1. The secret is that Charlotte is Lottar, this secret is kept from the reader until the end of the novel when the reader has enough information to figure out the story. " Iheard this story in the old St. Joseph's Hospital in Victoria from Charlotte, who was a sort of friend... (page 85)".
2. This secret is like the secret in The Road because both secrets are known by one character, the father in the road and Charlotte in Albanian Virgin, but the reader is left to make their own judgments. In both cases the son and Sylvia know more than the reader but not by much, and they do not tell the reader everything they know. The last line of Virgin states that she (charlotte) called him (the Franciscan) and he was waiting on the dock. In The Road the last few lines hint of a lingering possible future. In both cases the reader is not given explicit directions on what to think.
3. It vitally important to understand that Lottar and Charlotte are the same person. This is vital because otherwise the story doesn't make a lot of sense. The two narratives are intertwined so that if they don't have something connecting them other than the fact that Charlotte is telling him the story line falls apart. More than that Charlotte and the Franciscan were a love story, and throughout their history they came together and fell apart, it would fit the story if they were to come together again after being apart.
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4 comments:
I agree with Brittney on this that the secret to knowing that Charlotte and Lottar are the same person is extremely important. If the reader was not able to uncover this secret then the story would make absolutely no sense. This secret reminded me more of the short story Carried Away when the reader is wondering if it was Jack Agnew talking to Louisa. However, the reader realizes that the person was actually Jim who was just going along with Louisa as if he was Jack Agnew. If the reader was unable to identify that Jim was acting like Jack then this story would also make no sense.
I also agree with what is said here. Also, Charlotte and her husband's story is left out in the open just like the story of the son from The Road. An important part of Claire's life vanished into thin air and it seems by the way the story ends that they never come in contact again. Once you realize what the concept of the story was and you had all your information gathered it was actually very interesting. I agree, unlike other stories we've read, that this story is only understood if you can figure out the secrets. Without understanding what actually happened, I think you'd see no point to the story and it would just be a strange compilation of three separate stories that have nothing to do with each other.
I agree that knowing Charlotte and Lottar are the same person is very important. It takes the story to another level--instead of Charlotte just telling some story about this British woman who ended up living in an Albanian village, it's actually a story about her own life and how she met her husband. It makes it much more meaningful. Without realizing that Charlotte is Lottar, the reader would just think it was some random story. But knowing who Lottar is connects the two different story lines within the short story and adds a lot of interesting detail. It's one thing to hear a story about someone, but it's another when someone is telling you a story about themselves.
I defineitly agree with Charlotte and Lottar being the same person. Even though the narrorator never tells us they are the same person, there is enough information throughout the story that leads you to believe that they are. I also agree in how critical this secret is to this story.
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