The Optimist's Daughter: Summary

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extremely hard to get along with since she is always demanding
and never giving. Laurel McKelva is the complete opposite of Wanda Fay.
She is kind hearted, nice, caring, and intelligent. Laurel has a air of
maturity and understanding around her due to her experiences in life.

3.3

In "The Optimist's Daughter" Judge McKelva will soon enter eye surgery to
fix a slipped retina. Judge McKelva, his daughter, Laurel, and his new
wife, Fay, are all anxious about the surgery and what might happen.
Laurels mother died from cancer that started with her eyes and the family
fears that the judge might be suffering from the same illness. The surgery
symbolizes a fear that is contained by the three main characters and is a
form of foreshadowing. As mentioned by Laurel several times, she fears that
her father might not make it out of the operation and die, like her mother,
blind and confused. I predict that Judge McKelva will not make it through
the surgery or he will die shortly afterwards. ...

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Laurel confronts Fay about her lack of care and concern
for her husband. Fay goes into a temper tantrum and screams about how her
husband has ruined her life because he is no giving her whatever she wants.
Laurel gives up on trying to understand Fay and continues to look after her
father. The conflict between Fay and Laurel is never resolved and will
never be. Fay and Laurel are two opposites and they do not attract.

3.6.2

Judge McKelva's wife, Fay, is in a conflict with her past. She tries to
destroy everything of the past so that it will not come back and haunt her.
Through out the book Fay displays ways in which she hates the past. Some
examples are, When she tells Laurel that ...

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