The Corrigans and Women

It seems that every Corrigan talked about in this book has had issues with retaining an actual relationship with a woman. It starts off with James (Jimmy’s grandfather) who grows up without his mother. Many times throughout the book he wonders how different his life would have been if his mother had raised him, instead of his abusive father. James falls in love with an orange-haired girl, but he struggles to actually go up to her and tell that he loves her. Later on, he becomes heart broken when he she bullies him for making a disfigured horse. The absence of James’ mother also takes a massive toll on Jimmy’s great grandfather. Jimmy’s great grandfather knows he’s not fit to be a father (as he has trouble being a caring parent and taking care of simple household chores) and clearly shows his disgust with raising James throughout the novel. From what the reader can tell, Jimmy’s great grandfather never ends up remarrying and sleeps with prostitutes in their small apartment.

In addition, Jimmy’s father has had his own troubles with women. He talks about splitting up the Jimmy’s mom and sleeping with countless of women when he worked at the airport. Even to the day where Jimmy visits his father, he still objectifies women as sexual objects (ex. he checks out the cashier at the fast food restaurant). Not only has his troubles keeping a relationship impacted his life, but also his kids. Being a single dad without the qualities of a father causes Jimmy’s grandfather to not raise either of his children and forget about his son. When he does try to meet up with his son, one can clearly see that he has little to connect with and converse about.

Finally, Jimmy has his own problems with women. The only woman that is interested in him is his mother. She calls him every day and Jimmy has trouble keeping his life straight without her. When he leaves for a few days to visit his father and only calls his mother once, Jimmy constantly thinks about how worried his mother must be. She seems to be consuming his life and to the point where it irritates Jimmy. When it comes to talking to other women, Jimmy really struggles. Whenever a female is nice to him, he thinks of them sexually (ex. the nurse). The is probably due to the fact that he hasn’t ever had an actual girlfriend, so he doesn’t know what being in a relationship is actually about. The one girl he does love is Peggy; however, he’s never told her how he actually feels and she seems to dislike him.