The Caretaker: A Novel

“Infatuation, his mother called it. His father had said the same, adding that Jacob was merely trying to vex them. If it were true, they’d deserved it. Jacob had been so tired of his parents deciding every aspect of his life. Sending him to Blowing Rock’s schools, telling him how to speak, whom to be friends with and date, nagging him into college, and even after a summer proving himself at the sawmill, trying to make him re-enroll. And marrying Naomi, wanting to decide that too, as if being unable to shape his sisters’ lives gave his parents the right to make Jacob into exactly what they wanted.”

Jacob’s parents value acceptance by others amid their social and economic class above all else, illustrating The Dangers of Prioritizing Appearance Over Truth. As Jacob became an adult, he realized that he does not share these values. Instead, he longs for independence and the freedom to make his own choices.

“The tape lay coiled like a snake ready to strike. Two of Cora and Daniel’s children were already in Laurel Fork Cemetery. Now, if a third. The office closed in 15 minutes, excuse enough not to forward the telegram, but to show the Hamptons the message first was a federal crime. Nevertheless, wouldn’t a worse crime be having the girl know before Jacob’s parents?

Get it over with, Parson told himself. He lifted the tape, read, and sighed in relief. Seriously injured, but alive. He read the tape again. If this were his son, wouldn’t this be good news?”

Here, Ben Parson deliberates as to whether to break the law by informing the Hamptons of Jacob’s injuries before informing Naomi. Ben desires to make an ethical choice but recognizes that the situation is fraught with moral ambiguity. Ultimately, his decision sets into motion the lies that impact the lives of many people, though this is not Ben’s intent.

“Parson thought of the scene weeks ago in town, the girls inappropriate dress and garish makeup. Done deliberately too, he was sure of that. He thought about the Hamptons’ relief when she’d left for Tennessee the following day. Nevertheless, if the hussy’s threat was true, Jacob would move away and never return. Wouldn’t that be almost as bad as losing a son to death? Maybe things would somehow work out between Jacob and his parents. I did the right thing, he told himself, but Parson could not quell the sense that he had opened himself up to a world of trouble.”

It is because Ben shares many of the Hamptons’ values that he decides to act in what he believes to be their best interests. Though his actions are problematic—and Ben recognizes this—he does not foresee the consequences that will befall him. He becomes beholden to the Hamptons in a way that causes him to violate his own ethics once again in the future.

“A weariness came upon [Cora], much deeper than the lack of sleep. She still needed to check on Blackburn this afternoon, call Greene about the name on the stone, and write the telegram to Jacob. There were so many lies to keep straight and more would come. Like a long line of boxcars on a steep grade, just one unhitched could cause disaster.”

Jacob’s mother, Cora, does not try to deceive herself that what she is doing is truthful. She and Daniel openly admit to one another that they are lying and feel no shame in doing so. Because they feel that their lying has valid justification, it does not violate any kind of ethical code that either one holds.

“[Daniel’s] foreboding increased. So much had happened too fast for them to have thought out every pitfall. Even if they had, he still needed to convince Clarke and the girl he was telling the truth. Daniel always prided himself on being forthright. Now he’d lied to Mullins and Gant. Convincingly enough, it seemed. But he could not feign grief.”

Cora and Daniel fail to recognize the immorality of the lies they are telling, evidence of the dangers of prioritizing appearance over truth. Their obsession with appearances causes them to lose sight of the harm they cause, and they fear getting caught more than they fear hurting other people.

“There was more to do before tomorrow’s burial, but as Daniel drove back, his thoughts turned inward. Humiliation, embarrassment, guilt—he’d felt all these emotions in his life. But this was something more. In that moment when Clarke’s gaze softened in commiseration, Daniel had felt shame.”

Daniel initially does not have any qualms about lying to Naomi’s father by telling him that Jacob is dead. However, when Mr. Clarke extends sympathy to Daniel—conveying knowledge of the sadness that Daniel undoubtedly feels at the loss of a child, it is then that Daniel feels the weight of what he has done. Deceiving the Clarke family is an act that Daniel knows to be wrong, but he maintains that renewing the relationship with his son is more important.

“[Blackburn] trailed Naomi’s coffin through the gate to where Murdock and Mr. Hampton waited. This is what the world is, Blackburn thought, and it was as if everything in his life had been slightly out of focus but now kiltered into a final clarity.”

The poor treatment that Daniel gives to Naomi upon her supposed death opens Blackburn’s eyes further to how harsh the world can be. This unkindness embitters Blackburn in this moment, causing him to take on a pessimistic outlook.

“Yes, Jacob thought after the doctor left, he was [lucky]. All he need do was look around him to see men missing an arm or leg, or worse. Luckiest of all to have Naomi, who’d known hardship but, unlike his parents, hadn’t let it embitter her. Surely a part of why he’d fallen in love with her.”

Rash uses sentence fragments to convey the rapid nature of Jacob’s thoughts. Having survived the war, Jacob is grateful. He recognizes that his suffering causes him to stand between two choices: to be grateful for what he still possesses or to be embittered by what he has lost. He chooses to follow Naomi’s past behavior rather than modeling himself on his parents.

“The first time [Blackburn] and Jacob had met, they’d come to this same plot, soon afterward clasped hands to become blood brothers. Blackburn couldn’t shake the feeling that the dead sisters, Jacob’s wounding, Naomi’s death—all were connected by a single thread. Blackburn could think of nothing else to do other than have Jacob know he was here with him.”

Blackburn is keenly aware of The Importance of Confronting Grief for Jacob—a central theme. He takes the childhood commitment that they made to one another seriously, keeping it into adulthood. Though Blackburn cannot ease the pain that Jacob feels as he mourns, his acknowledgment of that pain is enough.

“Even decades later, Dr. Egan vividly remembered those hours by Helen’s bedside. With all his medical knowledge exhausted, he had prayed. He vowed that if Helen survived he’d never take her for granted again. Eventually the fever subsided and the lungs cleared. Soon enough there were times he did take Helen for granted, failed her in many ways. But over three decades, there were always moments when he remembered those two days—the fear, the prayers, the promises.”

The love and grief that Egan experiences for his late wife parallels that of Jacob for Naomi and allows Egan to empathize with Jacob’s circumstances. In his regret at having taken Helen for granted, Egan is a foil for Jacob’s parents, who take their son for granted—ignoring his emotional needs in their relentless pursuit of social standing.

“As [Jacob] entered the yard, his mother came down the porch steps followed by his father. On their faces more than smiles, a joyousness. When, if ever, had his parents been like this? The night he and Veronica came dressed for the prom? His first day of college? No, not in those moments. The day they’d heard about Naomi’s death. Yes, Jacob thought, likely then.”

When Jacob returns from war, it is as if his violations against his parents’ orders have been magically erased. They regard Naomi’s “death” as a positive event because it means that Jacob can start anew and follow their wishes. Jacob, who cannot easily forget his love for Naomi, is angered by this.

“That was how Naomi told him the rapture would be. She’d said so in January, spoke of souls like long-planted seeds rising from the dirt.

Lila claims we’ll be in the dark and of a sudden lift up into the light. I likely think it’s true, don’t you?

Blackburn answered that he didn’t know.

But you hope it?

If we look the same as we do alive, Blackburn said, I’d rather stay in the dark.

Maybe all we’ll see in that light is the good in each other’s hearts, Naomi answered.

Blackburn supposed such a thing possible.”

Naomi’s words reveal that she is optimistic and kind-hearted, focusing on the good in all people, rather than their flaws. In this way, she displays the positive and admirable traits that Jacob wishes his parents would see in her.

“To my mind, war’s not a thing you suddenly get over so much as you slowly work your way around. I farmed before I served and went back to farming soon as I returned. Being busy and tiredness helps keep your mind off darksome things.”

World War II veteran Seth Nolan helpfully acknowledges that the pain and guilt that Jacob is experiencing will not quickly disappear. At the same time, his advice to “keep your mind off darksome things” mirrors Jacob’s mother’s response to the deaths of her children—an impulse to put the pain aside and get on with her successful life. Both risk harming Jacob further by denying the importance of confronting grief.

“Maybe your suffering isn’t as special as you think, [Jacob] told himself. But Naomi had been special, and in ways his parents would never understand. She’d been through hard times too, losing a mother at four, growing up poor, only three years of grade school before her father made her quit, but unlike his parents Naomi hadn’t thought the world was always out to harm you. His parents had been wrong about Naomi, but in the end they had been right about the world.”

As the novel unfolds, Jacob tries to examine his grief objectively, considering that he is not unique since many other people around him have also experienced loss and hardship. He points to the ways that Naomi contrasts with his parents: Both have lost loved ones, but because their respective responses to and handling of their grief were so different, one was made stronger and kinder, while the other pessimistic and bitter.

“Jacob looked around his room. His parents had not changed anything—the pictures on the wall, the books on the shelf, the blue Blowing Rock High pennant tacked to the door. And the radio, its red dial exactly where it had been two years ago. As with the mantel photograph of Veronica and him, wasn’t the unaltered room a denial of his life with Naomi, a certainty that the marriage wouldn’t endure?”

Jacob’s parents presume that he can simply slip into his life before his marriage and the war, as if these experiences never happened. Jacob, on the other hand, is unwilling to disregard his past but must mourn the death of Naomi.

“Childishness. The same when she made Blackburn take her to town that day. Putting on lipstick and powder, wearing a dress, not the maternity smock, so people had to notice her belly. She’d lied to Blackburn about dressing up that way to look pretty […] Yes, childishness, nothing more. But she wasn’t a child now. She’d learned that the hard way, losing a husband, raising a baby alone.”

These insights from Naomi’s point of view are important because they demonstrate her character growth. What she calls “childishness” was an act of defiance against those who wanted her to feel ashamed for being pregnant—and especially against Jacob’s parents. Her growth contrasts with the stasis of the Hamptons, who have little remorse for the immoral things they have done.

“But before anything else, [Naomi] had to go to Jacob’s grave. A duty to the dead, Blackburn said about his job. This was Naomi’s duty, one that must be fulfilled before her life went on. She had so much to say to Jacob, about how hard it was without him, and how much she loved him.”

Naomi, though she has little life experience, has learned from Blackburn, soaking up what wisdom he has to offer her. Through his caretaking job, he taught her the importance of honoring the dead, and this is important to Naomi. She becomes willing to sacrifice her own safety by visiting Jacob’s grave.

“When your sisters died, I went up to their graves each morning for weeks. Then one day I asked myself, Who am I doing this for? Who is this helping? When they were alive, my love could do so much for them, but not afterward. So I quit going. That sounds harsh, son, but life is harsh. Loving people when they are alive, that’s what matters.”

Cora criticizes Jacob’s timeline for mourning, insinuating that he is malingering in his grief and that continuing to mourn Naomi does him no good. She hopes that if Jacob spends less time at Naomi’s grave, he will forget her entirely and remarry. Her words and attitude illustrate Jacob’s assertion that the losses that Cora has experienced in her life have made her pessimistic and bitter.

“Daniel said, meeting [Cora’s] eyes, ‘if the worst happens, we wouldn’t have even had Jacob these last months. He’d have come back from Korea and soon as possible moved away. That’s what the girl swore would happen. Even if he was to find out the truth tomorrow, we’ve had the chance to show him how much we care about him,’ Dainel’s voice catching. ‘Whatever else, he has seen it.’

Cora nodded, They had shown their love, bared it in front of their son in a way they never had before.”

As Daniel and Cora consider that the truth about Naomi being alive may eventually come out, neither regrets their decision to lie. Both feel justified in doing so because they feel that the lie was a means to show their love for Jacob. Ironically, this controlling form of love only drives Jacob further away from them.

“She had come to him, not Jacob, yet Jacob would have to be the one to add Naomi to the marker. And if Jacob refused? But what if she might have appeared for another reason? Blackburn hadn’t noticed if Jacob wore the wedding ring when he’d left the cemetery. Could that be what Naomi mourned?”

At first, Blackburn considers that the figure he saw at Naomi’s supposed grave may be the ghost of Naomi herself. He contemplates what significance this might have for him personally, considering whether Naomi may be trying to convey romantic feelings to him. Ultimately, Blackburn will dismiss this notion, but his line of thinking is important in and of itself because it shows that he approaches the conflict with care rather than behaving rashly.

“Mr. Clarke stared at Blackburn with as much incredulity as any time since his arrival.

‘What makes you think I’d let any of them folks set foot near Annie Mae after all their lies and threats?’

‘That was his parents. Once Jacob knows what happened he’ll not let them near that child.’

‘So you claim,’ Mr. Clarke answered. ‘The apple don’t fall far from the tree.’”

Naomi’s father knows that the Hamptons cannot be trusted, especially since they have already lied to him about Jacob’s death. He fears that Jacob is as immoral and dishonest as his parents. Like Blackburn, Mr. Clarke acts carefully where his loved ones are concerned, wanting to do as much as he can to prevent any future harm to them.

“Blackburn’s fury began to slow. He thought of what Mr. Clarke had said about choices. But even seven hours away from here, Blackburn knew he’d always live with the fear of being found out. Surely a time would come when Annie Mae would want to visit her father’s grave.”

Here, Blackburn thinks through Mr. Clarke’s proposition that he keep Jacob’s existence a secret from Naomi. Unlike the Hamptons, who act quickly in their lie without considering the full potential repercussions of their actions, Blackburn proceeds with caution. He, unlike the Hamptons, seeks to act according to the best interests of others, rather than himself.

“Blackburn pondered what Naomi would want. But he knew the answer to that. Your Daughter, she had written on the back of the photograph. Yet what would be best for Annie Mae? And who best to decide?”

Blackburn considers whether what Mr. Clarke insists—that Naomi, in the absence of Jacob, will one day fall in love with Blackburn—can be true. Though he cares for Naomi and likely has romantic feelings for her, Blackburn places her interests and desires above his own.