VLVL Prairie and DL

[jbor]

temporize, -ise  v.i. adopt indecisive or time-serving policy; avoid
committing oneself, act so as to gain time; comply temporarily with
requirements of occasion (Oxford)

I can't recall whether DL ever actually does tell Prairie the truth about
Frenesi, but she certainly doesn't do it in this chapter, and throughout the
encounter we're continually shown how conflicted DL is, and how she resists
giving Prairie any information whatsoever about Frenesi: for example, at one
point she tells herself that "whatever story she tells this kid must not,
maybe could never, be the story she knew." (101.1-2) DL's acutely aware of
the fact that she isn't being honest with Prairie, that she has failed the
girl. Early on she realises she is "in a pickle" because to tell Prairie
what Frenesi did and why she disappeared would be to betray Frenesi, but not
telling Prairie is also a betrayal, just like Zoyd's and Sasha's lies.
(101.25-29) 

A lot is left unsaid between the two of them, but eventually both understand
where things stand I think. No judgement, just an analysis of what happens
in the scene, what DL thinks and says and how she acts in the text, Prairie
too, and where they end up, DL staring shamefacedly at her feet "like an
amateur tap dancer" (NB "amateur") and telling the girl to trust herself
(because DL isn't deserving of Prairie's trust), and Prairie taking the
initiative, sadly waving the amulet at the scanner to signal "game over,
you've fobbed me off onto Takeshi". (103.28-37)

DL, we'll find out, is bonded to Takeshi because of what happened in Japan,
and the fact that she has his scanner makes her a factotum of sorts. The
added complication here is that Takeshi had given Zoyd the amulet, and Zoyd
had given it to Prairie, and DL had been attracted to the girl's reflection
because she looks like Frenesi, which is why she gets close enough for the
scanner to go off. It's certainly a deus ex machina, though I don't think
it's legitimate to overlook DL's invited presence at the wedding, or her
obvious friendship and previous business dealings with Ralph Sr on that
account. The connection to Frenesi is what puts DL "in a pickle", why she
"temporize[s]" and ultimately doesn't tell Prairie the truth about her
mother, despite having ample opportunity to do so, and why she ultimately
defers the onus of responsibility onto Takeshi.

After DL has failed Prairie it is the girl who takes charge, and she takes
DL to meet Isaiah, and it's Prairie who makes the decision to go with DL.
Prairie wants to meet with Takeshi, partly because Isaiah is heading back to
Vineland, which could mean trouble for both of them, but mainly because she
is so determined to find out about, and find, Frenesi. She has decided to
trust DL after all, on the strength of little more than the knowledge that
DL was once her mom's friend.

The driving away motif at the end of this chapter echoes the one back on
p.55. I think there is probably something symbolic going on with the
different vehicles which the characters make their various departures in.

best