Opposite Worlds: Discipline and Norms in Fingerbone

Anders Peterson
English 355
3/8/15
Word Count: 2222

In Housekeeping, Sylvie and Lucille confront Foucaults conception of discipline and the
surveillance used to enforce disciplinary society. The arrival of Sylvie, along with the
development of Lucille and Ruthie bares the family to this surveillance, first through Lucilles
actions, and then when those in Fingerbone become involved. This exposure caused both the
institutional power of the disciplinary wing to intervene, and provoked different reactions in the
Foster family. Sylvie and Lucille become representative of two worlds Lucille with the general
society, and Sylvie in the familys world. The conflict between these two worlds pushes Sylvie
and Ruthie to the edge, as the disciplinary society regulates and restricts those who do not
comply.
In Discipline and Punish Foucault posits that power does not just flow through official
channels, but also through larger societal bodies of a disciplinary society. This society is based
on embedding a pattern of norms disseminated through daily life and secured through
surveillance. (Hunt and Wickham 50.) These norms serve the purpose of policing social
behavior through a non-legal context and without the invocation of traditional bodies of power.
This work, done outside of the legal system, serves the purpose of altering basic types of
behavior, with Hunt and Wickham pointing to tidiness, punctuality, respectfully, etc. (50). as
representative of the types of behavior regulated through a disciplinary society. Behavior in these
areas is internalized, so that conscious thought or direct intervention in these issues is rarely
necessary. In fact, arriving at the point of direct intervention by bodies granted authority, must be
the result of something perceived as a serious violation and a basic violation. That the
behaviors Hunt and Wickham mention are presented as low level concerns, things that should
naturally be accounted for and acted upon in the acceptable method, means that when
intervention is seen as necessary by those official bodies, this indicates a basic failure of the

person being regulated. The regulation of these actions indicates that there are only a few
appropriate courses of action to take. Through hugely disseminated ideas of normality and
appropriate behavior, variance is not accepted, even in small amounts. To violate these norms is
to violate the basic fabric of society, and this disruption signals to those couched in these norms
an essential failure at existing within the disciplinary society, with little opportunity for change.
In Housekeeping, the official arms of the disciplinary society are the sheriff of
Fingerbone and the other women in the town. When these people come to the Foster house, after
Sylvies behavior has finally violated the social code to the extent that direct intervention is
required, the arm of surveillance is finally able to see past the secrecy that the family had lived in
for many years. The entire Foster clan, not just when Sylvie is acting as matriarch have been
separate from the town. The Fosters take no part in the restoration of the town after the flood
continuing a trend exhibited through the familys history, My grandmother had been rather
isolated Lily and Nona, of course, had little contact with local society, and Sylvie claimed not
to know anybody in Fingerbone at all (Robinson 74). This self-imposed isolation of the family
had enabled them to be removed from the disciplinary surveillance that is a necessity for the
successful deployment of disciplinary power. As Foucault argues, in order to be exercised, this
power [discipline] had to be given the instrument of permanent, exhaustive omnipresent
surveillance (214). Their ability to be isolated protected the Foster family from this surveillance,
and by extension, the norms created by discipline.
To begin to understand what brought the disciplinary society into action to regulate the
Foster family, the violations of the disciplinary society must first be examined. The Foster family
itself already alters from traditional family structures. It is entirely female, with very little male
presence in the lives of Ruthie and Lucille. There is consistent turnover in their guardianship,

from their mother, to grandmother, to Lily and Nona, and finally Sylvie. Already, this non1traditional and often varying family structure causes the family to stick out in the town of
Fingerbone. Much of the potential state action, however, is curtailed by the consistent tragedy
surrounding the family. Intervention does not occur in part due to the fact that Ruthie and Lucille
had already lived through the deaths of two of their main parental figures and had two more
leave them as quickly as possible. This tragedy serves to quell the disciplinary mechanisms even
after they have already been put in motion. When the women from the town visit Sylvie after her
and Ruthies night on the lake and journey on the train, they discuss sorrow, and Sylvie seems to
reach an understanding with the women. For a moment, the ladies seemed absorbed in thoughts
of their own, (Robinson 186) but this does not last. Immediately after that moment, Sylvie tells
them about the night in the boat, and the veil of tragedy fails to stem the actions of the women.
This moment, once an opportunity for solidarity opens Sylvie and the family to critique. While
the sorrow of their lives works to lessen the actions of surveillance, that eventually is stripped
away and the disciplinary mechanisms finally begin to impact Sylvie.
Directly following this meeting with the other women, Sylvie makes a major effort to
change her housekeeping. When Ruthie arrives home from school that day, she finds that Sylvie
had emptied the parlor of cans entirely and had begun to remove the newspapers (Robinson
187). When the surveillance finally reaches the house, Sylvie begins to alter her behavior. It is
the isolation of the family that allows for their deviation from the societal norms to last for so
long. Through their isolation, Sylvie is able to collect her cans and her newspapers. She is able to
eschew the traditional necessities of housekeeping and institute her own in their place. Sylvies
philosophy around housekeeping itself is different from what is accepted as the norm, she
considered accumulation to be the essence of housekeeping (Robinson 180) while the norm is

that housekeeping should focus on the removal of extraneous dirt and items. This is further
exemplified when Ruthie and Sylvie allow the parlor to fall into disrepair. Ruthie and Sylvie
had simply ceased to consider that room a parlorwho would think of dusting or sweeping the
cobwebs down in a room used for storage of cans and newspapers (Robinson 180). In their
isolation, Ruthie and Sylvie had altered their perceptions of their home, fulfilling these mental
changes with physical alterations of the space. The space itself is devalued in their minds due to
their own actions. This cyclical nature is due to their isolation, and when broken, the imposition
of surveillance causes Sylvie to alter her behavior.
Sylvies isolation is not only removed when the women come to visit her. During her time
as a transient prior to coming back to Fingerbone to take care of the girls, Sylvie did not have the
need to conform to societal norms. She was not the member of a static community, and therefore
did not have to self-police her presentation or habits, as there was no set standard she had to
align with. Coming to Fingerbone, removed some of Sylvies isolation. By settling in a single
location, Sylvie must in some way conform to the societal expectations of the area. This removal
of isolation, or in a sense the imposition of some form for surveillance begins immediately upon
Sylvies arrival. When she first meets the girls, Sylvie alters her appearance, smooth[ing] the
stray hairs back, making herself neat for us (Robinson 45). Upon her arrival, Sylvie already
slightly changes her behavior for the girls, showing her willingness to alter her performance, yet
this is a very small change, and in terms of her appearance, her clothing choices still set her apart
from the general population in Fingerbone and from Lucille and Ruthie. Lucille quickly takes an
active role in altering Sylvies appearance. Lucille and Sylvie discuss this at the train station,
with Lucille questioning Sylvies clothing choices and finally directing her, You also need a
hat. You should use hand lotion (Robison 57) Lucille takes an early and active role in the

regulation of Sylvies behavior, a trend that will continue throughout the novel and plays a role
in their separation.
Aside from attempting to control Sylvies presentation early on in their relationship,
Lucille also attempts to contextualize Sylvie in terms of normative society. Sylvie does not
discuss her husband much, yet her marriage precedes her. Ruthie and Lucille knew enough
about Sylvie to know that she had simply chosen not to act married (Robinson 43). Sylvie,
despite not acting married is still in some sense defined by her marriage, but this definition
comes from her rejection of normative married actions. Lucille, however, presses Sylvie to
comply with the social norms associated with marriage, asking Sylvie But, I mean, did you
want to have them [children]? (Robinson 69) Lucille attempts to fit Sylvie into the framework
she has for marriage, placing the expectation for childbearing onto Sylvie. Lucille also pushes at
Sylvie to disclose more about her husband. Lucille pushes for details, asking Wheres your
husband, Sylvie? (Robinson 101) before continuing to question her. This questioning is the
continuation of a trend, but in this instance occurs right after Lucille turned on the light in the
kitchen, exposing Sylvies failures at housekeeping.
While Lucille pushes Sylvie to share more about her past in an attempt to fit her into
Lucilles normative narrative about marriage, she inserts surveillance into the home in other
ways as well. This is the major starting point for Lucilles transformation and ultimately her
separation. When Lucille breaks from Sylvies tradition of eating in the dark and turns on the
kitchen light, she exposes the filth that the family had been living in, which their isolation has
allowed to occur. By sliding into their own norms and rituals, such as eating in the dark or later
with Sylvie and Ruthie not using the parlor, the family, but Sylvie especially, lived in conditions
that strongly violate the norms of society. Lucilles action as the exposer follows the trend that

began that summer. Ruthie highlights both Lucilles change and the isolation of the family when
that summer she sense[d] that Lucilles loyalties were with the other world (Robinson 95). By
dividing the Fosters from the other world, Ruthie highlights their isolation, and the clear
divisions between them and the rest of the town. At this point in the novel, the worlds are still
separate, but later, when the women and the Sheriff call on Sylvie, the worlds see crossover, and
the larger world wins, causing Sylvie to alter her actions, and when unable to do so satisfactorily,
to flee. Lucille first exposes the isolation and housekeeping failures of Sylvie, and continues to
be drawn toward the other world over time.
Lucilles final break with the family is when she choses to enter the other world by
moving in with Miss Royce. This break is emphasized by the contrasts between Sylvie and Miss
Royce, each representative of their own world. Miss Royce and Sylvie do have some similarities,
with Miss Royce being a solitary woman (Robinson 140) as is Sylvie, but Miss Royces
inability to build relationships is a result of her being too high-strung (Robinson 140) while
Sylvie does not actively search out relationships. This exposes one of their crucial differences
Sylvie is comfortable with herself, and the views of others have little impact for a majority of the
novel. For Miss Royce on the other hand, embarrassment was dull routine, (Robinson 140) and
she is very susceptible to the taunts of others. Miss Royce also represents the opposite of Sylvies
housekeeping failures. Miss Royce is the Home Economics teacher, the very ideal of feminine
ability to keep house. Sylvie directly fails in the areas that Miss Royce teaches in, and in doing
so, Sylvie fails in the traditionally feminine areas where her performance is expected to be
successful. In leaving Sylvie and going to Miss Royce, Lucille not only goes to the other world,
she embraces the normative actions of femininity to their fullest extent. Lucille is lost to the
other world and embraces her normative performance.

Lucille and Sylvie are representative of near opposite paths. Lucille is social, going to
dances and hanging out with her friends, while Sylvie enjoys solitude. Lucille embraces
traditionally feminine work and presentation, while Sylvie does not dress in a feminine manner
nor keep house successfully. As the novel approaches its climax, the two worlds collide. The
Foster house is opened to surveillance, first by Lucille, and then by the sheriff and the women of
Fingerbone. Despite Sylvie working to met the expectations this surveillance sets for her, when
she fails to become integrated into these general demands (Foucault 222), the law itself
becomes involved. The collision of these worlds shows how the creation of norms pushes those
who chose not to or cannot conform to the edge. With the final destruction of the family home,
Sylvie and Ruthie reject the disciplinary society, partially due to their own agency, but also due
to the threat of the legal system. When the worlds collided, one world was destroyed, or at least
unmoored into transience.

Works Cited
Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish. New York: Vintage, 1995. Print.
Hunt, Alan, and Gary Wickham. Foucault and the Law: Towards a Sociology of Law. Pluto,
1994. Print.
Robinson, Marilynne. Housekeeping. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1980. Print.