Mommy Knows Best - Four-year-old Rita questions Sylvie during night prayers, "We never pray for anyone in Daddy's family. Shouldn't we pray for Grandma and Grandpa Morrison?"
Rain Fall - When eight-year-old Rita tumbles from her mother's moving car she learns what it means to feel safe.
Wheeler Dealer - Teen Rita navigates the minefield of living with Sylvie.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
What You Don't Know - the synopsis
All Rita wants is her mother’s love. Her childhood is spent offering total obedience. She withstands Sylvie’s critical eye and changeable moods but gets little in return. Sylvie rarely shows motherly affection and never shares anything personal. When asked about her childhood in Depression era Chicago, Sylvie answers, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”
Rita’s two aunts won’t talk about their childhood either, but they’re warm, loving, and have close ties with their children. Rita wonders if a person or event in Sylvie’s past has stunted her maternal instincts. If it’s not something or someone from Sylvie’s past, Rita fears that it could be just her mother’s nature, and maybe she’ll end up the same way—detached, disengaged, and unable to love.
All Sylvie wants is to keep the Bauer family history a secret. She doesn’t understand why Rita can’t be more like her cousins. They never question. But Rita wants to know every little detail about every little thing. Sylvie believes children shouldn’t question. They should just do what they’re told, no matter how old they are. That’s what Sylvie did, so why can’t Rita be the same way? Why can’t Rita be an obedient daughter?
Rita’s Aunt Vernie becomes a mid-life bride. At the wedding reception, Rita and her two cousins are humiliated when someone questions them about their family history and they have nothing to share. The cousins meet later. Each admits that they’ve always been curious. What really happened during the missing years their mothers refuse to talk about? They know nothing about their grandfather Willie Bauer, and have only seen a couple photos of their grandmother Gerta and her sister Maude. Why all the secrecy? The three cousins decide to investigate on the sly. Rita knows her mother will be furious if she finds out, but at 32 years old, Rita’s far beyond asking permission. If Sylvie’s past holds the key to their troubled relationship and possibly her own future, it’s worth the risk.
Rita invents a client with a theater project set in the post-WW1 era and uses it as a ruse, asking Sylvie’s help with wardrobe and prop ideas. Sylvie is wary at first, but Rita is careful not to prod, asking only general questions. After a few phone calls Sylvie begins to volunteer snippets from her childhood and eventually full stories. As the dialogue continues Sylvie reveals emotion Rita never knew existed. In the next few months their conversations take on a warm, non-combative flow, and Rita feels the emergence of a new understanding and compassion for her mother.
When the cousins find the Bauer family’s elderly parish priest, they learn the truth. In 1930, Willie Bauer abandoned his family. Sylvie was 12, Helen 6, and Vernie 2. When local officials threatened to take the sisters to the county home, Gerta sent them to the priest and they landed in Saint Anne’s Catholic orphanage. Fearing neighborhood ridicule, Gerta and her sister Maude fabricate stories of Willie’s successful ventures out west and private school for the girls. The sisters returned three years later to find Gerta established in her own business and living in a new apartment. When 15 year old Sylvie asks Gerta the source of their funds, she’s told, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”
The three cousins go to Saint Anne’s and the director confirms the story. Although she now grasps the realities of Sylvie’s childhood and her desire to keep it hidden, Rita doesn’t see it as an excuse for Sylvie’s harsh treatment and manipulation over the years. There is a sense of relief because she finally understands her mother’s behavior, but Rita’s not quite ready to forgive.
As they are about to leave Saint Anne’s, the director produces a report dated November, 1932. Handwritten notes on the report suggest that Gerta Bauer was pregnant during the time the girls were at the school. The cousins leave with a whole new mystery to solve.
At Thanksgiving dinner Vernie brings up Marie, the daughter of Maude’s boss, Mr. Sloane. She mentions Marie is only five years her junior. Rita does the math and realizes Marie was born in 1932. Helen and Sylvie tense up at the mention of Marie and work to quickly change the subject. After dinner Rita gets Helen alone and asks about Marie. She tells Rita that Sylvie never liked Marie and suspected her to be Maude’s illegitimate child with Sloane. Sylvie saw Marie as an intruder and resented the way Maude forced her “little bastard” on the family. Rita asks if they had any proof. Helen says they never investigated because Marie looked like a Bauer. That was all the proof they needed. The evening ends with a tipsy Sylvie falling down the front steps.
Sylvie’s health declines after the fall. Two weeks before Christmas, Rita takes her to the hospital for tests and finds Sylvie has stage-three lymphoma. She is crushed to think she’ll lose her mother just as they have found each other. Then Rita gets more news—a birth certificate showing Marie is Gerta’s child. No father is stated on the birth certificate.
Sylvie rejects chemo and is given eighteen months to live. Rita shares the news about Sylvie’s condition with Vernie and Helen, and then tells them the truth about Marie. They’re glad everyone knows about Saint Anne’s and happy they have another sister, no matter who her real father is. All agree Sylvie won’t feel the same. Rita fears the revelation will spoil their remaining time together and is left to decide if the new relationship she’s building with Sylvie is more valuable than the truth about the past.
Rita leaves Philadelphia and moves back to Chicago to look after her mother. Sylvie witnesses Rita’s caring and tenderness and admits to her many flaws and failings as a mother. Rita forgives her. A short time later Rita finds the perfect moment to tell Sylvie the whole truth. But, in fact, Rita and the cousins know only part of what actually happened.
In an epilogue, Gerta gives the reader the real story. She tells how Willie Bauer returned, won her back, and then disappeared again. She discovers she’s pregnant, and Maude pressures the priest to help Gerta have the child in secret. The Sloane’s take Marie. They give Gerta money to start her own business and allow Maude to continue the connection between Marie and the Bauer family.
Rita’s two aunts won’t talk about their childhood either, but they’re warm, loving, and have close ties with their children. Rita wonders if a person or event in Sylvie’s past has stunted her maternal instincts. If it’s not something or someone from Sylvie’s past, Rita fears that it could be just her mother’s nature, and maybe she’ll end up the same way—detached, disengaged, and unable to love.
All Sylvie wants is to keep the Bauer family history a secret. She doesn’t understand why Rita can’t be more like her cousins. They never question. But Rita wants to know every little detail about every little thing. Sylvie believes children shouldn’t question. They should just do what they’re told, no matter how old they are. That’s what Sylvie did, so why can’t Rita be the same way? Why can’t Rita be an obedient daughter?
Rita’s Aunt Vernie becomes a mid-life bride. At the wedding reception, Rita and her two cousins are humiliated when someone questions them about their family history and they have nothing to share. The cousins meet later. Each admits that they’ve always been curious. What really happened during the missing years their mothers refuse to talk about? They know nothing about their grandfather Willie Bauer, and have only seen a couple photos of their grandmother Gerta and her sister Maude. Why all the secrecy? The three cousins decide to investigate on the sly. Rita knows her mother will be furious if she finds out, but at 32 years old, Rita’s far beyond asking permission. If Sylvie’s past holds the key to their troubled relationship and possibly her own future, it’s worth the risk.
Rita invents a client with a theater project set in the post-WW1 era and uses it as a ruse, asking Sylvie’s help with wardrobe and prop ideas. Sylvie is wary at first, but Rita is careful not to prod, asking only general questions. After a few phone calls Sylvie begins to volunteer snippets from her childhood and eventually full stories. As the dialogue continues Sylvie reveals emotion Rita never knew existed. In the next few months their conversations take on a warm, non-combative flow, and Rita feels the emergence of a new understanding and compassion for her mother.
When the cousins find the Bauer family’s elderly parish priest, they learn the truth. In 1930, Willie Bauer abandoned his family. Sylvie was 12, Helen 6, and Vernie 2. When local officials threatened to take the sisters to the county home, Gerta sent them to the priest and they landed in Saint Anne’s Catholic orphanage. Fearing neighborhood ridicule, Gerta and her sister Maude fabricate stories of Willie’s successful ventures out west and private school for the girls. The sisters returned three years later to find Gerta established in her own business and living in a new apartment. When 15 year old Sylvie asks Gerta the source of their funds, she’s told, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”
The three cousins go to Saint Anne’s and the director confirms the story. Although she now grasps the realities of Sylvie’s childhood and her desire to keep it hidden, Rita doesn’t see it as an excuse for Sylvie’s harsh treatment and manipulation over the years. There is a sense of relief because she finally understands her mother’s behavior, but Rita’s not quite ready to forgive.
As they are about to leave Saint Anne’s, the director produces a report dated November, 1932. Handwritten notes on the report suggest that Gerta Bauer was pregnant during the time the girls were at the school. The cousins leave with a whole new mystery to solve.
At Thanksgiving dinner Vernie brings up Marie, the daughter of Maude’s boss, Mr. Sloane. She mentions Marie is only five years her junior. Rita does the math and realizes Marie was born in 1932. Helen and Sylvie tense up at the mention of Marie and work to quickly change the subject. After dinner Rita gets Helen alone and asks about Marie. She tells Rita that Sylvie never liked Marie and suspected her to be Maude’s illegitimate child with Sloane. Sylvie saw Marie as an intruder and resented the way Maude forced her “little bastard” on the family. Rita asks if they had any proof. Helen says they never investigated because Marie looked like a Bauer. That was all the proof they needed. The evening ends with a tipsy Sylvie falling down the front steps.
Sylvie’s health declines after the fall. Two weeks before Christmas, Rita takes her to the hospital for tests and finds Sylvie has stage-three lymphoma. She is crushed to think she’ll lose her mother just as they have found each other. Then Rita gets more news—a birth certificate showing Marie is Gerta’s child. No father is stated on the birth certificate.
Sylvie rejects chemo and is given eighteen months to live. Rita shares the news about Sylvie’s condition with Vernie and Helen, and then tells them the truth about Marie. They’re glad everyone knows about Saint Anne’s and happy they have another sister, no matter who her real father is. All agree Sylvie won’t feel the same. Rita fears the revelation will spoil their remaining time together and is left to decide if the new relationship she’s building with Sylvie is more valuable than the truth about the past.
Rita leaves Philadelphia and moves back to Chicago to look after her mother. Sylvie witnesses Rita’s caring and tenderness and admits to her many flaws and failings as a mother. Rita forgives her. A short time later Rita finds the perfect moment to tell Sylvie the whole truth. But, in fact, Rita and the cousins know only part of what actually happened.
In an epilogue, Gerta gives the reader the real story. She tells how Willie Bauer returned, won her back, and then disappeared again. She discovers she’s pregnant, and Maude pressures the priest to help Gerta have the child in secret. The Sloane’s take Marie. They give Gerta money to start her own business and allow Maude to continue the connection between Marie and the Bauer family.
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