I think that throughout the beginning of the book, the reason as to why Jake kept coming back to Brett was not only because of a potential trauma bond, but because he felt as though she was the only chance of a relationship he could ever have. Meeting anyone else and forming that emotional bond while getting them to accept that he has the injury would be very difficult, but for Brett he is already half way there. They have that deep connection, and all he has to do is to find a compromise to the other problem. At the end of the book though he seems to get over this and settles into this sort of content role of just being a dependable person Brett can count on.
I do think that at some point they loved each other, but based on what we've learned about Brett, I think their relationship really never had a chance, whether Jake was wounded or not. Brett has a clear pattern, and I don't think she would ever be happy with one man. I think Jake and Brett are platonic soulmates, in the way that they enjoy each other's company. Jake's wound has allowed them to become close because there's no chance of Jake fitting into Brett's pattern. But, I do think Brett "loves" Jake because she knows she can't have him, and that upsets her because she is used to getting what she wants.
I agree that it could be a trauma bond. The comment about her love dying during the war in reference to Jake shows how they had something and then it died. I really like the way you explained it. I think they were in love before but aren't anymore but the reason he does things for Brett is because he's kind of paying her back after she was his nurse and took care of him. The last lines really do show how they are accepting of what they are and moving on from it. I think your explanation is really good!
I hadn't given much thought to the idea that Jake was Brett's true love that died in the war. After all, he's still alive. But I guess it could be true, because Jake lost both a physical part of himself and likely some mental trauma changed him a lot.
We can debate various meanings of the word "love" all day, but both Jake and Brett repeatedly use this word to describe their feelings for each other, and their use of the word seems clearly to entail love as a form of torment and torture and not just fuzzy warm feelings. It's as if they'd really rather NOT be in love, but they are, and there's nothing either of them can do about it. And at the close of the novel, they both seem committed to this dysfunctional dynamic. But with both of them, it's unclear what exactly "being in love" actually MEANS (Brett tells Jake she is "in love" with Romero, too), and what their obligations and responsibilities actually are to each other.
For Jake, at least, it seems to entail being willing to drop everything and bail Brett out whenever she needs him. And while he's a little bitter about the whole arrangement, he signs the telegraph with "love." He's sticking with it, and he seems to feel a real responsibility to be there for Brett when she needs him.
I think that throughout the beginning of the book, the reason as to why Jake kept coming back to Brett was not only because of a potential trauma bond, but because he felt as though she was the only chance of a relationship he could ever have. Meeting anyone else and forming that emotional bond while getting them to accept that he has the injury would be very difficult, but for Brett he is already half way there. They have that deep connection, and all he has to do is to find a compromise to the other problem. At the end of the book though he seems to get over this and settles into this sort of content role of just being a dependable person Brett can count on.
ReplyDeleteI do think that at some point they loved each other, but based on what we've learned about Brett, I think their relationship really never had a chance, whether Jake was wounded or not. Brett has a clear pattern, and I don't think she would ever be happy with one man. I think Jake and Brett are platonic soulmates, in the way that they enjoy each other's company. Jake's wound has allowed them to become close because there's no chance of Jake fitting into Brett's pattern. But, I do think Brett "loves" Jake because she knows she can't have him, and that upsets her because she is used to getting what she wants.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it could be a trauma bond. The comment about her love dying during the war in reference to Jake shows how they had something and then it died. I really like the way you explained it. I think they were in love before but aren't anymore but the reason he does things for Brett is because he's kind of paying her back after she was his nurse and took care of him. The last lines really do show how they are accepting of what they are and moving on from it. I think your explanation is really good!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't given much thought to the idea that Jake was Brett's true love that died in the war. After all, he's still alive. But I guess it could be true, because Jake lost both a physical part of himself and likely some mental trauma changed him a lot.
ReplyDeleteWe can debate various meanings of the word "love" all day, but both Jake and Brett repeatedly use this word to describe their feelings for each other, and their use of the word seems clearly to entail love as a form of torment and torture and not just fuzzy warm feelings. It's as if they'd really rather NOT be in love, but they are, and there's nothing either of them can do about it. And at the close of the novel, they both seem committed to this dysfunctional dynamic. But with both of them, it's unclear what exactly "being in love" actually MEANS (Brett tells Jake she is "in love" with Romero, too), and what their obligations and responsibilities actually are to each other.
ReplyDeleteFor Jake, at least, it seems to entail being willing to drop everything and bail Brett out whenever she needs him. And while he's a little bitter about the whole arrangement, he signs the telegraph with "love." He's sticking with it, and he seems to feel a real responsibility to be there for Brett when she needs him.