I wanted to tie together two issues we discussed briefly in class: Lore's seemingly overwhelming worry about being discovered and themes of environmentalism.

Throughout her life with Spanner, Lore constantly worries about being recognized from the kidnappers' videos: "There was nothing specific of which she was afraid, just... everything, as though the world were a gelatinous beast that would fall upon her and suffocate her. The open spaces, the feeling that her back was naked, that people could see through her clothes, that someone would recognize her as the heiress who was kidnapped three or four months ago" (86). Paragraphs of paranoid thoughts often culminate with worries that "people might recognize her, might stare and point" (57). Such behavior is understandable -- with the kidnapping and broadcasting of the videos, she went from an icon of premier social standing to an object of pity. Images of her in a weakened, suffering state flooded the market. According to a worldview where "To look vulnerable was to be vulnerable” (89), being recognized from the pictures left Lore susceptible to more than just blackmail, but true emotional harm. She had internalized the image of the online photos -- the threatened and abused character in the kidnappers' films is who she is, and she's afraid of others reconizing her, and in that recognition, confirming that identity.

To emphasize the danger and power of this cycle, Lore has the model of Stella: "To be used like a receptacle, a commodity, and to know it, to be helpless before it, and then to see that helplessness reflected back at her every time her eyes met her abuser's across the table, every time she saw herself in the mirror" (292)... faced with such a situation, Lore understands why Stella chose to kill herself. Lore accepts this choice, and must prevent herself from being overhwelmed by shame from which she can never escape.

Slow River introduces two competing methods of dealing with this vulnerability. The first is a type of 'eat or be eaten' mentality that drives Lore to reflect "Everyone suffered. It was just a question of making sure she was using them, and not the other way around" (85). Lore justifies seruptitiously videotaping her friends having sex with the rationale that they've seen her in similar situations (197). In her relationship with Spanner, Lore learns how to manipulate her way into power, which parallels the tactics used by Greta and Katerine -- all of them focus on using others in order to avoid the conclusion that they were used and harmed by others. The alternative seems to be ecological. As Lore begins to tend her garden, she shows a strong departure from the previous mindset: "Many of the weeds she left alone. They had fought to be there; she wasn't going to be the one to pull them out. Besides, they were green and growing" (87). This respect for life, growth, and individual freedom contrasts sharply to the 'everyone is suffering, take what you can' idea from before. As Lore continues to explore this new way of living, she begins to feel better about herself: instead of illicit activities that make her lips begin to curl like Spanner's (i.e. getting trapped into a cycle of hurt-or-be-hurt), she begins to recognize a need for "wild things, natural things" (113).

I'm interested in exploring more about the satisfaction Lore finds in this new approach, as well as the seeming contrast between the 'natural' and 'kill-or-be-killed' lifestyle (isn't that how the animal world works?), but I'm going to call it a night for now.