I have finally finished Freedom By Jonathan Franzen. If you are reading or plan to read this book be warned, there are SPOILERS!!!!
Freedom opens with Walter and Patty Berglund and their children Joey and Jessica. They live in suburban America. They seem like the average American family until you find out that Joey has moved in next door with his girlfriend Connie and her family. Right away that hits you as strange.
Soon we begin to learn about Patty's early life. We follow her from adolescence through college where she deals with an obsessed friend and meets Walter and Richard. Obsession was an early theme for me. No one seems to just like anyone around here. They are either neutral or obsessed. I think early in the book freedom is defined as getting what you want. I don't think the characters are freed by getting the love of the people that they want.
Even though Patty is truly in love with Richard, she ends up marrying Walter because of the love Walter offers. Richard is always distant because he respects Walter's feelings for Patty. This is the second time that Patty suppresses who she really is for what she feels is the greater good. I believe this leads to her later depression and mistreatment of Walter.
Patty and Walter create a life together. The kids grow up. Joey rebels from his mother's obvious favoritism and obsession with him by moving into his girlfriend's house. He goes on to college from there where is able to discover who he really is. It turns out that even though he couldn't get along with his father in his younger days, he is idealistic, just like Dad. I love that quality in both of them.
Patty plunges into an awful depression that causes her to cheat on Walter with Richard, and Walter to fall in love with a younger woman. I believe that if she could just feel free enough to be who she really is, none of this would have happened. I don't think she would have even married Walter.
The characters are real and so dimensional. They learn a lot of life's lessons the tough way. They fight emotion only to learn that it can't be done without destroying who you are. This is really a beautiful story that truly teaches a lot about Freedom. In the end I believe freedom is defined as the ability to be who you really are, and be ok with it.
