Short story by Emma Donoghue‘s in the form of letters. I find it sad that Mabel/Lily was never told that she was adopted. I think it is important to tell children who their birth parents are, but of course help them understand that that doesn’t mean they are their birthparents are their mother and father. Whoever raises you is your true mother and father and I do not think it is okay to keep information of how you were born away from a child and especially even as an adult; they have the right to know who their birthparents are regardless of the situation. Mabel/Lily should have at least been told when she was 18 who her birth mother is and how her true life was and that her birth mother did not abandon her. It’s sad how poverty can ruin a mothers chance of raising their own child. I feel bad for Mabel/Lily’s birth mother, but also happy that Mabel/Lily was raised well in a well off family, where she was able to succeed and get married and have children of her own in the end. Maybe with how her birth mothers income and marriage was, Mabel/Lily might have not had a similar life, but this doesn’t excuse the fact that her parents never told her the truth. I like how the author of The Gift showed how distraught the birthmother was; her clear change in emotions were very expressive and in my opinion felt rushed. I felt like she was always trying to give explanations, which she does because she is scared of her birth child to think of her as fully abandoning her. It was interesting to see how Mabel’s father felt, and I think he is right in keeping the child, but they should have told her the truth of her life early on. These things can be explained to children in ways where you can also clearly show them that they have their mother and father, but also birth parents, which biologically gave birth to them, but their true mother and father are the people who raise and give love to you. Regarding the tone I think that the mother’s emotions were captured well. She was distraught and worried the whole time, and which you can see in every letter the mother wrote, as she sounded all over the place. It’s sad because of her dependency on a husband and never being able to provide enough for her and a child. Although she was never stable, I feel like she should have been allowed an opportunity after Mabel was 18 to be able to see her and have her child know her background.
