Outside Reading - post #2

In the novel Halfway House, the Voorster family struggles mainly with Angie's sanity. Although, each member has his/her own inner or outer conflict as well. The wife, Jordana, struggles to find happiness in her worried day to day life. With Angie's manic highs and depressing lows, Jordana stumbles along trying to hold on brefore she becomes as overwhelmed as Angie. Jordana finally realizes that her only chance at happiness is through leaving her stressfull environment behind. Jordana leaves her husband Pieter and moves out into the country for fresh air and clear thinking. Jordana can now handle Angie's dilema more easily as well as find enjoyment in simple activities. Jordana becomes more in touch with herself after she left, "She'd never enjoyed cooking before. Now she found herself admiring her hands as she lifted apples from their bowl, as she sliced bread, as she lifted a glass of wine. She'd changed in other ways, too, these six months she'd lived alone. She slepts better, and therefore less" (296).

With his wife gone, Pieter now appreciates the presence she had at home. Pieter doesn't realize how much he loves Jordana until she is gone. While alone at home, Pieter often catches himself thinking of his wayward wife, "He felt weak with wanting her back...He needed to find a piece of her...Finally he found a shoe under the bed. Lying on his side, he pulled it out from among the gray dustballs: a pump, black, something Jordana wore resentfully and only when she felt she had to...He pressed his fingers against the shoe lining, the ghostly imprint of his wife's foot" (307-8). Pieter struggles to not obsessivley mourn her absence. Pieter becomes relentless in wanting Jordana back. Every night, he drives to her house and watches her through the front window while hiding in the bushes. Pieter finally realizes, through desperation, that he needs to live with others in order to be at ease. Pieter thus invites his son Luke and fiance, Wendy, to live with him. Through the family's struggles, they can become more in touch with themselves. No one said coming to terms with yourself was easy, especially for the Voorster family.