The Story “eastmouth” by Alison Moore

Eastmouth

Ida Burich 14-C

The story “Eastmouth” by Alison Moore was published in 2014.

It narrates a visit Sonia and Peter pay to Peter’s parents in Eastmouth, and spans over a weekend. The city girl finds herself confined in a small isolated town, surrounded by people with conservative views including her seaside boyfriend. The text shows quite dramatically the way Peter's parents and the surroundings in Eastmouth pressures Sonia into accepting things she does not want.

It contains a third person narrator with unlimited implicit knowledge, who takes on the point of view of the main character, Sonia; "He says this, thinks Sonia, as if he has not heard them for years, but during the time they've been at university, he got the train home most weekends.”^[1] Additionally, the way the setting is described is not in an objective manner, but, once again, using Sonia’s perspective and thus mirroring her inner state: “The crowd is nearing the foot of the hill; they are close now and one by one they look at the woman in the transparent mac and they nod.”^[2]  By only seeing things from her point of view, it becomes easier to make the reader empathize with Sonia.

When the couple reach Peter’s home, his mother welcomes them warmly, as if her house was also Sonia’s home. She takes Sonia’s colourful coat and hides it away, commenting on its colours. The coat she gets from Peter’s mother to replace her “brightly coloured jacket”^[3], becomes a symbol for Sonia’s dreams and independence being taken away from her.  At dinner, Peter’s parents question Sonia about her summer plans, and she tells them she has applied for a job which would enable her to make a trip to Las Vegas. She announces the parents that she expects the company will call the next day and offer her the job.

The telephone call Sonia overhears suggests that it is very likely to have been from the company Sonia applied for a job and that the mother posed as Sonia and refused the job: “…can hear Peter's mother talking on the phone at the bottom of the stairs. "No," she is saying, "I don't want it. I've changed my mind. Please don't call here again."^[4]

Peter’s mother is most likely the one who replaced Sonia’s tags, erasing “I love Las Vegas” and writing in return “I love Eastmouth” “"Las" has been neatly changed to "East" but "Vegas" required a heavier hand, a thicker line. I love Eastmouth.”^[5]
During the night, Sonia has difficulties falling asleep. The gulls are making noises. For Peter, they are a comforting reminder that he is home. But for Sonia, they are a nuisance, much like a bad sign, reminding her constantly of babies crying - might be because she is stressed about the possibility of her being pregnant.