In this piece, Lisa Ohlen Harris does a nice job depicting the relationship between Lisa and Jeanne through her description of comfort food. In the beginning, it seems like Lisa's purpose in cooking for Jeanne is to impress her. She even says she tried to "woo Jeanne's appetite with her favorite southern foods." The use of the word "woo" suggests that Lisa is simply trying to win Jeanne's favor and approval.
In the end, however, it seems like Lisa develops a different purpose in cooking for Jeanne. Rather than simply trying to "woo" her, she is now cooking Jeanne's favorite foods out of sincere love. It is implied that Jeanne is sick, and it is through comfort food that Lisa makes Jeanne feel at ease.
I love the ending: "What I do know is this: break the sausage apart as it fries in the pan; sprinkle in flour to absorb the grease; add heavy cream and stir until the sauce is thick and no lumps remain. Spoon the mixture over biscuits or toast and grind fresh pepper on top. When I bring it to her, the plate will be warm through. She will take and eat."
I like how the ending passage contains so much detail. Lisa contains the details about preparing food that she learned from Jeanne, but now the "comfort" in comfort food has taken on a new significance.
As a whole, the piece is effective because although it is short, the story still succeeds in having movement. In the beginning, Lisa seems selfish in that she uses cooking to get a ring on her finger. At the end, however, her priority is taking care of Jeanne, and she uses the same tool that she used in the beginning but in a new and loving way.
-Jackie
Glad to see I wasn't the only one who enjoyed this short but moving homage from Lisa to her mother in law. What could have been a tumultous and trying relationship, turned into something that many of us can only dream of. A level of understanding and caring and all over a plate of food and how that plate or plates was prepared over the years. I couldn't think of a better thing to read after 3 long days in a very intense training class. It was very fulfilling and relaxing to read. The other writings were good but this one was simply great!
ReplyDeleteCindy Davis