Gaitskill's Human Veronica

11/20/08

In her novel Veronica, Gaitskill does an excellent job portraying the characters humanity. In the novel Alison is in her fifties, but she constantly reflects on her early life as a model. Although Gaitskill uses the flashbacks a way to describe Alison's relationship with Veronica, I cannot help but think she makes a great point about people. People often romanticize and embellsih their past and make it seem better than their present. Despite the fact that Alison was taken advantage of as a model in Paris, she constantly thinks about her life there and wishes she could go back. This is especially apparent when she sees her colleague on the cover of a magazine and wishes it was her. It seems to me that Alison does what most people do, including myself. Even if their life is going smoothly, they long for good times they had in the past. It is not until the present becomes the past that they can really appreciate their lives.