Reply To: TRWR: How did you feel about Garnet Dern’s choice?
In possession of Angie’s diaries and the information they contained, Garnet had the power to destroy Angie and, in many ways, Brody and herself. I think Garnet realized she could not destroy only Angie, Brody would also be a casualty. I also don’t think Garnet wanted to destroy anyone, even a rival for Brody’s affection. Garnet was not going to leave her husband. She said as much. She wanted Brody too but I am not sure she was willing to pay the price of destroying anyone. Initially, that was surprising but after watching how the story unfolded, how Brody and Tom became close and the dynamics of the Dern family, Garnet’s decision fit for me.
I think the condition that Angie tell Brody about her past was Garnet’s retribution, payback for Angie’s budding relationship with a man Garnet loved and wanted. I suspect Garnet hoped that Angie’s past would be a deal breaker for Brody and also know it would not be. Garnet was gambling and expected to lose her bet.
Garnet was not my favorite character or one I saw as particularly heroic. Still, like all of the characters, she is more than a stereotype of the unfaithful wife. At the part of the story when I realized that Angie’s diaries were in Garnet’s possession, I held my breath until they were returned but I think Garnet was also not one who took pleasure in another person’s destruction.
