ATD: unanswered questions

[bandwraith at aol.com]

"I vote with you......"

Well, I guess I'm out voted on this one, but there
is still the question of Lake's guilt, or not, that nags.

It's easy to dismiss her for rewarding Deuce with
her love. He's hideous. But Webb's own treatment
of Lake left alot to be desired, and is arguably partly
responsible for her lack of filial loyalty after his murder;
an act she had nothing to do wiith. Furthermore,
Webb himself was duped into thinking Deuce would
be a good match for Lake. Why should she be held
to a higher standard regarding character judgement?

Her "punishment" is more problematical, it seems to
me, than that of Scarsdale, or Deuce and Sloat. She's
definitely flawed, and her barreness, if that's the case,
does stand in stark contrast to the fecundity erupting
all around by novel's end. In that sense, she's made
an example of, but why? Really the only person who
might be in a position to judge her, besides Mayva, is
Webb, and he's dead.