Parallel Voices in Braided Lives
The parallel voice is a device which is present in Marge Piercy's novel, Braided Lives. This technique enforces the effect of Jill's past life on her future life and views. A gauge of the protagonist's growth is given by parallel voices, a technique which enables the reader to see how the protagonist has developed from teenager to adult.
The parallel voices of the young and adult narrator give insight to the changes that have occurred in her life. According to one critic, "Jill is survivor, and she chooses to examine her own past out of a strong commitment to the present" (Gold 378). The novel is a memoir by the adult Jill. It shows " the beginning and the fruits of her political growth," but it leaves the events in the middle up to the reader's imagination (Schwartz 379). She writes of her past experiences and how they effected her. She describes her experiences with objectivity. In her flashback, she can examine why she acted in a certain way. The elapse of time provides her with this objectivity. Since she is looking back, she can highlight certain areas of her past and use them as examples for others.
One of the main issues dealt with in parallel voices is abortion. After the description of Jill's abortion, Piercy writes in italics about Jill's future work concerning abortion.
When father comes home, I sit propped in a chair in the living room dressed in too big skirt and too big blouse with a magazine hanging open in my lap, still slowly bleeding. Brooklyn, 1963. The doctor botched the abortion and she is hemorrhaging. I am one of a group of women who help other women secure abortions (Piercy 223).
Parallel voices are also present when Piercy discusses Jill's relationships with men. Piercy never leaves the reader guessing what happened to a character. When Jill terminates a relationship, Piercy uses a flash-forward to explain where and how that man affects Jill's life. "He was too proud to persist, and after a week of siege he exits my life. I can't tell you what happened to Kemp. To this day I think of Kemp oftener than any other man of my college years, except Howie, usually when I am cooking one of the dishes he taught me" (Piercy 426-427).
The parallel voices also foreshadow later events in the novel. Jill experiences a number of negative relationships, but their importance is not understood until the reader is told through the parallel voice technique that she went through a period of rejecting men until she found true happiness. The reader discovers, through the flash-forwards, that Jill will eventually find true happiness in a relationship with Josh. Another example is the relationship between Jill and Howie. Right after Jill finds out that Howie is dating her roommate, the italicized foreshadowing explains that they will never become more than good friends. By using this type of foreshadowing, Piercy always keeps the reader informed and involved.
Parallel voices serve several purposes in Braided Lives. The voices show the reader the protagonist's growth throughout the novel. Jill's future work for abortion and her future relationships are mainly dealt with in the italicized passages. These references to the future serve as foreshadowing for the reader. Parallel voices have a strong presence in the novel.
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