Franklin Seal answers “So, is Olivia the daughter of Ray and...”

Elizabeth asked this question about The Overstory:

So, is Olivia the daughter of Ray and Dorothy?? Magical realism???

Franklin Seal The author clearly wanted the sharp reader to ponder the question, given the tattoo, the IP lawyer and the seedling in the cup — all three appear in b…moreThe author clearly wanted the sharp reader to ponder the question, given the tattoo, the IP lawyer and the seedling in the cup — all three appear in both Olivia's narrative and in the Ray/Dorothy narrative. But he specifically makes it impossible to answer the question, too — we're told they didn't have a daughter, but also that she had the affair which leaves the possibility she could have become pregnant by another man. She was against adoption, but it was never specifically stated that they did not adopt. Unlike some who have said this suggests an element of Magical Realism, I see it as something more surrealist. Very Magritte, a'la Empire of Light.

Here is one of the most incisive articles on the question of is Oliva Ray and Dorothy's daughter: http://politicsslashletters.org/featu... Her answer is a definitive yes, but not in a normal literal sense, and not metaphorically, either.
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