Theodicy Critique

  I liked the way the bookends worked with the rest of the piece. It shows this conflict that keeps arising, weaving it throughout. The parentheticals in the second paragraph seem unnecessary and merely tacked on, as they are never discussed or mentioned again. The third paragraph seems to be lacking as it opens with theoretical yet she states she “regressed” so she must have been better at some point. I think the reader would benefit from knowing how the medication affected her. The use of “face” at the top of page two creates an interesting connotation, forcing the reader to imagine the “you” as confrontational—is this intentional? The phrase “buying into your insanity” seems to lean towards the idea of the “you” as a pathological liar. There is a constant conflict in the piece, and the speaker seems as conflicted as the reader. The speaker is “tired of being ignored” which seems negative towards the “you” but then says “when you’ll finally allow me to see you” implying she’s wanted to see him/her for a while—is there perhaps an addiction to him/her? Could this be explored? The parentheticals at the bottom of the second page seem almost mocking. I am curious about the intent there. The line “Shrink says, ‘Let’s try something new’ doesn’t seem to have any purpose. This entire piece has this sense of ambiguity about how the reader should perceive the character being discussed. I don’t know if this was intentional.