The Girl’s Relationship with Her Parents

Foster

The girl’s return shows how love for her birth family coexists with the new attachment and safety she has found elsewhere.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Mother’s Preparations A Mother’s Preparations from "Foster". A Mother’s Preparations Work before departure Mary braids the girl’s hair and packs clean pants and a letter.

A Mother’s Preparations from "Foster". A Mother’s Preparations Work before departure Mary braids the girl’s hair and packs clean pants and a letter.

A Mother’s Preparations Work before departure Mary braids the girl’s hair and packs clean pants and a letter. The preparations are practical, but the girl remembers the pressure and warmth of her mother behind her. Love in routine Their relationship is not expressed through long conversations. It is conveyed through the labor Mary performs while preparing for another child’s arrival.

A Father’s Departure A Father’s Departure from "Foster". A Father’s Departure No promise of return Dan leaves without a goodbye or a clear statement that he will come back.

A Father’s Departure from "Foster". A Father’s Departure No promise of return Dan leaves without a goodbye or a clear statement that he will come back.

A Father’s Departure No promise of return Dan leaves without a goodbye or a clear statement that he will come back. The girl watches the car go and wonders why he has not reassured her. A need left open His departure gives John and Edna an opportunity to become important to the girl. It also leaves the father-daughter bond unresolved rather than severed.

The Letter Home The Letter Home from "Foster". The Letter Home A family calls her back Mary’s letter reports a new baby and asks for the girl to return before school.

The Letter Home from "Foster". The Letter Home A family calls her back Mary’s letter reports a new baby and asks for the girl to return before school.

The Letter Home A family calls her back Mary’s letter reports a new baby and asks for the girl to return before school. The message links the girl to the family’s changing household. A painful loyalty The girl does not reject the request, but she does not want to leave the Kinsellas. Her attachments now pull in two directions.

The Crowded Reunion The Crowded Reunion from "Foster". The Crowded Reunion Family gathered again The girl sees Mary, her siblings, and the new baby in the familiar, busy house.

The Crowded Reunion from "Foster". The Crowded Reunion Family gathered again The girl sees Mary, her siblings, and the new baby in the familiar, busy house.

The Crowded Reunion Family gathered again The girl sees Mary, her siblings, and the new baby in the familiar, busy house. Her sisters treat her almost like a visiting cousin. Affection and distance The reunion is genuine, but the girl has changed during her absence. The family remains hers even as she feels the distance created by a different household.

The Word Daddy The Word Daddy from "Foster". The Word Daddy A spontaneous address The girl runs back to John Kinsella and repeatedly calls him Daddy.

The Word Daddy A spontaneous address The girl runs back to John Kinsella and repeatedly calls him Daddy. Dan is present nearby, making the word more complex than a simple replacement. Attachment without judgment Her language expresses the intensity of the care she has received. The ending leaves the family relationships unsettled rather than assigning one adult exclusive emotional authority.

the morning the girl leaves home

the first Sunday afternoon at the farm

the Thursday the letter arrives

the Sunday evening of the return

the last moments of the story