70 pages • 2-hour read
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
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Themes
Complicated Relationships Between Mothers and Daughters
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination.
Sookie’s relationship with Lenore is at the very heart of the novel. Sookie feels conflicted between wishing that she could be less vulnerable to her mother’s influence and worrying that she has disappointed her mother through her choices in life. As the narrative progresses, Sookie learns more about herself and about Lenore, with her discoveries illustrating the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters.
Lenore and Sookie’s relationship is complex, as they are two very different individuals. When Sookie thinks of Lenore, she “love[s] her, but Lord, she was a lot of trouble” (14). For much of her childhood, “Lenore ruled with an iron hand” despite the fact that Sookie “had always been basically shy. She never wanted to be a Magnolia Trail Maiden or a cheerleader or to join all those organizations” (15). Lenore pushes Sookie due to her own feelings of inadequacy, as she regrets that she never achieved her dream of becoming an actress. Her constant demands and unwanted advice make Sookie feel like Lenore is always disappointed in her. Sookie spends much of the novel trying to find out who she is outside of Lenore’s big personality and demands.
To her surprise, by learning more about Fritzi—whom she mistakenly thinks is her biological mother for most of the narrative—Sookie comes “to look at Lenore with different eyes” (317). This respect is important because although it does not negate the work Sookie has had to do for herself in order to grow, it helps her to better understand her adoptive mother. In turn, Sookie feels like a new person, and “she liked who she was turning out to be” (316-17). As she grows in self-confidence and knowledge of her true identity, Sookie feels more comfortable in asserting herself with Lenore, while also maintaining a compassionate outlook on the limitations Lenore has contended with throughout her life.
On the other hand, not knowing much about Sophie is difficult for Sookie. It is not even until she gets up to courage to visit Fritzi that she discovers who her real mother is. She spends much of the novel worrying that she’ll let her biological mother down, reflecting how her relationship with Lenore has colored her ideas about relationships with parents. However, just solving the mystery of who her mother is brings Sookie peace. She loves being a part of the Jurdabralinski family and feels a lot of pride in their—and her mother’s—contributions as pilots to women’s and American history.
Sookie also finds that her journey with both of her mothers sets her on a new journey as well, especially with her daughter Dee Dee. At first nervous to reveal that she is not a Simmons, Sookie ultimately “realized that her little girl, the one she had been worried about the most, had quietly grown up” (278). Dee Dee cares for Sookie, getting her out of the house and reminding her how much she and her siblings admired Sookie for caring for them. For Sookie, who struggles with her self-image and feels like she has achieved nothing, Dee Dee’s validation means a lot. It also helps Sookie to see that she has done a good job as a mother, even if her relationship with her own mother is strained.
Thus, the relationships between mothers and daughters in the novel are complex, but ultimately loving. Sookie loves Lenore, even as she causes her trouble, and likewise, her most prized possession becomes the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously awarded to her birth mother, showing how she has found peace with both of her families.
Navigating Fear and Fun at Home During Wartime
World War II is a major part of this novel, as the majority of its flashbacks take place during the conflict. The struggle brings with it constant fear, and everyone has to do what they can to survive. The Jurdabralinski family is especially affected, as three of the four sisters and the only brother all serve as part of the United States’ military efforts. Through their experiences, the novel explores how the family contends with fear and finds ways to have fun throughout the war.
The United States’ entry into World War II is a dramatic moment that fills Americans with fear. The attack on Pearl Harbor makes everyone feel vulnerable since it happened on American shores. The Jurdabralinskis worry that “[i]f America was lost, then there was no hope—not only for them, but also for the world” (128). Everyone does what they can to cope with this fear. For example, when Sophie joins the war effort alongside her siblings, Linka thinks, “It means now I’ll be lighting four candles, instead of three” (231). For Linka, praying for safety is one way of contending with the very real chance that she could lose one of her children.
Despite the difficulties and fears of wartime, Fritzi also experiences a certain degree of liberation during the conflict. Women are finally permitted to fulfill jobs usually held by men due to the number of men away at the front. Being in the WASPs lets her fly around the country and see new cities. Many citizens respect her for her contributions to the United States’ war effort, which gives Fritzi a new sense of purpose and a higher social status. However, she notes that her feelings of enjoyment also induce a sense of guilt within her, admitting, “I feel ashamed of myself for still being alive and having such a swell time. But I don’t know what else to do” (221). She worries that her fun is a betrayal to those who lost their lives in the wartime fight.
Nevertheless, finding moments of freedom and joy enables Fritzi and her sisters to keep their morale up. In undertaking both service with the WASPs and running the filling station, the sisters can cope with their anxieties about the war and their brother’s absence. In gaining these new experiences, they also learn more about themselves and gain greater confidence. Ultimately, both the fear and fun they experience change their lives forever, even long after the war has ended.
The US as a Land of Opportunity and Restriction
Stanislaw Jurdabralinski comes to the United States thinking that it will solely be a land of opportunity for himself and any children that he has. He believes strongly in the idea that hard work will be rewarded, regardless of his origins. However, as his daughters all experience, it is a land of both opportunity and restriction: Strict gender roles limit the opportunities available for women.
The growing popularity of automobiles provides plenty of opportunity for those looking to open filling stations, and Stanislaw is thrilled to be among these business owners. He is “so proud to have a family business at last” (50). He can earn money for his family by running his own business. His belief in the country guides his children, as they all eventually contribute to the home front effort during World War II and share his faith in the United States. For example, when Fritzi discusses the contributions of American factory workers during the war, she states, “Poppa always said this was the greatest country in the world, and now I see how right he is” (261). She, too, believes in the American dream.
However, Fritzi and her sisters also experience gender discrimination in the United States firsthand. She is at first deterred from joining the military since they won’t accept women pilots. When this policy changes and she encounters men at airbases, one of the military officials comments, “[b]oys will be boys, and some of them may be tempted to fly on your wing and horse around a bit with the gals, but it’s to be expected” (194). This statement normalizes men’s harassment of women and the idea that they have every right to test their female counterparts. When, later in the war, male pilots wish to avoid active combat, the WASP program is disbanded so that men can take over the duties of the women pilots. The closure of the WASP program reflects how male desires and needs are automatically regarded as more important than those of the women.
When the WASPs are disbanded and their records are sealed, the US government pretends that their decision to allow women pilots to contribute to the war effort never existed. This choice has long-reaching effects, as Sookie and Dee Dee experience when touring a museum in the early 21st century. Sookie is amazed that “[e]ven after all these years, after so many of these women died flying for their country, these men still didn’t want to acknowledge it ever happened. Some things never change” (335). The fact that WASP pilots are not highlighted in the exhibit thus illustrates how there is still a lack of recognition for women’s contributions to American history.
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