[Catlady]

Originally Posted by gmw

"morally responsible" I definitely don't want you on my jury. Irene may have physically caused it, but if the reaction to her approach was not planned nor intended then Irene is not responsible for it. It is an accident*.

* Well, personally I'd blame any person that would design and build a building with a window on the 6th floor that you can just fall out of like that.

Of course she'd be morally responsible. However, the extent of legal responsibility is arguable. I believe Irene intended to push her, and that push resulted in death. Same situation as if Irene had pushed her and Clare had hit her head on something and died. The intent to kill wasn't there; the intent to push was.

When asking about what the different endings mean to the story, I think we need only look at two:

* Murder - Irene pushed Clare

* Ambiguous/obscure cause of death.

The first is the only solution that is clearly hinted at; the author wanted us to see this one. Did she think we might miss it otherwise, or is she wanting us to believe this happened, or is she making the hints so obvious because she wants us to question this? Obviously we all have our own ideas.

If you want to go from three to two categories, the dichotomy should be whether Clare chose to die (suicide), or whether she didn't (murder or accident). I think there's an enormous difference; suicide offers us a myriad of possible interpretations about Clare's character. Murder or accident tell us nothing about Clare. (Murder tells us about Irene.)

For me, an impulse murder is the start-of-a-story sort of thing (how to cope with the consequences). An impulse murder at the end of the story only says that people will lash out when they feel cornered, which is nothing new nor particularly interesting. I don't find it satisfying, and if this was intended then I question why it was not plainly stated. (There seems no reason to make it less than perfectly clear, and there seems no reason to suggest that Irene isn't going to be accused/arrested for the murder, because the accusation - at least - would have made this possibility more credible.)

It's an impulse murder but it grows out of the story. You have two women who grew up together, took different paths, reunited; they're jealous of each other's lives, tensions grow, and only one survives.

What's unimportant to this story is what then happens to Irene. As the story stands, she's become a murderer, and whether she's caught and punished is irrelevant--this is not a mystery or a police/legal procedural.

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

There is always the possibility of Irene feeling guilty because she had earlier thought that if Clare died it would solve all her problems, so guilt for its happening because she had wished it, not because she did it.

Are there any other instances of Irene feeling guilt? My view of Irene has hardened, so perhaps I've overlooked them. My recollection is that Irene convinces herself her actions are always for the best and doesn't worry overmuch about their effects on others. She sure doesn't feel guilty about making her husband miserable. If she doesn't feel guilty about things she's done, would she feel guilty about something she didn't do, only wished for?