Charlotte's BridgeCharlotte's Bridge tells the story of a girl's coming of age at the turn of the last century whose life is haunted by two images: One, the conjured, idyllic face of her mother who died giving birth to Charlotte; the other, the body, encased in a block of ice, of a man murdered by her father and half brothers. Against a backdrop in which constant changes produce coincidentally marvelous and frightening experiences, Charlotte Hutchison escapes the sordid, hostile, and criminal world of her childhood to create a life among the civilized people of the town across the river from her natal home. Pursuing what she believes is the purity of her mother's legacy and desperately seeking to sever the present from her past through acceptance and love, Charlotte clutches at stability, security, and respectability. Yet a dark secret plagues her, compromising her ideals and engendering ambivalence towards her friends, her marriage, motherhood, and ultimately her religion. Each reaction, each choice, each step she takes towards the fulfillment of her dreams ironically generates doubts and trials challenging her faith in her worthiness and leaving her with a tenuous and precarious grasp on reality. |
Contents
Section 1 | 1 |
Section 2 | 11 |
Section 3 | 21 |
Section 4 | 34 |
Section 5 | 46 |
Section 6 | 56 |
Section 7 | 69 |
Section 8 | 77 |
Section 15 | 156 |
Section 16 | 166 |
Section 17 | 178 |
Section 18 | 194 |
Section 19 | 210 |
Section 20 | 225 |
Section 21 | 240 |
Section 22 | 256 |
Section 9 | 90 |
Section 10 | 103 |
Section 11 | 115 |
Section 12 | 126 |
Section 13 | 134 |
Section 14 | 145 |
Section 23 | 268 |
Section 24 | 279 |
Section 25 | 292 |
Section 26 | 304 |
Section 27 | 319 |
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Common terms and phrases
afternoon Anita Babcock asked baby beneath Bible body boys breast breath bridge brothers chair Charlotte felt Charlotte looked Charlotte passed Charlotte's child church Corinne Corman MacBride corner dark Dean Cotner dear Dear Charlotte door dress edge Edward everything eyes Ezekiel face father feeling floor French doors Front Street girl going guess hand happened head heard Hiram horse Hutchison inside Isaac knew light Lover's Leap ma'am MacBride's Market Street Meaghan Miss Charlotte morning mother moved never night once opened Otto Brock Pastor Fetterman pulled remember river seemed Seitz Sheriff Curry shoulder side silence sitting slowly sobbing someone somethin stairs standing staring stepped stood stopped Sunday sure talk tell Thaddeus there's things thought Tom Curry took town town’s turned voice waiting walked watching window woman wondered words