The Tie That Binds
Encyclopedia
Kent Haruf
's [pronounced to rhyme with "sheriff"] novel The Tie That Binds (1984
), is the fictitious story of 80 year-old Edith Goodnough of Holt County, Colorado
, as told to an unnamed inquirer on a Sunday afternoon in the spring of 1977 by her 50 year-old neighbour, a farmer called Sanders Roscoe. Roscoe is not necessarily a reliable narrator
: He has loved, respected, and pitied Edith all his life. Whatever he narrates about the early days of the Goodnough family Roscoe learned from his father, who has been dead for almost 30 years. ("Most of what I´m going to tell you, I know. The rest of it, I believe.")
and settle down in northeastern Colorado under the Homestead Act
of 1862. The business of farming is a tough affair in those days, but Roy is a hard-working man who eventually succeeds in tilling the soil and breeding cattle
. Ada bears him two children: Edith, who is born in 1897, and Lyman, born two years later. As their neighbour, Hannah Roscoe, the narrator's grandmother, a half-breed
whose husband left her and their little son for good, quietly observes the Goodnoughs and also, on Ada's request, helps deliver Edith and Lyman.
Very soon Ada regrets leaving Iowa for the plains of Colorado. Her husband turns out to be a bully, an angry and violent man without any sense of humour
who makes her and their children work very hard on the farm. When she dies in 1914, aged only 42, Edith has to take over all of Ada's chores and duties ("Your mother's dead. You're the mother now."). Then, in 1915, a terrible accident during harvesttime seals Edith's fate: Her father's hands get entangled in a machine, and nine of his fingers are chopped off. This severe physical handicap leaves Roy Goodnough all the more cruel and demanding; he considers, and treats, Edith and Lyman as his "self-sired farmhands", bossing them around and taking all decisions himself.
As the two siblings grow up, they desperately start looking for means of escape. But they soon realize that they are stuck on their father's farm, that, as opposed to city kids, they are bound by a rural code of honour
and a sense of duty
and thus prevented from abandoning the farm and leaving their father alone. For the next 37 years, Edith performs the duties of farmer, housewife and nurse without ever seriously complaining, renouncing her personal freedom and refusing to get involved with men (except for a brief romance with the narrator's father who, as would be expected, is rejected by her father as a "half-breed bastard"). Lyman, tall, inexperienced in the ways of the world and deeply frustrated, finally sees his chance of escape when, in 1941, the United States is attacked by Japan
. In the middle of the night and with the help of the Roscoes, he secretly leaves the farm and goes to the city with the intention of joining the armed forces. But at 42 he is too old to enlist and instead embarks on a tour of the United States which lasts for more than 20 years. All those years, Edith never doubts that one day her brother will return. He does so, too, in the early 1960s, almost ten years after their father's peaceful death at 82.
After a number of good years which Edith and Lyman, now both in their sixties, can enjoy living together in their farm house and doing some travelling in his car, Lyman's health begins to deteriorate and his personality starts to change and eventually go to pieces. It is again Edith whose sense of duty tells her to look after her brother. Lyman wreaks havoc when, in 1967, he causes a car accident which leads to the narrator's wife having a miscarriage
. In the following years, Edith draws some pleasure from spending afternoons with Rena, the narrator's daughter, who is born in 1969. But soon it becomes too dangerous for Rena to go to the Goodnoughs on her own, as Lyman, who has regressed to infancy, is prone to unprompted outbursts of violence.
Eventually, on New Year's Eve
, 1976, Edith prepares for her only act of rebellion ever. She has Lyman put on his best clothes, cooks a three-course dinner for him, waits for him to fall asleep and then sets fire to their house. Things do not happen according to plan though because the fire is detected too soon and the two old people are evacuated. However, Lyman never recovers from the injuries inflicted by the fire and dies soon afterwards.
In the spring of 1977 Edith Goodnough is still lying in a hospital bed with a policeman stationed outside her room and facing charges
of attempted murder
. The Roscoes visit every day. Sanders Roscoe is particularly appalled by the journalists from Denver
who, having no idea how hard the farming life can be, have started sniffing around and digging up dirt.
Kent Haruf
Kent Haruf is an award-winning American novelist.-Life:Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister...
's [pronounced to rhyme with "sheriff"] novel The Tie That Binds (1984
1984 in literature
The year 1984 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The book Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is widely read....
), is the fictitious story of 80 year-old Edith Goodnough of Holt County, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, as told to an unnamed inquirer on a Sunday afternoon in the spring of 1977 by her 50 year-old neighbour, a farmer called Sanders Roscoe. Roscoe is not necessarily a reliable narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
: He has loved, respected, and pitied Edith all his life. Whatever he narrates about the early days of the Goodnough family Roscoe learned from his father, who has been dead for almost 30 years. ("Most of what I´m going to tell you, I know. The rest of it, I believe.")
Plot summary
In 1896, newlyweds Roy and Ada Goodnough leave IowaIowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and settle down in northeastern Colorado under the Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
of 1862. The business of farming is a tough affair in those days, but Roy is a hard-working man who eventually succeeds in tilling the soil and breeding cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. Ada bears him two children: Edith, who is born in 1897, and Lyman, born two years later. As their neighbour, Hannah Roscoe, the narrator's grandmother, a half-breed
Half-breed
Half-breed is an historic term used to describe anyone who is mixed Native American and white European parentage...
whose husband left her and their little son for good, quietly observes the Goodnoughs and also, on Ada's request, helps deliver Edith and Lyman.
Very soon Ada regrets leaving Iowa for the plains of Colorado. Her husband turns out to be a bully, an angry and violent man without any sense of humour
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
who makes her and their children work very hard on the farm. When she dies in 1914, aged only 42, Edith has to take over all of Ada's chores and duties ("Your mother's dead. You're the mother now."). Then, in 1915, a terrible accident during harvesttime seals Edith's fate: Her father's hands get entangled in a machine, and nine of his fingers are chopped off. This severe physical handicap leaves Roy Goodnough all the more cruel and demanding; he considers, and treats, Edith and Lyman as his "self-sired farmhands", bossing them around and taking all decisions himself.
As the two siblings grow up, they desperately start looking for means of escape. But they soon realize that they are stuck on their father's farm, that, as opposed to city kids, they are bound by a rural code of honour
Code of Honour
Code of Honour is a Malaysian-Singaporean television drama series and the 23rd co-production of MediaCorp TV and ntv7. It is scheduled to air from every Monday to Thursday, at 7:00pm on Singapore MediaCorp Channel 8, and it is scheduled to debut on 5 December. This drama is rated PG for battle...
and a sense of duty
Duty
Duty is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition...
and thus prevented from abandoning the farm and leaving their father alone. For the next 37 years, Edith performs the duties of farmer, housewife and nurse without ever seriously complaining, renouncing her personal freedom and refusing to get involved with men (except for a brief romance with the narrator's father who, as would be expected, is rejected by her father as a "half-breed bastard"). Lyman, tall, inexperienced in the ways of the world and deeply frustrated, finally sees his chance of escape when, in 1941, the United States is attacked by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In the middle of the night and with the help of the Roscoes, he secretly leaves the farm and goes to the city with the intention of joining the armed forces. But at 42 he is too old to enlist and instead embarks on a tour of the United States which lasts for more than 20 years. All those years, Edith never doubts that one day her brother will return. He does so, too, in the early 1960s, almost ten years after their father's peaceful death at 82.
After a number of good years which Edith and Lyman, now both in their sixties, can enjoy living together in their farm house and doing some travelling in his car, Lyman's health begins to deteriorate and his personality starts to change and eventually go to pieces. It is again Edith whose sense of duty tells her to look after her brother. Lyman wreaks havoc when, in 1967, he causes a car accident which leads to the narrator's wife having a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
. In the following years, Edith draws some pleasure from spending afternoons with Rena, the narrator's daughter, who is born in 1969. But soon it becomes too dangerous for Rena to go to the Goodnoughs on her own, as Lyman, who has regressed to infancy, is prone to unprompted outbursts of violence.
Eventually, on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, 1976, Edith prepares for her only act of rebellion ever. She has Lyman put on his best clothes, cooks a three-course dinner for him, waits for him to fall asleep and then sets fire to their house. Things do not happen according to plan though because the fire is detected too soon and the two old people are evacuated. However, Lyman never recovers from the injuries inflicted by the fire and dies soon afterwards.
In the spring of 1977 Edith Goodnough is still lying in a hospital bed with a policeman stationed outside her room and facing charges
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
of attempted murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. The Roscoes visit every day. Sanders Roscoe is particularly appalled by the journalists from Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
who, having no idea how hard the farming life can be, have started sniffing around and digging up dirt.