Val from "Forgiveness in Families"

During a past lecture, the character Val was discussed from the short story "Forgiveness in Families" by Alice Munro. In particular, Val’s character was analyzed and repentance was noted.

At the beginning of the story, Val gives readers the impression that her brother Cam is the centre of the universe. However, readers soon discover that it is Val not Cam. Val’s selfishness is evident to readers when she abruptly makes the claim that Cam birth was an embarrassment to her since he was born during her first week of play-school. Then as the mother gets sick, the story sheds light on other aspects of Val’s character. Val gets tensed up about her mother being sick in the hospital and recalls moments they spent together. She goes home and expects to hear news of her death the next day. However, when Val hears news of her mother’s improvement, she isn’t happy right away. Dr. Ogden pointed out that Val undergoes a moment of knowledge or revelation in which she discovers what she’s really like. At that moment in the story, Val stops justifying herself and accepts the truth.

In a sense, Val can be seen as a dynamic character that undergoes a change due to a major turning point in the story. This is a short story that perhaps we may be able to relate to at some time in our lives when we realize something about ourselves due to what life challenges us with.