The Lines Between Us by Rebecca D'Harlingue

Author:Rebecca D'Harlingue
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2020-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

32

RACHEL

The ease with which the writer of the diary invented lies as she needed them reminded me that all of this could, in fact, be a deception. Still, if it were, it was a very elaborate one—one that took place within my mother’s home. Lately I had begun to wonder whether my mother had herself been tricked somehow. But what would the purpose be? If the diary were not authentic, someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to obtain materials that seemed to be of the period, to write in language appropriate for the place and time, and even to affect a handwriting that seemed similar to manuscripts from the period. And then there was the narrative itself. It seemed to ring true, and I was becoming ever more involved in the story that I had found wrapped in a quilt in my mother’s house.

As a literary scholar, I was trained to read with dispassionate observation, and this trend had become ever stronger in literary scholarship. Any hint of appreciation for the emotional connection of a story had come to be viewed as unsophisticated at best, unprofessional at worst. But I had never been able to repress this emotional pull, nor would I wish to, and I would have hated to see the field filled with those who saw a piece of literature merely as an interesting artifact, with no care for what the author felt or wished to say.

As I entered the Romance Languages Department office, I was thinking about the pages I’d read the night before. I was submerged in Juliana’s plight, and I sadly wondered what the fate of Silvia would be. The details of Juliana’s various deceptions somehow seemed fantastical, yet their level of detail added verisimilitude. I didn’t think that if I’d read those details in a book, it would have strained credulity.

I was lost in these thoughts when I looked up and saw Lorraine. There she stood, sorting through her mail, and the mere sight of her comforted me. Only the day before, I’d mailed her a letter. It wouldn’t reach Buenos Aires for a few more days. She had been on sabbatical, researching the writings of a local poet. As a single woman, she didn’t have the somewhat self-imposed restrictions that those of us with families had. She was able to travel as freely as the men of the department, and, rather than resent her flexibility, we other women were happy that one of our number had that opportunity.

A frantic call from the department chairman, who had hurt his back playing racquetball and needed her to teach his classes, had brought me this unexpected gift of coming upon my friend. Lorraine and I had known each other ever since graduate school, and although we rarely spent time together outside school, she was my best friend. All we had in common was that we were the only two in any of the language departments who had trained at the university where we were now professors.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.