When All Is Said

The way the past shapes the present is a defining theme in the book’s premise, as Maurice looks back on the people who have impacted his life the most. Molly’s and Tony’s presences impact his decisions, as he “think(s) through the pros and cons of each option with Tony and Molly” (96). He notes that Sadie has made him a better person: “I would have been a thousand times worse without her” (233).

Intertwined with the impact of these people are the events that have shaped Maurice’s life, running parallel to the story of Thomas Dollard. Both Maurice and Thomas are shaped by their family’s interconnected histories. As children, formative personal events intertwine with their socio-economic circumstances. Thomas’s father hates him due to his wife’s affairs and is also angry at the social changes offering small parcels of land to those who would once have solely worked for him. When he disinherits Thomas over the loss of the valuable, antique coin, Thomas’s rejection by his father becomes connected to the family’s inherited status and wealth, shaping Thomas’s obsession with regaining the coin, believing it will solve all the Dollards’ problems. The repercussions of this obsession echo down through the generations: His purchase of another coin leads to the family’s financial hardships, and when he is eventually presented with the coin, he is killed by a heart attack.

Similarly, the formative event of Tony’s death is tied to Maurice’s socio-economic circumstances. The family’s economic dependency on working for the Dollards to care for Tony leaves Maurice helpless in the face of Thomas’s cruelty. Maurice associates the Dollards and financial hardship with all the ills he experiences, motivating his obsession with making money and enacting revenge against their family. Where possible, Maurice combines the two, buying up the Dollards’ lands for exploitative prices. This action drives a wedge between Sadie and him, as she values humanity over money, and he sometimes places finances above her. Griffin shows that both personal and socio-economic history has shaped the lives of Maurice, Thomas, and those around them.

While Maurice's and Thomas’s relationships to the past are imbued with bitterness, Emily’s narrative arc illustrates agency in the face of a predetermined present. She returns to manage the hotel her father created in what was once Hugh Dollard’s big house, which several generations of Dollards have been unable to escape from. Hillary believes Emily is trapped there, but when Maurice asks Emily if she wants to leave, she expresses pride in the work she has done and the person she has become. Griffin shows that the past has shaped her present, but that her character has defined how this has manifested. Rather than inheriting an obsession with the past, Emily has shaped her future by building a business, which she has managed by accepting help from Maurice despite their family history. Griffin also uses Maurice’s ending to show that, though the past has shaped him, he still has the agency to make new choices, returning the coin to Emily and leaving her the whole hotel.

The struggle to communicate is a theme that runs throughout When All Is Said; Griffin examines its causes and consequences as well as people’s battles to overcome it. She shows that societal stigma leads to difficulty communicating, isolating people. Maurice internalizes shame around struggling at school, and as a result, he never tells Sadie or Kevin about his dyslexia. This secrecy impacts his relationship with Kevin, as he never engages with his journalism career. Social shame around Noreen’s mental health condition leads to a damaging absence of communication. For example, Maurice accidentally upsets Sadie by joking about her family being “nutcases,” encapsulating the vicious cycle of shame: Because she has not felt able to tell him about her sister, he perpetuates the attitudes causing her shame. However, his relationship with Noreen impacts him over the years. When Thomas uses derogatory language about her, Maurice corrects and admonishes him, overcoming the struggle to communicate regarding mental health.

Griffin also shows how cultural background and generational influences impact people’s ability to communicate. Maurice describes Sadie’s parents’ “love but of the Irish kind: reserved and embarrassed” (81). He says that communication is hard for his generation: “[It]t’s not like we were reared to it […] we can’t just turn our hand to it” (81). Griffin shows how this impacts his relationship with Sadie, as they struggle to communicate their emotions. When grieving, Maurice avoids her and stays out as much as possible, while she becomes “lost in a silence” (164).

However, Griffin explores how people use other forms of communication to bond. Maurice misses arguing with Sadie and the recurring in-jokes of their arguments, such as “the man from Mulhaddart” (254). They communicate their love indirectly through everyday interactions. Maurice and Tony laugh over Tony’s illness, joking that he is lazing around instead of acknowledging that he is going to die. Jokes allow them to communicate their brotherly love without speaking about it. Maurice’s love for his son motivates him to find ways to communicate. He faces his hang-ups about writing, managing to read all of Kevin’s work before he dies. He struggles to communicate with him face-to-face, noting, “as soon as you walk in the door it’s like a bolt closes over my mouth” (187), but finds a way to express himself using his final voice recording. Griffin shows that communication is central to relationships.

The storyline of Thomas and the coin shows the destruction that a lack of communication can bring. Social and personal pressures create barriers to communication, and the Dollards’ subsequent secrets destroy their family on a personal and socio-economic level. This damage only begins to be repaired when Maurice and Emily have more honest conversations, overcoming the struggle to communicate due to their inherited enmity. Together, they bring closure to the mystery of the coin. While Hillary assumes Emily is trapped at the hotel, Maurice directly asks her what she wants, allowing her to make her own decision for her future. Griffin shows the restorative impact of overcoming the struggle to communicate.