The Afterlife of Pauline and Jenny’s Bond

American Woman

This flow traces how Jenny carries her relationship with Pauline into prison, memory, and a later life in which direct reunion never comes.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Separation The First Separation from "American Woman". The First Separation A Shared Escape Jenny takes Pauline away from Juan and Yvonne after the fatal robbery.

The First Separation from "American Woman". The First Separation A Shared Escape Jenny takes Pauline away from Juan and Yvonne after the fatal robbery.

The First Separation A Shared Escape Jenny takes Pauline away from Juan and Yvonne after the fatal robbery. Pauline’s grief and resistance make clear that leaving the group is not the same as leaving her emotional family. A New Pair The two women begin a journey that makes them dependent on each other in unfamiliar ways.

The Roadside Promise The Roadside Promise from "American Woman". The Roadside Promise Fear of Capture Jenny and Pauline fear that police responding to a nearby truck accident may discover them.

The Roadside Promise from "American Woman". The Roadside Promise Fear of Capture Jenny and Pauline fear that police responding to a nearby truck accident may discover them.

The Roadside Promise Fear of Capture Jenny and Pauline fear that police responding to a nearby truck accident may discover them. Pauline promises to protect Jenny if they are caught, speaking with a courage she has not often shown. A Recognition of Care Jenny understands that Pauline’s loyalty is not simply a product of the cadre’s claims about family.

A Home in Berkeley A Home in Berkeley from "American Woman". A Home in Berkeley Domestic Closeness Jenny and Pauline settle into a small apartment and share routines, work, and political discussion.

A Home in Berkeley from "American Woman". A Home in Berkeley Domestic Closeness Jenny and Pauline settle into a small apartment and share routines, work, and political discussion.

A Home in Berkeley Domestic Closeness Jenny and Pauline settle into a small apartment and share routines, work, and political discussion. Their closeness is real, but neither can easily define whether it is friendship, family, or something more. A Fragile Calm The apartment makes a different life possible without erasing the memories of the road.

The Final Arrest The Final Arrest from "American Woman". The Final Arrest A Sudden Ending An armed man enters the apartment and arrests Jenny and Pauline.

The Final Arrest from "American Woman". The Final Arrest A Sudden Ending An armed man enters the apartment and arrests Jenny and Pauline.

The Final Arrest A Sudden Ending An armed man enters the apartment and arrests Jenny and Pauline. They are separated before either can fully understand what the other’s future will be. A Bond Under Examination Their shared past becomes evidence, defense, and private memory at once.

The Absent Reunion The Absent Reunion from "American Woman". The Absent Reunion A Meeting Imagined Jenny sometimes imagines Pauline returning to find her, but Pauline never appears.

The Absent Reunion from "American Woman". The Absent Reunion A Meeting Imagined Jenny sometimes imagines Pauline returning to find her, but Pauline never appears.

The Absent Reunion A Meeting Imagined Jenny sometimes imagines Pauline returning to find her, but Pauline never appears. News of Pauline’s marriage makes her public life visible while leaving their private relationship untouched. Memory Without Contact Jenny carries the farmhouse, the road, and their shared intimacy as traces that cannot be verified together.

The drive away from the farmhouse

During the storm in Missouri

After the cross country journey

After their shared year in California

After both women are released