Student Essay on I for Isobel- Truth and Lies Theme Study

I for Isobel- Truth and Lies Theme Study

Summary:   An analysis of the recurring theme of truth and lies throughout the novel I for Isobel by Amy Witting

In the novel "I for Isobel", the idea of truth and of lies is a recurring theme that runs throughout the novel. The borderline between telling the truth and lying is something that Isobel finds hard to come to grips with even at a young age. The novel is rich in presenting instances and scenes that highlights Isobel's confusion between the truth and the lies, all of which is present when Isobel is searching for her own sense of purpose and her own identity. Isobel finds that even though she is actively seeking for the truth, she happiest when she delves into her own imaginary world with her own made up imaginary characters. It can be said that Isobel is ultimately happiest as a creator of fictions. As she later develops slowly but surely into an individual, she begins to realize that she is the owner of her own life and she ultimately makes her own decisions and that her life is in her own hands not her mother's. As she grows older, she is able to come to terms between the truth and the lies that she was faced with when she was younger.

From the first chapter of the novel "The Birthday Present", it can be gathered that Isobel's relationship with her mother has caused her to be unable to distinguish the difference between the truth and the lies. Her imaginary world that she has created has enabled her to escape from reality and her ability to read books has helped her create a world of her own that helps her escape from her mother's abusive nature. She is aware that although her characters are fake, they offer her something that her mother is unable to give her. She is willing to engulf herself in this fake world with these imaginary characters because it provides her with a sense of safety and belong that she is unable to experience in reality. She returns to the comfort of reading and writing because it offers her shelter from her mother's controlling and abusive ways with her. The confusion that Isobel experiences between truth and lies, stems from her unhappy and restrictive childhood. This can be affirmed when it is pointed out that, "birthdays, parents, injustices all vanished", which further proves that reading is a source of joy for Isobel and it helps her to forget about the injustice in her life.

Isobel's mother is constantly undermining her self confidence and her achievements.

It is clear that she is not supportive of her own daughter. Isobel is always constantly subjected to listen and to believe the words of her mother and she finds it difficult to break away from this. She has little proof or reference points to prove the validity of what her mother says, that Isobel soon comes to accept her mother's opinions as the truth without any further hesitance. Mrs. Callaghan sought to make Isobel doubt all that she saw. When Isobel recounted the "fireball" incident and the words of Sister Ignatius to her, her mother ridiculed and mocked her and called her a liar. As a young child, Isobel came to believe that she is indeed a liar because of the force of which her mother insists upon her. Isobel began to believe that she "told lies without knowing it." Isobel's mother instilled in Isobel a sense of distrust of the people around her and her surroundings. Mrs. Callaghan's lie about the bracelet causes Isobel to connect it to the other lies which she had been told and she suddenly realizes that "it was a moment for breathing quietly, in relief. Sister Ignatius would never haunt her again." Her "state of grace" gives Isobel temporary relief from being easily persuaded by her mother's words. Isobel struggles to maintain this "state of grace" because it offers her refuge from having to differentiate between the truth and lies.

In conclusion, Isobel at a young age had trouble having to deal with the truth and with the lies that she is faced with. She finds it easier to retreat into a world that is fake with imaginary characters because she is able to seek solace and refuge from her the abusive nature of her mother. Isobel also finds it difficult in differentiating between the lies and the truth that her mother tells her. All of this has taken a toll on Isobel has her later adulthood has proven when she is unable to handle between telling the truth from the lies and vice versa.