Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith (March 30-April 1, 2005)
Betty Smith writes simple stories that are emotionally engrossing. This is the third book by her that I've read, and although Tomorrow Will Be Better is no longer in print, it is equal to her other stories. The heroine of this coming-of-age story is Margy Shannon. She wants to escape her cruel, hardworking, overbearing mother and broken and overworked father. She thinks her fate will be different then theirs, that she will make better choices. Hope that things will improve is one of the novel's themes.
Margy finds work after her high school graduation as a mail order correspondent in an office managed by Mr. Prentiss. Mr. Prentiss is dominated by his mother who holds her power over him, preventing him from marrying by making him feel guilty. The relationships between mother and child is a second theme of the novel. Margy dreams of being abandoned by her mother, Flo. He mother denies ever leaving her. Instead of admitting and expressing her love for her daughter, Flo berates her and judges her harshly. Margy's independence in her new job is limited, as her mother takes nearly all of Margy's paycheck from her.
Margy marries Frankie Malone, thinking that marriage will bring her freedom and a better life. She's not in love with Frankie, but both want an escape from their families. Frankie's mother is also possessive of her son, and does not reach out to Margy. After her marriage, Margy quits her job, in keeping with tradition. Instead of happiness, her marriage brings her isolation and further struggles with poverty. Frankie is uninterested in his wife, and Margy eventually realizes that he is gay and that her marriage is meaningless. When Margy tells Frankie she is pregnant, he is revolted and angry. She gives birth, alone, to a stillborn girl. Margy's grief and abandonment weigh upon her and she finally, angrily tells her mother and mother-in-law how she feels about them. Saddled with her hospital bills and the funeral costs, she proposes a return to work, but Frankie refuses. At the end of the novel, Margy writes to Mr. Prentiss without her husband's permission, leaving the reader knowing her marriage is over, and hoping that her life will improve. Though the future is uncertain for Margy, she continued to try.
