Chapter 19: Genealogy (Such Deep Creases) — Summary, Themes, and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The narrator opens by stating she has always known that her father's Uncle Joe was killed by his wife. For much of her childhood, this was almost a novelty—a murder in the family. When she was twelve or thirteen, she learned the fuller truth: the wife was a serial killer, and Joe was her third husband, poisoned with arsenic. Joe was only twenty-six when he died of kidney failure, a handsome pilot who had returned safely from war. The wife brought him fresh juice every day in the hospital, a detail that lingers.
In her thirties, the narrator discovered that Joe's mother—her great-grandmother, Geneva—was devastated by his death. Geneva was never the same; Joe was her favorite, and her life was ruined by grief. The narrator had forgotten Geneva's name, though she possesses a black-and-white photo of Geneva wearing pants, about to ride in a bucket into Carlsbad Caverns. Their lives overlapped for five or six years, but Geneva seemed already dead, still and silent.
At forty, the narrator learned that there had been no suspicion of murder until the wife's young daughter began getting sick as well. This revealed a life insurance scam. Joe's body was exhumed, and his older brother—the narrator's grandfather—had to identify the body. The narrator's father told her this story in a restaurant. When she asked how long Joe had been buried, her father said months, maybe a year. The narrator thought of the word decay.
The chapter then shifts to reflection. The narrator notes that these long-dead people became yet more real to her as she learned these details. It has taken her whole lifetime to understand they are real. She considers the impossibility of remembering things one hasn't experienced, yet also the possibility of remembering things one doesn't know one knows. She recalls a kimono given by her best friend, with deep creases that never came out in the wash. This reminds her of a study about butterflies that “remember” being caterpillars.
Driving across New Mexico, she experiences a good kind of boredom—miles of dead nothing, then a herd of tiny antelopes. These antelopes remind her of Auden's reindeer, moving silently and very fast in their “altogether elsewhere.” She reflects on the double elsewhere: the elsewhere in the poem and the elsewhere of the poem. She also considers the past of the poem—a postwar poem—and the past in the poem, which concerns the fall of Rome, which she never remembers. Perhaps now she will.
Key Events
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The narrator recalls learning at age twelve or thirteen that Uncle Joe's wife was a serial killer who poisoned him with arsenic.
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In her thirties, she learns of Geneva's profound grief and realizes she had forgotten her great-grandmother's name.
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At forty, she discovers the murder was only suspected after the wife's daughter fell ill, exposing a life insurance scheme.
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Joe's body is exhumed, and the narrator's grandfather identifies it; the father recounts this in a restaurant.
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The narrator reflects on the kimono's permanent creases and the butterfly study, linking them to implicit memory.
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While driving across New Mexico, she sees antelopes and connects them to Auden's reindeer, contemplating the poem's multiple elsewheres and its historical layers.
Character Development
The narrator's understanding of her family history evolves across decades. Initially, the murder is a novelty, a story. As she ages, each new piece of information—the serial killing, Geneva's grief, the exhumation—makes the past more tangible. The chapter shows her moving from detached curiosity to a profound recognition of the realness of these people. Her reflection on memory and the kimono suggests a growing awareness of how the past persists in unexamined ways. The final image of the antelopes and Auden's poem indicates her mind weaving personal history into literary and historical contexts, demonstrating a mature, associative way of processing grief and time.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
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Memory vs. Experience: The narrator distinguishes between remembering things one has experienced and knowing things one hasn't. She suggests that implicit memory—things we don't know we remember—can surface unexpectedly.
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Genealogy and the Past Becoming Real: The chapter traces how the narrator's ancestors shift from abstract names to vivid, real individuals as she learns more details. The exhumation is a literal unearthing that parallels her metaphorical unearthing of family truth.
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Decay: The narrator's thought of the word decay after learning about the exhumation highlights the physical and emotional deterioration associated with death and time.
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Deep Creases: The kimono's permanent creases symbolize the lasting impressions of past experiences—things that cannot be smoothed away, much like the narrator's family history.
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Metamorphosis Memory: The butterfly study suggests that transformation does not erase memory; the caterpillar's experience persists in the butterfly. This mirrors the narrator's own layered memories of her family.
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Elsewhere: Auden's reindeer and the poem's “elsewhere” represent a space removed from the present—both the past and the poetic imagination. The narrator connects this to her own sense of being elsewhere while driving through a dead landscape.
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Boredom / Dead Landscape: The New Mexico drive is described as a good kind of boring, a dead nothing that nonetheless yields unexpected life (antelopes). This reflects the narrator's ability to find meaning in emptiness.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a pivotal meditation on how we come to know our own history. It moves from a specific family tragedy to broader questions about memory, time, and the ways the past infiltrates the present. The narrator's personal genealogy becomes a lens for understanding how we remember what we never experienced, and how poetry can help us process that. The chapter also deepens the book's exploration of the relationship between personal and historical memory, showing how a single family story can resonate with larger cultural and literary echoes.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does the narrator's understanding of Uncle Joe's death change over the course of her life?
Initially, the murder is a novelty—a family story. At twelve or thirteen, she learns the wife was a serial killer who poisoned Joe with arsenic. In her thirties, she learns of Geneva's grief, making the emotional impact real. At forty, she discovers the insurance scam and the exhumation, which forces her to confront the physical reality of decay. Each layer adds depth, transforming the story from anecdote to a profound recognition of the people involved.
2. What role does the kimono and the butterfly study play in the narrator's reflection on memory?
The kimono's deep creases that never wash out symbolize the persistence of certain memories or impressions. The butterfly study suggests that even after transformation, an organism retains a form of memory from its earlier stage. Together, they illustrate the narrator's idea that we can remember things we don't know we know—implicit memories that shape us without our conscious awareness.
3. How does the narrator connect the antelopes in New Mexico to Auden's poem, and what does this reveal about her state of mind?
The antelopes remind her of Auden's reindeer moving in their “altogether elsewhere.” She sees a double elsewhere: the elsewhere within the poem and the poem's own existence as a separate world. This reflection shows her mind bridging the mundane (a boring drive) with literary and historical layers, suggesting that she is actively seeking meaning in the dead landscape, much as she seeks meaning in her family's past.
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