The Golden Age: 30. The Separation Summary & Analysis

Meanwhile, Margaret has been briskly caring for Elsa at home, diligently massaging her muscles every afternoon. Her neighbors congratulate her on Elsa’s return home, but she still resents them for shunning her family when Elsa first contracted the disease. Nowadays, Margaret no longer trusts her neighbors or hospitals or even God. The one thing on which she relies is her love for Elsa.

This is what has finally given Margaret the strength to stand up to Nance. Nance has decided that since Elsa is disabled and furthermore not to be trusted around boys, she must go to a girls’ secretarial school. She says loudly that Elsa isn’t likely to ever get married. This is the last straw for Margaret, who announces that Elsa will go to university and become a doctor, just as she’s always wanted.

Returning to her messy home from the neat and organized Golden Age, Elsa is overwhelmed. Her family’s constant talking and complaining, and Margaret’s anxiety to please everyone, make her exhausted. Jack has converted the back verandah into a room so Elsa can have space to herself, and she frequently retreats there for privacy. She feels her life is like “a tiny ship on a great ocean.”

Meanwhile, Sally is unhappy because she has to share her room with Jane. She contrives never to be home, riding Elsa’s bike around the neighborhood or playing tennis loudly in the driveway.

Like the Golds, Elsa’s parents aren’t angry about her expulsion; they love her too much. However, they didn’t fight the decision either, and Elsa realizes how much “they cared what other people thought.” She misses Frank, because he’s the only person in her life who ever speaks openly about feelings. At night, she recounts the events of her day as if she’s talking to him.

One day, Elsa surveys herself in her parents’ big mirror. She’s too thin and her entire body is lopsided. Once, people used to comment on how pretty she was, but now she knows they’ll always whisper about her disability.

Elsa dreams that she’s on the verandah looking at the street. A long line of children hurries down the street, following each other, and a little boy runs anxiously alongside the procession. Elsa knows the little boy represents Sally, and that Sally now feels the responsibility for the family that used to be Elsa’s.

Shortly afterwards, Elsa is sitting on the verandah when Sally returns home from an errand. The two sisters look at each other for a minute; they haven’t spoken directly in a year. Both feel they might cry. Then Sally goes inside.

One day the telephone rings. When Margaret picks up, Ida Gold is on the other end. After a quick conversation, she hangs up and informs Elsa confusedly that the Golds are coming for tea the next day, even though she knows her husband might disapprove. Elsa kisses her mother for the first time since her arrival home.