Discussion Topic
Sal's Perception of Mrs. Cadaver and Her Father's Behavior
Summary:
In Walk Two Moons, Sal perceives Mrs. Cadaver with suspicion and jealousy, influenced by her friend Phoebe's wild theories about Mrs. Cadaver's involvement in sinister activities. Sal's distrust is exacerbated by her father's behavior; he appears cheerful and content at Mrs. Cadaver's house, contrasting with his melancholic demeanor at home, where he misses Sal's mother. Sal fears that Mrs. Cadaver might be replacing her mother in her father's affections, causing her to resent the attention he gives to Mrs. Cadaver.
What are Sal's feelings towards Mrs. Cadaver in Walk Two Moons, and why?
Sal and her father move to Euclid, Ohio, in part because a new friend of Sal’s father’s helped him find a job there. This friend is Margaret Cadaver. Although Mrs. Cadaver, who is a widow, is always pleasant and kind to Sal, the girl grows increasingly antagonistic to the woman. She is also somewhat afraid of Margaret’s eccentric elderly mother, Mrs. Partridge. Sal soon becomes friends with Phoebe, a girl her age, who tends to invent elaborate fantasies. In Phoebe’s mind, Mrs. Cadaver and her mother are a sinister pair, and she develops a macabre suspicion that they killed the late Mr. Cadaver. Sal begins to believe her friend’s theories. These ideas become more problematic when Phoebe’s mother goes missing and the girls fantasize that Margaret was involved.
Sal is uncomfortable because her father seems like a different person when he is around Margaret. At home, her father continues to...
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miss her mother, Sugar. When he is with Margaret, he is cheerful and upbeat, so it seems to Sal that he has forgotten her mother. She also suspects that Mrs. Cadaver is trying to replace Sugar in her father’s affections. She feels jealous both on her mother’s behalf and because she resents the attention her father pays to anyone other than herself.
How does Sal's father behave differently at Mrs. Cadaver's house in Walk Two Moons?
For much of the story, Sal doesn't trust Margaret Cadaver. Egged on by her friend Phoebe, who makes Margaret out to be a mad ax murderess who killed her husband and buried his body parts in the garden, Sal is deeply suspicious of this kindly nurse and her intentions.
Sal's especially suspicious of Margaret's intentions towards her father. She's got it into her head that Margaret has romantic feelings for Mr. Hiddle and is somehow trying to take the place of Sal's mother. And so, despite Margaret's best efforts to be nice, Sal cordially detests her, at least until she finds out just what a nice lady Mrs. Cadaver really is.
Sal's suspicions of a burgeoning relationship between Margaret and her father are fueled by the different way that Mr. Hiddle acts at Margaret's house from how he behaves at home. Whenever Mr. Hiddle's at Margaret's house, it's noticeable just how happy he is, smiling and sometimes even laughing.
But when he's at home, it's a different matter entirely. There, Sal's dad can usually be found sitting on his bed, staring at the floor, reading old letters, or looking at the photo album. Poor Mr. Hiddle appears so sad and lonely at home. Sal doesn't want him to feel this way, of course, but at least when he's sad she knows that he's remembering her mother.