The Voice from the Wall: Lena St. Clair

"I could not tell my father what she had said. He was so sad already with this empty crib in his mind. How could I tell him she was crazy?"(112, Lena St. Clair).

This is an example of a dilemma. After a miscarriage and communication failure, Lena wonders how she can tell her father something that will give him hope and still convey the pain of her mother. Lena's mother soon falls into a depression and she wonders what she can do. She clings to the thought that her neighbor has it worse than she until she finds out that she doesn't. I can relate this to real life and a lot of people's own experiences. I have found in my own life that the old saying "misery wants company" is completely true. I've found that some people are so negative that they try to bring others down with them, and that it makes them feel better if everyone else is suffering. Lena feels this way until she finds out that she is is alone in her misery.