Winter's Bone (81-109): Sources of Belief

In the next few chapters of Daniel Woodrell's Winter's Bone, Woodrell introduces a new character, April Dunahew who was Jessup's former girlfriend. Interestingly enough, Woodrell divulges much information about April through her living situation. He describes that when Ree took care of her while she was sick, she induces "smoking sage" to add a "churchy oomph." As a result, she "cleansed" the house "of lingering angers...that clung to old shadows" (90). Woodrell reveals that through April's religious conviction, she is capable of cleansing the house of "old shadows," and therefore "lingering angers." In order to become well again, April lets go of past irritations so that she may move on and once again progress and flourish. In the end, she does become well again; thus, Woodrell exposes that through April's religious conviction, she is allotted the necessary hope and optimism to help her rise above her present obstacles. Through faith, April is able to continue living. April's positivity and vivacity greatly contrasts Ree's home. When Woodrell first illustrates Ree's home, he emphasizes that the house's oldness disallows Ree and her family from letting go of the past. "The furniture...had been in use since Mom was a child" while "warped shadow-shapes lay all across the floor and walls and bulged in the corners" (7). In addition to the worn-out furniture from bygone years, Woodrell's depiction of the "warped shadow-shapes" makes the house's environment unsettling and uncomfortable. One questions whether it is the over-used furniture or the Dollys that cast these distorted and "warped" shadows. Furthermore, unlike April, the Dollys are stuck in the past. Their old furniture further fosters an uneasy atmosphere because in addition to evoking memories of Ree's mother's "good" days, it reminds them of their dead Aunt bernadette and dead Uncle Jack who both died tragically. Yet, it is Ree's lack of spiritual faith that provides her home with such a dreary environment. She, unlike April, discovers faith within nature, specifically among the "pine trees with low limbs." Ree claims that these trees "made a stronger vault for the spirit than pews and pulpits ever could," which directly reveals that she does not gain strength or belief through organized religion. After introducing April, one questions what role religion and faith play in the novel and how such a theme develops and influences the growth of each character.