needed the most, even though it came at quite a price.

Franny had many losses in her life, and she seemed to blame herself for them, but particularly for the stillbirth loss of her own child. She felt 100% responsible for the child’s death. Her husband Niall seemed to mourn the death as a normal parent-to-be would, but the death created a deep schism in their heretofore very loving and tactile relationship. It isn’t until just after they both almost die in the freezing cold waters off the coast of Scotland that Niall convinces Franny that the stillbirth was not her fault, and they are able to regain the relationship they once had.