The Year Of Magical Thinking Sparknotes

“The Year of Magical Thinking,” written by Joan Didion, is a deeply personal memoir that ponders the complexities of life, control, and grief. Following the tragic and sudden death of her husband, John Dunne, the author portrays to her audience the vivid and raw experience of losing a loved one through the use of descriptive scenes, medical reports, psychological studies, and media written by her and John. The heartbreak of her story inspires millions of people worldwide to work on their own mourning process and discover their own journey with grief. However, in addition to the beauty of the novel, Didion drives home several significant points and ideas to her audience. Thus, in her memoir, Joan Didion expresses the important distinction of

To begin, Didion declares that there is a very important difference between mourning and grieving. As an adult in her late sixties, Didion’s life had not been lived free from heartbreak; both of her parents had passed away, and her daughter, Quintana, had undergone several serious medical examinations, as a result of her failing health. Despite these tragedies, Didion notes that her responses to her parents' death and Quitana’s ailments were not truly “grief”. Even though she had to “watch for mines” during this mourning period, she could still “get up in the morning and send out the laundry” (Didion 27). However, when describing the emotions she felt after the death of Dunne, she expresses that her grief “weakened the knees and blinded the eyes and obliterated the dailies of life” (27). By juxtaposing these two ideas, grief and mourning, the author draws a clear distinction between the two concepts. Whereas mourning is painful, it is not something that interrupts life itself; one could still “plan a menu for Easter lunch” or “remember to renew a passport” as Joan Didion did (27). By

Throughout the memoir, Didion credits numerous examples of grief from other literature and media, something that was both important to her and her husband. These passages are littered throughout the book, interceding with lyrics, poems, and even essays on the subject. For instance, Matthew Arnold exclaims “Surely she will come again!” in a poem written about the death of his mother (45). In one of John Hopkins’ lectures, he states that death was “shameful and forbidden” (60). By using a multitude of others’ works in her book, it displays the myriad of individuals who have struggled with the grieving process and losing a loved one. Further, this representation creates a feeling of comfortability and acceptance for the audience, providing them with a depiction, perhaps, of their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions as they too deal with loss. In addition, Didion tells the readers that there is a “certain look” that she has noticed on the bereaved once she lost Dunne (74). This look, she explains, is one of “extreme vulnerability, nakedness, and openness,” which Didion had perceived on several occasions with multiple individuals (74). By adding this detail, the author creates a unifying feature for mourners; she creates a solidarity between them. Therefore, by showing how common grief is, and how often you can spot it on a person, Didion shows the audience that the sorrow and