Style and Technique
Style is everything in “Silver Water.” The plot is minimal, and the theme of the pain and difficulty a family experiences when a family member suffers mental illness is obvious. However, neither plot nor theme constitutes the appeal of the story. Rather it is the clever, brittle, witty tone of Violet, the narrator, that gives the story its energy and charm. For example, when Rose begins singing in the choir of an African American church, Violet describes her as “bigger, blonder, and pinker than any two white women could be.” She describes Dr. Thorne’s funeral as like a Lourdes for the mentally ill. People were shaking so badly from years of taking medication, she says, that they fell out of the pews. Both the crazy people and the not-so-crazy huddled together in the church like “puppies at the pound.” Although the actuality of what Violet describes here is certainly not funny, the way she describes it is calculated to make the reader laugh.
However, it is not only the comic point of view that makes the story work, but also the tenderness and love that Violet simultaneously expresses toward her sister, both at the beginning when she describes that moment when Rose sings in the parking lot, her voice crystalline and bright, and at the end, when she cradles Rose in her arms and sits with her until she dies of an overdose.
The perspective that Bloom brings to mental illness in this story would perhaps sound brittle and uncaring except for the fact that Violet and, indeed, her whole family have earned the right to take a comic approach to Rose’s mental illness. Furthermore, because Bloom is a psychotherapist, she also convinces the reader that she has earned the right to take a less than serious approach. The tone of the story gives the reader permission to laugh at what is at once both terribly sad and also very funny. That Bloom does this with such cleverness may be too facile to some readers, but nevertheless, the success of her book Come to Me, which was nominated for the National Book Award and sold very well, seems to suggest that she has given readers permission to respond to the mystery of mental illness with kind amusement.
Historical Context
America in the Early 1990s
The decade began with George Bush occupying the Oval Office. One of the most notable events of his presidency was the Persian Gulf War, initiated by several United Nations member countries—most prominently, the United States—against Iraq following its 1991 invasion of oil-rich Kuwait. The UN forces swiftly defeated Iraq, earning Bush significant popularity and international acclaim.
However, his administration faced criticism domestically. A recession struck in 1990, causing economic decline and rising unemployment. The number of Americans living below the poverty line increased by over 2 million in that year. The United States also grappled with a trade imbalance, especially with Japan, and neither Bush nor U.S. business leaders could convince the Japanese to import more American products. The federal deficit ballooned to $282 billion in 1991, partly due to the Persian Gulf War and the bailout of the savings and loan and banking sectors.
In 1992, Bill Clinton was elected president, defeating incumbent George Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot. Clinton became the first Democrat in 12 years to hold the nation's highest office. By the end of the year, the U.S. economy was on the path to recovery. By mid-decade, Americans generally enjoyed a relatively high level of prosperity, and the United States maintained the world's largest economy. Clinton achieved significant successes in the...
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early years of his presidency, particularly in balancing the federal budget and reducing national debt. Unemployment rates began to fall, and the stock market flourished.
Health Care Changes?
When Clinton ran for president, many middle-class Americans felt that health insurance was beyond their reach; wealthier individuals could afford high premiums, and poorer Americans were covered by Medicaid, but there was no support for middle-class families. One of Clinton’s campaign promises was to make affordable health care accessible to all Americans. However, a bill supporting these reforms never even came to a vote in Congress. Critics argued that such extensive reform would be too costly and would restrict Americans' ability to make their own health decisions. Throughout the decade, health care remained a hotly debated issue, especially with the rise of HMOs and escalating health care costs. By 1993, the United States was spending approximately $884 billion annually on health care.
Mental Illness in the United States
In the mid-1800s, Dorothea Dix played a crucial role in establishing mental hospitals across the United States. These institutions provided the necessary care for individuals with mental illnesses. Before her advocacy, many people with mental health issues were confined in prisons alongside criminals. Although these mental hospitals continued to operate into the early 21st century, their funding significantly decreased throughout the 1990s. During this time, some reformers and legislators began to address the care of the mentally ill, aiming to protect both the affected individuals and the general public. In the 1990s, a tragic incident occurred in New York City when a schizophrenic man pushed an innocent woman onto subway tracks as a train approached, resulting in her death. It was later revealed that the man had been in and out of mental institutions for years and was supposed to be on medication to manage his hallucinations and dangerous impulses.
Literary Style
Point of View
The narrative unfolds from Violet’s first-person perspective, granting the reader access exclusively to her thoughts and observations. Despite this limited viewpoint, the reader gains a deep understanding of Rose’s life. Through Violet’s eyes, we witness Rose’s immense pain, sorrow, and beauty. Violet selects details that best illustrate her sister’s experiences during the ten-year span of her illness. She also reminisces about who Rose used to be: "before her constant tinkling of commercials and fast-food jingle there had been Puccini and Mozart and hymns so sweet and mighty you expected Jesus to come down off his cross and clap... there had been the prettiest girl in Arrandale Elementary School, the belle of Landmark Junior High." Violet’s evident love for her sister makes her words and interpretations trustworthy. She also chooses poignant details to portray her parents’ reactions to Rose’s tragedy, rendering them as believable and sensitive yet distinctly unique individuals.
Narration and Structure
Violet decides to recount the story after her sister’s death, providing her with more flexibility than a straightforward narrative would. This choice allows her to include details and insights she might not have been aware of during the events. For example, she admits that the lie she told her father about Rose’s kitchen outburst was the second of three lies she had ever told, emphasizing its significance and prompting readers to reflect more deeply on the circumstances that led to it.
By looking back on Rose’s life, Violet can condense it, focusing on the most significant events and traits. The distance between the events and their narration offers Violet a broader perspective, enabling her to shape the story more effectively and engage the reader. She compares the progression of Rose’s illness, various doctors' treatments, and the family’s reactions to different episodes. This approach highlights the changes Rose undergoes over the years and underscores her fragile grip on life and actions. This narrative style emphasizes the precariousness of life itself, showing how each change in Rose’s condition impacts every family member.
Violet opts to discuss Rose as she was before the illness took hold. Structurally, the narrative comes full circle. It begins with Violet recalling her sister’s "crystalline" voice in a parking lot outside the opera house and concludes at Rose’s funeral, reminiscing about her fourteen-year-old sister one year before her first breakdown, with her "lion’s mane thrown back and her eyes tightly closed against the glare of the parking lot lights." This structure not only reminds readers of the fragility of human existence—how swiftly the foundations of one’s life can shift—but also highlights the cyclical nature of life and death.
Symbolism and Imagery
Music offers the richest opportunities for symbolism and imagery within the story. The opening line reads, "My sister’s voice was like mountain water in a silver pitcher; the clear, blue beauty of it cools you and lifts you beyond your heat, beyond your body." Although Violet places her sister in a brightly lit parking lot in these initial paragraphs, her imagery aligns Rose with elements of nature. Thus, Rose is depicted like that voice itself, like mountain water: pure, true, beautiful, and unspoiled. This connection is further emphasized in the scene where Rose dies. She chooses to go into the woods behind the house, where Violet follows her, noticing her "wide, draggy footprints darkening the wet grass."
The silver water in the title evokes the wet grass where Rose dies, as well as the purity of water and Rose’s voice and soul. Like rushing water, "the sweet sound [of Rose’s voice] held us tight, flowing around us, eddying throughout our hearts, rising, still rising."
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Eckhoff, Sally S., Review of Come to Me, in The Village Voice Literary Supplement, September 7, 1993, p. 5.
Eder, Richard, Review of Come to Me, in The Los Angeles Times Book Review, June 13, 1993, p. 3.
McGuines, Daniel, Review of Come to Me, in Studies in Short Fiction, Fall, 1994, p. 694.
Phillips, Robert, Review of Come to Me, in The Hudson Review, Winter, 1994, p. 765.
Radin, Victoria, Review of Come to Me, in New Statesman and Society, April 15, 1994, p. 38.
Schinto, Jeanne, Review of Come to Me, in Belles Lettres, Winter, 1993/1994, p. 28.
Further Reading
Brophy, Beth, ‘‘A Writer’s Eye and a Psychotherapist’s Ear,’’ US News and World Report, January 27, 1997, p. 69. This article explores how Bloom uses her background as a psychotherapist to enrich her fiction writing.
Towers, Sarah, ‘‘Inventing Euphoria,’’ Mirabella, January-February, 1997, p. 24. An interview with Bloom that delves into her writing journey and career development.
Tsuang, Ming T., et al., Schizophrenia: The Facts, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 1997. An introductory guide on the current knowledge of schizophrenia, intended for general readers.
