Lawns by Mona Simpson
"Lawns" by Mona Simpson is a coming-of-age narrative centered around Jenny, a college freshman grappling with complex personal issues, including family dynamics, love, and a troubling secret. The story unfolds through Jenny's candid reflections, revealing her struggle with stealing letters and packages while working at her dormitory. Amidst her academic pursuits at the University of California, Berkeley, she navigates her relationships, particularly with Glenn, a fellow student she believes she is in love with, while also dealing with the emotional weight of her family history.
Jenny's experiences are marked by conflicting feelings towards her parents, particularly her father, whose unexpected visit leads to a traumatic event. This incident significantly impacts her relationship with Glenn and her sense of identity. Throughout the narrative, themes of dishonesty, intimacy, and the search for support emerge as Jenny chooses to confide in friends rather than her parents. The story culminates in a poignant moment where Jenny confronts her choices and the repercussions of her actions, while also reflecting on her feelings for Glenn and the complexities of young love. Overall, "Lawns" explores the emotional turbulence of adolescence and the quest for self-understanding against a backdrop of personal turmoil.
On this Page
Lawns by Mona Simpson
First published: 1985
Type of plot: Coming of age
Time of work: The 1980's
Locale: Berkeley, California
Principal Characters:
Jenny , a freshman at the University of CaliforniaLauren , her roommateGlenn , her boyfriendHer father , a successful businesspersonHer mother , a successful lawyer
The Story
Jenny, a college freshman, begins her narration by bluntly confessing that she steals. Her narrative monologue then moves loosely from present to past as she shares her feelings about several major areas of her life. Jenny works Saturday mornings sorting mail in her dormitory, where she has been stealing letters and packages. She has received a letter from the campus police saying they suspect that some of the mail sorters may be throwing out mail, and there is a meeting about it that she must attend.
She recalls the day that she came to the University of California at Berkeley. Her mother and brother had not come with her and her father. She was upset and embarrassed when her dad cried as he said good-bye, and was afraid someone would see him acting like that. Later, she took a long walk across campus and saw a man riding a lawnmower. The image made her happy and stayed with her. That night at dinner, she again saw the man, whose name is Glenn. She thinks that she is in love, for the first time. She worries that Glenn will find out about her but does not explain exactly what it is that she does not want him to know. She describes the night that they got together and how glad she was, because she wanted it to happen. Memories of her father intrude, but it turns out all right.
She says that she never steals Glenn's letters and describes what she knows about his family and a former girlfriend, who apparently is failing chemistry at school in San Diego. Jenny herself, who is enrolled in pre-med classes, got an A+ in Chemistry 1A.
On the day of the meeting with the police, Jenny has to skip Chemistry 1C for the first time. She lies to Glenn, saying she has a doctor's appointment. The students are questioned, but nobody says anything. The police officer's body reminds her of her father's. One student sticks up for all of them, and Jenny is grateful. After they are dismissed, she promises herself that she will not steal again.
She says that she lies all the time and struggles over which things she should tell Glenn. She describes the development of her intimacy with Glenn by recounting some of the personal things he has told her: That he used to spin tales as a child until his parents took him to a psychologist to make him stop, that he has imagined what it would be like to stand at her funeral, no one knowing who he is, and that he loves her. She says sometimes she cries.
Her mother has just phoned, and Jenny describes her as a proud, self-absorbed woman who went back to law school some years earlier and believes that she has done it all without any sacrifice on the part of her family. Jenny says her mother "should know about me."
Jenny's father pays her a surprise visit. He hopes to spend the weekend with her, and she is clearly anxious and inwardly hostile. She talks herself into going with him on the condition that he return her in time for her date with Glenn. Later that night, she wakens to her father's molesting her in their hotel room, and it is clear this is not the first time. Her relief at returning to the dorm to visit with her roommate, Lauren, and get ready for her date ends when her father calls, jealous that she has other plans. Afraid he will ruin her new life, she tells her mother.
Her mother feels personally affronted, then comes to be with her, kicks her husband out, and says she is on Jenny's side. She says she is going to therapy and wants Jenny to go too. Jenny declines, deciding to rely on her friends instead. Jenny relates that she has told Glenn, and their relationship is now over. She feels as if her father has cost her everything. She remembers an ordinary morning, waking up with Glenn, and how later he took her for a ride on the lawnmower while he worked because he did not want to say good-bye, and how she sat on the handlebars and laughed. Lauren is supportive when Jenny tells her. They go out to breakfast, stopping on the way to watch the children on an elementary school playground.
Jenny sees Glenn, who has a new girlfriend, while he is working on a lawn. He congratulates her on an academic award she has won. She still loves him but sees him as one of those things she can never have.
Jenny starts stealing letters again but only one each Saturday. One Saturday she sees a little white envelope addressed to her. She throws it out, thinking it cannot be from Glenn, and finishes her shift. As she leaves, she changes her mind, retrieves the letter, and puts it in her mailbox so she can go to get mail like everyone else.