A Corner of the Universe

“Do the people in my family never talk to each other?” (171) Hattie laments—rightfully. Hattie’s family does not discuss things. Specifically, they do not discuss Adam, the family secret they have guarded so closely. Martin emphasizes both the damage that secrets can cause and the importance of honest communication.

Hattie’s family keeps Adam secret for multiple reasons: to prevent embarrassment, to protect themselves from social judgment or stigma, and to protect Hattie from pain. Even old friends keep the secret: Unbeknownst to Hattie, Miss Hagerty and Mr. Penny knew Adam as a child. Unwilling to “worry” her, Hattie’s parents are vague about exactly why knowledge of Adam would be so troubling for her, which of course makes Hattie anxious and curious.

Nana keeps Adam a secret largely because of a generational attitude towards mental illness. In the 1950s and earlier, mental health problems were a source of family shame and embarrassment. Children’s conditions were often blamed on parents—as evidenced by the “refrigerator mom” theory of the cause of autism (see Contextual Analysis: Social Historical). Nana fears the personal social stigma of having a mentally ill child. Hattie observes that Nana’s “children have failed her, which means Nana has failed” (67). Nana also comes from a wealthy, socially elite family and feels the need to maintain that status. She and Papa keep Adam in his school to give the appearance of normalcy and keep the family name untarnished. Adam is “the elephant in the living room” at Nana’s house (40), as if by not acknowledging Adam, they can continue to keep him secret. Hattie wonders if someone is kept a secret, if they have a real existence, understanding on an intuitive level that Adam’s mental illness makes him less human to others.

The lack of family communication is neither healthy nor honest. Keeping secrets from family members can cause anxiety, trust issues, and feelings of shame; it can damage family ties and prevent open communication. Hattie shows several of these negative effects. Hattie, who prefers straightforward communication, recognizes that her parents’ mode of communication is indirect, and as a result, Hattie feels frustrated. She comments, “They are leaping around the subject as if it were a fire and they were barefoot. Don’t they know how hard it is to be their daughter, to stand by and watch?” (32).

Secrets are isolating. Hattie’s response to her parents’ noninformation is to figure things out by herself, which leaves her feeling trapped in the middle of something adult she does not understand and feeling excluded. Nana allows Hattie to take greater and greater responsibility for Adam, but does not supply her with any background knowledge that may help her understand him. When Nana confiscates Adam’s knife, her panic suggests that Adam may have tried to harm himself in the past or may have been violent to others. Yet Nana unfairly expects Hattie to have “known better” than to take Adam to the carnival at night without ever telling Hattie background information about Adam’s condition that would allow to make better decisions. Hattie is operating in the dark, thanks to lack of family communication.

Family secrecy and silence also cause Hattie personal anguish as she worries that she may have inherited Adam’s mental illness. Because of the lack of open communication, Hattie feels she cannot ask questions. When she does ask Mom a question, like why Mom never had more children, Mom shuts the conversation down, resulting in Hattie feeling more isolated and worried.

Hattie has authentic communication with Adam, Leila, and Miss Hagerty. Adam and Hattie share secrets rather than keeping them: Hattie confides her feelings of detachment, and Adam shares his ability to know the day of the week of any date. Adam is straightforward: He wears his emotions on his sleeve and cannot control or contain them. Adam’s candor and abandon are refreshing for Hattie. Adam teaches Hattie the importance of open communication and Hattie absorbs this lesson. She speaks at the funeral, taking away the secrecy and stigma surrounding Adam. She writes Leila, explaining everything to her friend. Finally, she tries to pass Adam’s lesson on to her parents, hoping that going forward, the Owens can “talk about things” (185).