Lucy and Peggy

The relationship between Lucy and Peggy is curious. When trying to think of a word to describe it, somehow curious came into mind. As Lucy says, "We had nothing in common except that we felt at ease in each other's company. From the moment we met we had recognized in each other the same restlessness, the same dissatisfaction with our surroundings, the same skin-doesn't-fit-ness. That was as far as it went"(145). And that is as far as it goes. Peggy is a person Lucy can relate to in this new world, but also remains very different from, and Lucy is the same for Peggy. Neither have met anyone like the other; they make one another curious, as their relationship is. Lucy doesn't rely on Peggy for much besides being a distraction-she's fun, outgoing, different, lives in a world completely unlike her own. They are complete opposites: everything Lucy likes or does is opposite in Peggy. They intrigue each other, provide companionship, and provides Lucy with someone her age to talk to, even if they come from different worlds.

Lucy's relationship with Peggy is good and bad in my mind. Peggy opens Lucy up to new and different experiences in America than those she has with Lewis, Mariah, and the children, but not all are ones she likes. She gives Lucy someone to hang out with and go out with, and try to make sense of her life and her past. Peggy lives with her parents and hates it; Lucy often tells of her mother but her relationship with her mother is different than Peggy's with her parents, who hate anyone not from or affiliated with Ireland. Lucy's relationship with Peggy is good because she does have a different mindset and opens her up to different experiences as she ha with Lewis and Mariah. But the negative aspects are present too. Peggy smokes marijuana and brings Lucy to a party where she meets Paul, the "pervert." Peggy doesn't like reading, children, or her family, who don't have a power over her like Lucy's family does. Lucy's family has so much of a hold over her she can't seem to not think about them quite often. The differences between Peggy and Lucy stand out from the beginning, and don't have much of an effect until the end.

The relationship between Lucy and Peggy, good and bad, seems like a rite of passage, a vital part of adolescence. To have that one friend our guardian figure, parent or Mariah in this case, doesn't exactly approve of, but you keep around anyways. They add a certain spice to life, open you up to new experiences, and help you figure out who you are and want to be. In my experience, who they are is who you don't want to be, and I think the same happens with Lucy.