Rebecca Solnit

The passage on 248 is one that I'll maintain a love/hate relationship with. I can see where she's coming from, but at the same time, I hate to agree with it fully because she seems to be putting an insane level of importance on this idea of being other people (such as people who have never lived and strangers you’ve never met). It seems a bit (dare I say it) pretentious, I suppose.

As for its relevance to the book, I imagine that can be seen most prominently in her relationship with her mother. I personally had to witness the horror of my grandmother going through the terrible stages of Alzheimer's, and the caring-for process is one that would come to define a person. She seems to be acknowledging this as well right there in this passage, as she mentions “the forgettings and the misrememberings”. I guess in a way her mother had to sort of live through her as well. As the disease progressed, and her memory became far worse, what could she happen to know outside of Rebecca Solnit’s life? It would have to be her experiences that shaped her mother’s feelings and thoughts at the time.

I can entertain the notion that we, as the human race, do lead somewhat intertwined lives. It’s true that people you’ll never meet (or even hear of) can affect your life, after all.