Dream State
47 pages • 1-hour read
Eric PuchnerDream State
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Themes
The Evolving Purpose of Marriage
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, mental illness, and addiction.
Throughout the novel, the three main characters seek to understand themselves in relation to the institution of marriage, at times seeking to change the nature of the institution to fit their own desires or changing themselves to accommodate it. Initially, both Cece and Charlie look forward to their marriage, but it becomes apparent that Cece is more enthusiastic about the wedding than the marriage. Her preoccupation with making the details perfect both reveals her insecurity about others’ opinions of her and masks her ambivalence about her true feelings. When she meets Garrett and quickly falls inexplicably in love with him, the experience confirms her previously vague worry that Charlie was not the right partner for her. Though she knows that her decision to pursue a relationship with Garrett will hurt Charlie, she feels compelled to follow this decision in a way that she cannot explain with logic. Importantly, Garrett has always vehemently opposed the institution of marriage, largely because of the hurt suffered by his parents as the result of their divorce. Prior to meeting Cece, he regards marriage as oppressive, restrictive, and unnecessary and is critical of those who enter into it. His love for Cece shakes this conviction, causing his beliefs to evolve.
As she ages, Cece is plagued by self-doubt and lack of purpose. She experiences ambivalent feelings about her marriage: At times, she is certain that her love for Garrett is strong and that their marriage is a solid and nurturing one. At other times, she resents the time that Garrett spends away from her, pursuing his career, and feels that Garrett is choosing his personal pursuits over her. Garrett’s academic career demands intensive focus and a great deal of time away from home, leaving Cece to care for their young child just as she is trying to get her own career off the ground. This dynamic frustrates her, as it suggests that she and Garrett have fallen into a traditional, patriarchal marriage despite their intentions. Yet there are times when she is relieved that Garrett is away, relishing the freedom and sense of independence it gives her. She finds herself constantly questioning what degree of emotional intimacy a marriage should have, and in the end, she learns that there is really no single answer to this question. Marriage, their relationship shows, is imperfect and must leave room for each person to develop as an individual.
For Charlie, a happy marriage continues to evade him throughout his life. Including Cece, he suffers through three failed marriages and is left alone to navigate both the heartache that results from these and the stress of trying to help his son with his substance addiction. Charlie’s love for Cece never ceases, and the desire to be married to her—to resume a commitment to her—is a cloud of sadness that hangs over his entire adult life. It is not until he reaches the late stages of life that he is able to make peace with Cece’s decision to marry Garrett and thus can finally begin to truly heal.
Commitment and Its Costs
The novel’s focus on friendships that span decades and endure throughout adulthood allows the author to probe the challenges posed by commitment. The highest price is paid by Charlie, who, despite the hurt and betrayal he feels, maintains a lifelong friendship with both Cece and Garrett. His friendship with Garrett is driven by genuine admiration and a sense of gratitude for the help that Garrett has given him throughout his life. Charlie feels particularly indebted to Garrett because he potentially saved his life when they were in college, preventing Charlie from being struck by a car. This indebtedness becomes a source of guilt for Charlie later, as he realizes that his focus on his medical career prevented him from returning the favor to Garrett when Garrett was hospitalized with depressive psychosis. Indeed, though Charlie attempts to impress upon Garrett that he was not at fault for Elias’s death, Garrett blames himself anyway, and Charlie’s words are not enough to heal Garrett. Charlie also maintains a fierce commitment to his son, Jasper, despite Jasper’s disdain for his father.
At various times throughout his life, Garrett distances himself from his friends, driven largely by feelings of guilt about Elias’s death and depression that causes him to feel disconnected from the world as a whole. When he does try to engage with them, he feels awkward and out of place. Garrett seeks solace in his work as a wildlife researcher, which takes him away from people and allows him to live the life of solitude that suits him. His wife, Cece, simultaneously resents Garrett’s frequent absences and feels grateful for the space to be alone and independent. At times, she questions whether she made the right decision by choosing Garrett over Charlie: Because Charlie remains in her life, she is constantly aware of the weight of this decision. Though she has a brief one-night stand with Charlie in midlife, Cece sticks with her decision, committing fully to Garrett. Her commitment leaves her at a loss regarding how to achieve meaning in her own life, however, as Garrett’s job keeps her tied to Montana, a place she initially visited only for her wedding to Charlie. Montana is Garrett’s home and a place of deep personal significance to Charlie, but it becomes Cece’s home only by accident and through her connection to these men. The isolated setting makes it difficult for her to pursue her literary ambitions. In this way, she sacrifices part of her own fulfillment in remaining committed to the marriage. The cost of Garrett’s absence is that a kind of distance grows between them, and a portion of the intimacy they once enjoyed is lost.
In all these cases, the novel argues that commitment is worth the sacrifice and the high cost it entails. Placing the well-being of others above one’s own is rewarded in the novel with a kind of peace and fulfillment that each character arrives at as their life nears its end.
Human Impacts on the Environment
This theme is introduced very early in the novel through Garrett’s perspective: As a lifelong Montanan, the local landscape is very important to him, and he is resentful and angry at the way that human presence infringes on it. This is apparent when he and Cece first meet and Garrett takes Cece to hike Glacier National Park—the park is crowded, and Garrett grows disgusted by these crowds, adamant that their presence in the park is for the wrong reasons and that they are doing more harm to the environment by interacting with it rather than honoring it by visiting. Indeed, Garrett’s career as a conservationist in the middle of the novel provides evidence of the ways that humans, through their expansion of the built world, have inhibited wildlife habitats. Garrett devotes his adult life to tracking wolverines, their numbers having dwindled due to diminishing habitats and other human factors. Garrett feels both a sense of urgency to address this problem and a sense of ownership to correct it. Importantly, despite his passion, the novel underscores the way in which Garrett must unhappily accept the reality of the damages done—his actions in tracking the wolverine population have relatively little positive impact in relation to the large-scale damage done by climate change.
Indeed, the characters in the novel are nearly constantly surrounded by reminders of the way in which the natural world continues to decline as climate change progresses. The ongoing wildfires that rage through Montana are a key example. The smoke that frequently fills the air forces them to constantly monitor the air quality and determines when they can and cannot go outside. Unwilling to let the smoke keep him indoors, Garrett ventures into nature regardless, losing his voice due to smoke inhalation quite frequently. The smoke itself evolves to function as a metaphor throughout the novel—as the group of friends is forced indoors, their relationships are stifled. Breathing outside becomes difficult, just as it becomes difficult for them to connect with and relate to one another as they age, and the toxic air becomes a physical representation of the harsh emotional atmosphere that surrounds them. Only when they are willing to risk the damaging smoke by jumping into Salish Lake—which continues to dwindle year by year—do they find a means of expressing and renewing their friendship.
By the end of the novel, the Salish landscape has changed dramatically, suggesting that humanity’s negative mark on the physical world is too far gone to reverse its damage: The lake has nearly dried up, and nearly all of the town of Salish is consumed by wildfire. Since Lana photographs and videotapes the destruction, her efforts will serve as a record of humanity’s destructive capabilities.
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