Good-bye and Keep Cold by Jenny Davis
"Good-bye and Keep Cold" by Jenny Davis is a poignant exploration of the complexities of familial relationships and the challenges of growing up too quickly. The narrative centers on Edda Combs, who, after the tragic death of her father, is forced into an adult role at a young age, taking care of her younger brother Jimmy while her mother, Frances, grapples with profound grief. The story intricately weaves themes of loss, identity, and the psychological impacts of family dysfunction, illustrating Edda's struggle for self-worth amidst her mother's depression and reliance on her.
As Edda navigates her childhood and adolescence, she experiences moments of normalcy juxtaposed with the heavy burdens of responsibility and emotional turmoil. The dynamics with characters like Henry John, who attempts to fill the void left by Edda's father, and Annie, whose meddling complicates family ties, further highlight the strain on Edda's childhood. Davis’s novel is notable for its realistic portrayal of difficult subjects, avoiding the pitfalls of oversimplified narratives or contrived happy endings. Instead, it offers an ambiguous conclusion that captures both hope and despair, reflecting the ongoing challenges faced by its characters. This nuanced approach positions "Good-bye and Keep Cold" as a significant work in young adult literature, where the themes resonate with readers seeking to understand the complexities of familial bonds and personal growth.
Subject Terms
Good-bye and Keep Cold by Jenny Davis
First published: 1987
Subjects: Coming-of-age, death, emotions, family, and sexual issues
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Domestic realism and psychological realism
Time of work: The late 1970’s and early 1980’s
Recommended Ages: 13-15
Locale: Cauley’s Creek, Fincastle County, Eastern Kentucky
Principal Characters:
Edda Combs , a young girl who struggles to keep her family together and to make sense of the adult worldEd Combs , her father, who dies in a mining accidentFrances Combs , her mother, who is in constant emotional crisisJimmy , Edda’s active and much younger brotherBanker , Ed’s seventy-five-year-old great-uncle, who lives with the familyHenry John Fitzpatrick , Ed’s coworker, who later courts FrancesAnnie Adams , Frances’ best friendCharlie Henson , one of Edda’s few school friendsAmy Eversole , another of Edda’s friendsAlexandra , Henry John’s daughter
Form and Content
“I am resting from my childhood,” Edda Combs says near the end of Good-bye and Keep Cold. She knows that when she breaks her winter reverie, she will have to be an adult. Again. She is waiting to be free of a childhood she lost when she was eight, when Henry John Fitzpatrick blew a dynamite charge too early and accidentally killed Ed Combs, her father. That was the day Edda that took charge of sixteen-month-old Jimmy and realized that Uncle Banker would not be much help. It was also the day that her mother, Frances, turned inward and shut down.
Jenny Davis’ novel depicts the lingering psychological damage done when a child must become an adult too soon, without trivializing the love that keeps this family intact. It traces Edda’s search for identity and self-worth, yet it is also her mother’s search. “I’m tired, Edda. I’m going to bed,” Frances says, and Edda is frightened more by the physical shell of her mother than by the physical loss of her father. Frances, struggling through her bereavement, remains profoundly depressed for most of the next ten years, leaning heavily on Edda for support. It is twenty months before Frances even considers getting a job; actually, Henry John finds her one. Jimmy must go to stay with a sitter; he develops night terrors and spends his days digging by the fence. Edda, however, enjoys some normalcy: She learns to ride a bike, stays overnight at Amy Eversole’s house, and develops a school friendship with Charlie Henson. She also watches Henry John’s courtship of her mother.
Frances’ friend Annie hints to Edda that the neighbors are gossiping, and Edda is thrust back into her role of family protector. Eventually, Henry John is driven away by Edda’s jealousy, Annie’s vindictiveness, and Frances’ thoughtlessness when she uses the shelves that he built to create a photographic shrine to Ed and his family. Shortly after a family vacation at the ocean, Edda has a fistfight with a boy who accuses her father of contracting venereal disease from Annie. In a moment of rage, Edda confronts Annie, and her mother’s friendship with this woman is ruined. Having loosed this terribleness, Edda is “no longer able to stand guard” and wants no more adult knowledge. After a period of internalized rage, Frances frees herself by formally divorcing her dead husband and moving the family to Lexington.
This action should be the turning point, but Edda discovers that she does not fit in at high school any more than at Cauley Creek. Frances continues to confide in her as a sister, and Edda becomes the family bookkeeper. Finally, Henry John returns to give his new wife’s handicapped, unwanted baby, Alexandra, to Frances. The past romance is rekindled; Henry John eventually divorces his wife and marries Frances, but it is too late for Edda to regain her childhood. After high school and college, she is back at the oceanside, waiting and listening, just as her mother did before her.
Critical Context
Good-bye and Keep Cold was Jenny Davis’ first novel, and it is a hallmark treatment of a dysfunctional family. Many psychologically realistic young adult stories allow the problem to supersede the plot or provide an unrealistic happy ending. In this novel, real problems are faced head on, and the ambiguous ending offers both hope and despair.
Davis has published other books for young adults. In Sex Education (1988), a class project about caring for someone has disastrous consequences for two students when they take on a young pregnant girl as their assignment. In Checking on the Moon (1991), the protagonist helps her grandmother run a coffee shop in a dangerous section of Pittsburgh. When her brother’s girlfriend is raped, the community works together to reclaim its neighborhood. Davis, who also writes short stories and poems, says that “a good deal of what I write is hope on paper.”
This is Davis’ gift to the young reader. Her protagonists must overcome terrible odds, but those who persevere and have valor will emerge victorious and whole. She is not afraid to treat tough subjects and to let her readers work through the challenges facing their generation, yet she is sensitive enough always to offer them hope for the future.