Unleaving by Jill Paton Walsh
"Unleaving" by Jill Paton Walsh is a young adult novel set during a summer at a house in Cornwall inherited by Madge Fielding from her grandmother. The story intricately weaves together the reflective perspective of Madge's grandmother and Madge's own passionate viewpoint, gradually revealing their shared identity. As Madge navigates her grief over her grandmother's death, she is persuaded to host a group of Oxford undergraduates, which introduces her to rich philosophical discussions and a complex social dynamic. Among the guests, Madge develops a strong connection with the troubled Patrick Tregeagle, who grapples with his own family issues, particularly regarding his sister Molly.
The plot takes a tragic turn when Molly falls from a cliff, leading to the drownings of both her and a friend during a rescue attempt, raising questions of guilt and responsibility that haunt Madge and Patrick long after the summer ends. "Unleaving" explores the themes of coming-of-age, moral ambiguity, and the intertwining of past and present, all while employing a unique narrative structure that blends two distinct voices. This novel is noted for its psychological realism and depth, encouraging young readers to grapple with complex emotional and ethical dilemmas as they transition into adulthood.
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Subject Terms
Unleaving by Jill Paton Walsh
First published: 1976
Type of work: Psychological realism
Themes: Coming-of-age, death, family, friendship, and love and romance
Time of work: The late twentieth century
Recommended Ages: 15-18
Locale: Cornwall, England
Principal Characters:
Madge Fielding (Gran) , a curious, caring young woman and, sixty years later, a spirited, loving grandmotherProfessor Tregeagle , one of the Oxford professors of philosophy leading the summer reading partyPatrick Tregeagle , the professor’s son, a brooding young man who feels deeplyMolly Tregeagle , Patrick’s retarded sisterPaul Fielding , Madge’s brother
The Story
The novel is set during a summer visit at the house Madge Fielding inherits from her cherished grandmother. The house in Cornwall, England, sits close to treacherous cliffs and welcoming ocean beaches. Jill Paton Walsh employs a narrative shape that shifts between Gran’s calm, reflective point of view and Madge Fielding’s involved, passionate perspective. Slowly, the two distinct voices merge into one story as the reader recognizes Madge and Gran as the same person.
When Miss Higgins, Madge’s schoolmistress, encourages her to rent the house to a reading party of undergraduates from Oxford, Madge hesitates. She still mourns her grandmother’s death and is unsure she wants to disturb her grandmother’s presence in the house. Still, the idea tempts Madge, and she allows herself to be persuaded. Feeling only somewhat invaded, she welcomes the two professors, their families, and eight university students. She also invites her brother Paul to join her.
The group fascinates Madge, who is preparing for entering college. Their philosophical discussions intrigue and challenge her intellectually and emotionally. Not one who has studied the philosophical foundations structuring the students’ debates, Madge initially only eavesdrops. As the summer progresses, she befriends various members of the group, especially Matthew Brown and Andrew Henderson. Soon, she dares to enter their heated intellectual discussions about life, death, and God.
To Paul’s surprise and concern, Madge shows particular attraction to the dark, complicated, and moody Patrick Tregeagle. Feeling peripheral, uninvolved, and unwanted, Patrick rejects the philosophical discussions. He spends most of his time playing the piano, with characteristic intensity, and caring for his mongoloid sister Molly. Slowly, he begins to share himself and his feelings of ambivalence about his family with Madge. During the summer, Madge and Patrick spend much time together and develop a strong bond.
One afternoon Molly is discovered missing. Her parents fear she has wandered off and fallen into an abandoned mine shaft. Luckily, she is found and is safe. This occurrence foreshadows the tragic incident that drives the narrative. Later, Madge and Paul seek Patrick, who has taken Molly for a walk. In a brief, tense scene, Madge and Paul see Molly fall from a cliff to her death. This first death leads to another. In an unlikely but committed attempt to rescue Molly, a native boatman, and beloved friend of Madge and Paul, drowns.
At Molly’s fall, Paul and Madge see Patrick. Despite Paul’s conviction to the contrary, Madge questions what she saw. Did Patrick reach out to save Molly or did Patrick push his sister? These questions, and their potentially disturbing answers, haunt Madge and Patrick not only for the remainder of the summer but also throughout their lives. Even as a mother and grandmother, Madge reflects on the events of this summer and searches her memory, her mind, and her heart for the elusive answers.
Context
Unleaving is Paton Walsh’s most critically acclaimed novel for young adults. Contemporary setting and creation of a realistic world make it different from her other works of historical fiction, such as The Emperor’s Winding Sheet (1974), Fireweed (1969), and A Parcel of Patterns (1983), or futuristic fiction, including Torch (1988). Featuring the same characters as its predecessor Goldengrove, this novel leaves the safe world of childhood comfort and protection and ventures into the complexities of adolescence. Where Goldengrove explored Madge’s physical and emotional entry into adolescence, in Unleaving one discovers that coming-of-age is never a completed process but an ongoing one. As Gran searches her past, giving it shape and force, the past gives insight and meaning to her present life.
The novel employs an original psychological realism. These young characters, on the precipice of adulthood, are not sentimentalized. They are intelligent, insightful, and talented. Energetic and feisty, they also feel deeply. These characters are not simply good or undeniably evil; they are both simultaneously. Patrick and Madge especially demonstrate man’s natural, inherent capacity for both good and evil. In Jungian terms, their real triumph, their real coming-of-age, stems from their ability to acknowledge this capacity, to recognize and incorporate their “shadow-selves.”
In Unleaving, Paton Walsh breaks with the traditional structure of the novel. Rather than telling the story chronologically, or framing it by memory, or using a flashback technique, Paton Walsh creates two parallel but distinct voices from two fully realized perspectives. Both stories are told in the third-person. They do not alternate predictably from Gran to Madge; instead, the two weave in and out of each other. The tenuous thread of memory connects them. Memories spiral, building upon one another as past and present merge into a cohesive, tightly controlled whole.
While Paton Walsh returns to a more traditional format in later novels, Unleaving remains an original achievement. The narrative sophistication may prove demanding to young readers, but the reward will be a rich, memorable reading experience.