After only reading the first half of I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg, I can already see many references to the ever-present theme of maturation. With the plot consisting of a young girl’s world of insanity and her journey back from madness to reality in a mental hospital, there is a constant growing of the main character’s development. Each chapter she takes a bigger step towards the reality of life and the realization of the fantasy world she has created. This makes the theme more expansive and displayed throughout, allowing the reader to make more connections.
The first sign of any progress occurring was when the girl, Deborah, finally chose to open up to her doctor. Before she was stubborn and would answer all questions snootily, but by a quarter of the way through the book, she had willfully told of past accounts. She began to recall events that might have contributed to her current state of mind, which in turn helped her in a sense to get well. This was a big step for her to accomplish seeing that earlier and even then, being set back out into the real world was such a scary prospect.
Later in the half, Deborah advanced on this and began to accept the help the doctor was trying to administer. She dispensed information at high cost to her own health, seeing that her release into reality caused the dark world amidst her body to lash out. Deborah faced this, however, and continued to help, even coming to the point of tears at one time. This is a major turning point in her development process, seeing that she was releasing the pain she was feeling, rather than keeping it all inside.
Another type of maturation was presented when Deborah began to gain back her emotions. One instance was when she became friendly with one of the other girls in her ward. At the beginning of the book she hated all people and was convinced that everyone lied and no one could be trusted. However, at one point, after letting her hard side get the best of her and lashing out at Carla, Deborah apologized for her actions. She was actually feeling some sort of emotion and regret for the words that had been spoken. "‘CarlaÖ’ The words were coming hard. ‘I’m sorry for what I said. I did it for me and not against you.’" This shows the growing of Deborah’s emotions from non-existent to weak, but present. Later, she even stated, "The bone truth hurt, but a little less this time." For a girl who had earlier despised the truth, this is certainly an act of maturation at this point in the story.
Another moment of expressed feeling was at a session Deborah underwent with her doctor. After some discussion, Deborah was left feeling "a slow, fearful gratitude to her family, who had lived with a monster and treated it like a person." This is a very important thought because for a person who used to retreat into her own world of darkness and seclude herself from reality and all communication, it shows that she is finally coming out and beginning to feel some sort of expression. She is advancing from within her own fantasyland to accept some of what human life takes part in, feelings.
One of the final demonstrations of the growing maturation theme in the first half of the book was when Deborah took it upon herself to acquire the assistance of another mate to teach her the pronunciations and spellings of other languages. Deborah actually wanted and cared enough to learn knowledge and speaking abilities, to the point where she worked hard everyday on her studies. This is a true sign of the growing she has already taken part in.
As you see, the theme has been expanded on widely and is constantly present. It is what the plot revolves around. I am curious to see as to where the maturation theme evolves and to what extent of it Deborah’s character experiences.
The conclusion to Deborah's maturation