“The Optimist’s Daughter” by Eudora Welty

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If you like a flair for Southern drama, I have a story that may interest you. Eudora Welty’s “The Optimist’s Daughter” (1972) is a novel that the author developed based on an existing short story, and it is packed with family drama, crazy coincidences and never-ending plot twists. 

This is not a book that I would call action-packed, as all of the conflicts are truly interpersonal. It moves at a much slower pace than readers may be used to, but unlike most slow burns, most of the story takes place in a relatively short amount of time. This combination is quite interesting, but I must say that I could never decide if I liked the pacing or not. 

The premise itself is quite gripping, as it follows Laurel, a young woman who must return home to settle the arrangements after her father’s death. Laurel is not just anyone – she is a recent widow, her husband having died in World War II, and his body was never recovered. The tragic loss of Phil is important for understanding Laurel as a character. 

Many times, characters with sad backstories come off as a little heavy-handed. However, I felt that the way Laurel was written reads as very genuine. Welty introduces information about Phil slowly, often at moments when it is least expected. I found this approach to mimic the true nature of grief as something that is neither linear nor predictable. 

To get into this juicy gossip, Laurel starts with an already problematic situation. Her father’s wife, Laurel’s stepmother, Fay, is significantly younger than Laurel’s father. Making it even worse, their wedding was a little bit too quick after the death of Laurel’s mom, Becky, who haunts the narrative throughout the story. 

Becky’s presence is primarily felt in the family home, where she was an avid gardener. This seems at odds with Fay because everything about Becky was nurturing and caring. Fay has the opposite influence on the people and things around her. 

This setting makes the tension all the more fierce, especially when

Fay’s family shows up and acts less than presentable. I am usually not a villain defender, but I have to say I found myself feeling a little bit bad for Fay after her family came. It is quite clear she was running from an undesirable situation, even if her method of doing that involved upending Laurel’s life. 

One thing I could not get over with this book is how flat Laurel is. She never shows any truly deep emotions. All throughout the text, I just kept wanting her to yell at Fay or smash a plate or do literally anything to show that she was not a robot. Despite her realistic feelings, I thought her particular amount of restraint kind of distanced her from readers. 

Rating: 7.5/10

If you dig deeper into this work, something of interest is the relationship to sight that is traced through the final version, as well as the previousdrafts of short stories. I will not go into too much detail about that, as it is not critical to understanding the work, but I highly recommend checking it out if you want a greater understanding of the piece. 

Welty really outdoes herself with the drama on this one. “The Optimist’s Daughter” is enough to make anyone question how one remains optimistic during such trying times, but its themes of hope are laced throughout the text. As much as I love the setting and the conflicts, I cannot get over Laurel, so I give this one a 7.5 out of 10.